The two Summer League games between the Lakers and the Rockets and then the Suns and the Warriors were the scene of an unprecedented scene. Among the photographers was indeed an NBA player, Josh Okogieequipped with his personal camera, a Sony Alpha 7 III.
The 25-year-old guard, who has just re-signed with Phoenix, has discovered a new passion since his stay in Milan for “Fashion Week”, where he acquired his camera.
Josh Okogie took advantage of the Summer League to practice live. If the result is not yet up to his expectations, the young photographer is progressing. Above all, he is having fun, and that is the main thing at this stage.
“I'm not good yet,” did he recognize. “I would say 90 to 95 percent of my photos suck, but I feel like I've gotten better, slightly, every day I've taken photos. I've figured out how the camera works, how to do the settings, how to do the white balance and all that. It's really cool.”
A future reconversion in sight
Photography is actually more than just a summer fling for Josh Okogie. The player has said he has always paid attention to NBA-accredited photographers, including David Sherman and Barry Gossage, whom he has worked alongside regularly in Minnesota and Phoenix respectively and whose trail running he enjoys.
He also cited former MLB player Randy Johnson and NFL player Larry Fitzgerald, all of whom turned to photography after their careers, as examples he would like to follow in their footsteps.
As for the NBA, Josh Okogie mentioned two shots that left a mark on him, the very famous photo with Dwyane Wade in the foreground and LeBron James at the conclusion, and a second more surprising choice…
“When we talk about photos in the NBA, there’s the Dwayne Wade and LeBron alley-oop (which is actually not an alley-oopeditor's note). We must also mention the photo of the All-Star Game between LeBron and Kobe that Drake photobombed.”
Sports photography is obviously the field that the player would like to go into. And it is far from being the easiest choice since it requires great responsiveness in addition to technical skills.
“It goes very quickly. Every time a player dunks, by the time I take a picture, he’s already finished his dunk and he’s already coming back to defense. For me, everything was going very quickly at the beginning… I feel like the biggest improvement I have to make is adapting to the speed of the game. Not only anticipating, but also being at the right angle to take the best picture. Because you want the picture to reproduce the feeling of the action for those who weren’t there.”
| Josh Okogie | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | MIN | 74 | 24 | 38.6 | 27.9 | 72.8 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 7.7 |
| 2019-20 | MIN | 62 | 25 | 42.7 | 26.6 | 79.6 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 8.6 |
| 2020-21 | MIN | 59 | 20 | 40.2 | 26.9 | 76.9 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 5.4 |
| 2021-22 | MIN | 49 | 11 | 40.4 | 29.8 | 68.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| 2022-23 | PHX | 72 | 19 | 39.1 | 33.5 | 72.4 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 7.4 |
| 2023-24 | PHX | 60 | 16 | 41.7 | 30.9 | 74.5 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 4.6 |
| Total | 376 | 20 | 40.2 | 29.3 | 74.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 6.3 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
