Newest Rockets acquisition has chance to be sneaky breakout candidate in 2025-26

The Houston Rockets signed Josh Okogie to provide a spark of energy off the bench. Based on his play in AfroBasket, he could be capable of giving them more than that.

I know. International play is not NBA competition. Whatever Okogie does for Team Nigeria should be taken with a grain of salt. There's no assurance that he'll be able to replicate his performance under the brightest lights.

Still, his play in Team Nigeria's recent blowout win over Team Tunisia was undeniable.

New Rockets acquisition shines in international play

Okogie was utterly dominant in Nigeria's 87-66 win. He finished with 32 points on 12/19 shooting from the field to go with 6 rebounds.

Okogie got whatever he wanted. He was penetrating to the rim at will. Okogie was also 3/7 from long range. He didn't resemble the high-energy 3-and-D wing we're familiar with in the NBA. Okogie looked like a star.

Again, this was not NBA-level competition. It was still highly competitive basketball. Fans shouldn't fall into the trap of dichotomous thinking. Okogie's performance doesn't have to mean either everything or nothing.

What does it mean?

Rockets' Josh Okogie needs an opportunity

The Rockets are stacked. Arguably, they're the deepest team in the NBA. Okogie won't have any guaranteed opportunities to strut his stuff.

Frankly, it would ideally stay that way. If Okogie manages to find a major role with the Rockets, something has likely gone wrong. The dreaded injury bug has likely bitten the Rockets badly.

Let's not be naive - that could happen. If it does, Okogie needs to make the most of his opportunity. If he's inserted into the regular nightly rotation, he'll have the chance to show that he can provide more perimeter creation than whoever it is he's replacing.

That's something the Rockets need badly. This team may have the league's best wing rotation. They're one of the only teams in the NBA with three rotation-caliber big men. That said, the guard rotation could use some depth.

At 6'4", Okogie is closer to a traditional guard than any one of Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, or Dorian Finney-Smith, three players who will presumably see time at the 2 next year. He could be a better perimeter creator than either of the latter 2 players. It's worth noting that his shooting is shaky, but he did hit a career-best 34.8% of his threes last year, including a 38.1% mark over 25 games with the Suns.

None of which is to say Okogie should usurp either Eason or Finney-Smith (not to mention Thompson). The point is simply that if an injury grants Okogie an opportunity, he could show what he's capable of:

If AfroBasket is any indication, he might be the reserve guard the Rockets need.