Rockets' Josh Okogie's Role has Dwindled this Season

Early in the 2025-26 NBA season, the Houston Rockets generated a good amount of buzz for their ultra big lineup. Mob ball, as it's been coined. 

Or bully ball. The Rockets' starting lineup at the start of the season featured two formidable centers, in Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun, along with Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson.

The lineup changed about three games into the season, as Josh Okogie was inserted into the starting lineup, replacing Adams, in order to preserve his minutes and keep him healthy for what the Rockets hoped would be a deep title run (which was unsuccessful, as Adams got injured anyways).

Okogie became a revelation for the Rockets, as he beared the look of the perfect role player. He epitomized the phrase.

Okogie didn't have to have the ball in his hands and didn't hunt for shots. He was setting screens, playing within the flow of the offense, making the extra pass.

Doing the dirty work, anchoring down on defense, diving after loose balls. Again, exactly what you'd want from a role player. And especially a starter.

Three-and-D is a good way to coin it, but Okogie was providing much more than just that. Then, he seemingly got pulled from Rockets coach Ime Udoka’s lineups altogether. 

Not just removed from the starting lineup. His playing time has legitimately dwindled down.

The 3-and-D wing hasn't played 30 minutes since a Jan. 29 blowout victory over the Atlanta Hawks. He hasn't even played 20 minutes in the Rockets' last four games.

In fact, he played 17 minutes in Houston's loss to the Golden State Warriors, and that game went to overtime. In Houston's two previous games against the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat, Okogie didn't even combine for 17 minutes.

So, what happened? Why the sudden change? How could he have gone from being the perfect role player, who does the dirty work, to an uncertainty to even garner 15 minutes per night?

Even with Houston’s injuries to their wings of late (Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. have both missed time with injuries recently), it hasn't led to a rise in minutes for Okogie.

Why? After all, he's still shooting 40.1% from long-range, on a Rockets team that needs outside shooting. 

And he's still capable of making those same hustle plays and anchoring down defensively. Overall, he's still capable of being a net positive.

In Houston's last victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, Okogie was a +8. Sure, plus/minus is definitely a flawed stat and/or metric, but Okogie won his minutes.

And was a net positive. For a top-heavy team like the Rockets, Okogie would figure to garner more consistent playing time, especially while the team has battled injuries.