Josh Okogie 'looking like' fifth starter as Kevin Durant makes Phoenix Suns debut Wednesday

CHARLOTTE – Josh Okogie kept hoisting and hoisting shots after a lengthy practice with Suns coach Monty Williams and several coaches and staff applauding his effort at Spectrum Center.

Sweating through and through his practice jersey, Okogie was the last player on the court.

On the grind is nothing new for Okogie, but he has worked and played his way into a position to be the fifth starter with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton.

“I feel like I’m a starter in the NBA,” Okogie said. “That’s why I work the way I do. Here, the opportunity presented itself that I would be starting. So my job is to make sure that I can solidify that and hopefully stay here.”

In his last six games, with the last five being starts, Okogie is averaging 18.5 points on 53.4% shooting and 5.8 rebounds.

The athletic 6-4 guard with the 7-foot wingspan, who Phoenix signed to a one-year deal last summer, is shooting 48.6% from 3 (18-of-37) during this six-game stretch.

And Okogie has done all of this wearing a protective mask after having his nose broken from an inadvertent elbow from Ayton in a game Jan. 16 at Memphis.

Durant will make his Suns debut Wednesday at Charlotte after having not played since Jan. 8 at Miami where he suffered a right MCL sprain when playing for Brooklyn.

“We’ve been looking forward to it since the trade, but we had to wait a little bit,” Okogie said. “We’re excited to finally get him in the mix of things, show him how we play. Show him the love that we play with, the passion and the unselfishness that we play with.”

It appears Okogie will be joining Durant in the starting lineup.

“I think that’s what it’s looking like,” Okogie said.

And he plans to keep playing the way he has been.

“I don’t think my job is to fit in,” Okogie said. “I think my job is to be myself. I don’t plan on changing nothing that I’ve been doing. Be aggressive when I have the ball, run it up in transition. Offensive rebound my tail off, try to get extra possessions for the team and defend my ass off. Always be solid on defense and be in the right positions and just play hard and bring energy. That’s what I do whether I’m starting or coming off the bench with whoever else is on the court.”

Since the Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first round picks and a pick swap to the Nets for T.J. Warren and Durant, there hasve been questions about who will be the fifth starter.

At the time, Williams talked about going with either Torrey Craig or Okogie as that future fifth starter as both got the start after the departure of Bridges and Johnson in the trade.

“I’ve got an open mind about it,” said Williams after Phoenix’s 120-109 victory Feb. 14 over Sacramento. “There may be games (Okogie) starts, there may be games Torrey starts, depending on the size of that guy (in the matchup), but right now, (Okogie) is filling that role as a guy who can defend guys his size or smaller and even some guys who are a little bit bigger.”

Okogie scored 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting (3-of-4 from 3) to mark his third straight double-digit scoring effort, grabbed six rebounds and added three assists against the Kings.

Williams was impressed with Okogie’s play, but not throwing a parade over it.

After all, Okogie played just two minutes Feb. 1 against Atlanta and didn’t see action in Phoenix’s next three games at Boston, at Detroit and at Brooklyn to begin a five-game road trip before playing Feb. 9 at Atlanta when the Suns had just nine players available after the Durant trade

Okogie scored 25 points against the Hawks and 17 at Indiana to conclude the five-game road trip. He followed that up with the 19-point effort versus the Kings on Valentine’s Day.

“We don’t want to get happy on the farm about it,” Williams continued. “It’s been a few games. We still have to incorporate some more guys to see what type of team rhythm we can get as we go into this last stretch.”

Craig started when Johnson was out 37 games with a torn right meniscus. With a career-high 49 starts this season, the second-most on the current roster right now to Ayton (53 starts), Craig is averaging a career-best 7.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and shooting a career-high 40.5% from 3.

He’s also leading the Suns in offensive rebounds per game at a career-best 2.1. At 6-7, Craig has good size at the wing, can guard multiple positions, but Okogie has been balling in recent games.

“If you look at the beginning of the season, they probably weren’t intending to start with Cam and Mikal here,” Booker said. “They were ready for the opportunity, and I think both have took great advantage of it and showed what they’re capable of. It’s going to be a coach’s decision and we’ll go from there, but those are two big pieces.”

Averaging 6.6 points on 42.4% shooting (34.5% from 3) and 3.3 rebounds this season, Okogie followed up that 19-point effort against Sacramento with a 24-point blast against the Clippers, going 6-of-12 from 3.

The six made 3s and 12 attempts from deep are both career highs for Okogie.

After that final game before the All-Star break, Okogie addressed the idea of being that fifth starter. He has six starts total this season.

“Coach has to make his decision, but I can control what I can control by just going out there and playing free and play to the best of my ability," said Okogie, who extended a career-long streak of consecutive games with 15-plus point to five Friday against Oklahoma City in Phoenix's first game after the All-Star break.

Two weeks later, Okogie is in position to be the fifth starter with Durant, Booker, Paul and Ayton.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Josh Okogie looks to be fifth starter as Kevin Durant makes Suns debut