Tag: josh okogie

Injury update on Hornets forward Josh Okogie

The Charlotte Hornets announced today that additional evaluation on forward Josh Okogie’s left hamstring revealed a left hamstring strain. He suffered the injury in the third quarter of Charlotte’s game against the LA Clippers last night. Okogie is listed as out tonight against the Denver Nuggets and will be reevaluated in three weeks. Additional updates on his status will be provided as appropriate.

The Hornets acquired Okogie and three second-round draft picks in a trade with the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 15 in exchange for center Nick Richards and one second-round draft pick. Okogie has appeared in seven games with Charlotte, recording 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.7 steals in 21.3 minutes per contest. The Lagos, Nigeria, native holds career averages of 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 408 outings (162 starts) across seven seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Suns and Hornets. He was originally selected in the first round (20th overall) of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Timberwolves.

Timberwolves sign rookie Josh Okogie

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed rookie guard Josh Okogie today.

The Wolves selected Okogie with the 20th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

All players selected in the first round are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they wish to begin their NBA careers right away. So, this signing is standard and was expected.

Okogie averaged 18.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in 36.4 minutes per game as a sophomore last season, ranking fourth in the ACC in scoring, the highest by any Georgia Tech player since 1997-98. The 19-year-old shot 38.2 percent from three (66-of-173) in his two years as a Yellow Jacket, including a 38.0 percent clip last season. He averaged 6.7 rebounds in ACC play, third-best for an ACC guard, and only one player ahead of him was shorter than his 6-4 height (Ky Bowman of Boston College). He grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds at Florida State on Jan. 24, the most ever by a Tech guard in an ACC game. Okogie led the ACC in free throw attempts as a sophomore, getting to the line 6.8 times per contest.

Over two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Okogie amassed 1,033 career points, one of six Tech players to ever accomplish the feat by the end of their sophomore season and the most since Matt Harpring’s 1,021 points (1995-96). As a sophomore this past season, he was named to the 2017-18 All-ACC Third Team by the coaches and an Honorable Mention by the media.