Suns’ Josh Okogie tests his photography skills at NBA Summer League

After signing a two-year, $16 million contract extension with the Phoenix Suns, Josh Okogie is back working in the Las Vegas Summer League as a photographer.

The 25-year-old guard took up the hobby this summer after purchasing a Sony Alpha 7 III camera while on vacation in Milan, Italy, during Fashion Week, and was urged by a friend to test his skills at shooting live basketball.

“I’m still not perfect,” Okojie admitted to ESPN. “I would say 90-95 percent of my photos are wrong, but I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit better every day that I’ve been taking photos. I’ve figured out how the camera works, how to adjust the settings, how to adjust the white balance and all that. So it’s been pretty cool.”

Okogie tried his hand at getting behind the camera at the NBA Creator Cup celebrity game, then followed that up at the Los Angeles Lakers’ Summer League game against the Houston Rockets before filming his Suns team as they took on the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas.

During his six seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Suns, Okogie came to appreciate the work of Wolves photographer David Sherman and Phoenix photographer Barry Gossage.

“This is a guy I love,” Okogie said of Sherman. “He shoots the Wolves, he shoots a lot of other NBA events. So I’ve always been interested in David.”

Okogie said he hopes to follow in the footsteps of former baseball player Randy Johnson and former NFL player Larry Fitzgerald by continuing to work at sporting events as a professional sportscaster-turned-photographer — starting with some WNBA games during the NBA’s offseason.

The goal, as with most athletes, is to become the best in their field. That means creating some of the most iconic images in the NBA.

“When you talk about NBA images, you have to bring out Dwyane Wade and LeBron, and you have to bring out LeBron and Kobe, which Drake ruined,” Okogie said.

For now, Okoji is still trying to adjust to taking live action photos instead of landscape shots during his trip to Europe.

“It’s so fast,” Okojie said. “Every time a player shoots a basketball, by the time I take a picture, he’s already done shooting and starting to defend. It’s been going so fast for me… I feel like the biggest improvement I have to make is adapting to the speed of the game and not only anticipating it but also being at the right angle to get the best shot.”

“Because you want the picture to reflect the feeling of the play for those who weren’t there.”

And the next time he hits the NBA court as a PlayerOkogie is already thinking about how to bolster Phoenix’s star players after the Suns were eliminated in the first round last season.

“My mentality is just to go out there and try to give this team the energy they need on both sides of the court,” Okogie said. “We have a lot of talent on this team, but I want to be the battery of this team, if that makes sense. The engine of this team, to motivate people, to get them excited to play, to get people moving… Just, when JO steps on that court, the intensity level of everyone goes up.”

That’s a goal he’s already raised with new Suns coach Mike Budenholzer.

“The competition in the West is going to be very strong next year,” Okogie said. “I feel like we can do our best. I feel like our ceiling is as high as we can get. I’m excited. I feel like if we have a good training camp and start getting better, the sky’s the limit for us.”