Rockets' most unlikely success story has suddenly become a pillar of success

As the Houston Rockets navigated this past offseason, it was clear that their primary goal, beyond adding a superstar-caliber scorer in Kevin Durant, was to give the team the necessary depth they needed to compete for a championship.

Yet, no one expected Josh Okogie, who signed with the team on a minimum contract this offseason, to play as massive a role as he as so far, and, the longer that Okogie remains a winning player for the Rockets, the more impactful this sneaky signing will become.

Not only has Okogie already taken on a starting role for the team, he's averaging 9.6 points, two rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 53.8% from beyond the arc through Houston's first eight games. If this performance continues throughout the duration of the season, Okogie could, surprisingly, be one of the most important players on a team that is likely to ascend, yet again, to the top of the Western Conference.

Josh Okogie's signing is proving to be one of the sneakiest from this past offseason

In the absence of starting point guard Fred VanVleet, head coach Ime Udoka was always expected to experiment rather heavily with his lineup combinations in order to accomodate for some of the weaknesses that the team was likely to experience.

Yet, no one expected the double-big lineup, featuring both Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams, to fall as flat as it did in the team's first two games.

Therefore, while it was no surprise that Udoka made an adjustment following the Rockets' 0-2 start, it was highly surprising that the adjustment involved elevating Okogie, who is a career 19.2 minute-per-game player, to the starting lineup.

Yet, including Okogie in the backcourt has created more spacing for the team's perimeter shooters, allowing both Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. to fall back into their natural positions and helping the team's offense finally find their footing as a result.

Houston is now second in the NBA in offensive rating, first in 3-point percentage and fourth in points per game, and, undoubtedly, Okogie's presence has been a huge part of what has led to this success.

Moreover, as long as Reed Sheppard remains defensively limited, it is hard to imagine any other guard taking Okogie's place, meaning that, as the season wears on, Okogie could be installed as a permanent starter on one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA.

For a player making just $2.3 million this season, this is tremendous value, and it is a sign of the continued savviness of Houston's front office.