It happened, folks. Thanks to my work, I was finally able to write about Jordan Goodwin, possibly my favorite player in the NBA. In his fifth season and second stint with the Phoenix Suns, Goodwin may be playing the best basketball of his career. He landed back in the Valley after being waived by the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason, despite playing well for them in the second half of the 2024-2025 season.
The irony, of course, is that Goodwin is exactly the kind of player the Lakers could use right now. He provides a high level of defense in the backcourt, has excellent rebounding for his size and has consistent energy when he is on the field for the Suns, re-establishing himself as a fan favorite on a team full of fan favorites.
Their loss!
Yes, I’m aware the Suns parted ways with Goodwin in a trade last year, so technically they “let him go” too, but… It’s called learning from your mistakes. We can all take a page from the Suns’ book.
Jordan Goodwin quickly made the Lakers regret letting him go
As of Dec. 1, the Suns have the No. 14 defense in the league, a number Goodwin is largely responsible for putting above league average.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have the No. 17 defense in the league, a number that might be league average if Goodwin was still in the mix.
When teams find themselves in that middle ground, having (or not having) a player as impactful as Goodwin can impact their fortunes one way or another.
Goodwin makes an impact without big stats
If you’ve never seen Jordan Goodwin play a basketball game and have only looked at the statistics of his career, you might not think he’s a productive basketball player. He has an abysmal career shooting percentage of 50.1, is a 6-foot-1 guard who doesn’t score and isn’t overly athletic.
If you’ve only seen Goodwin play and never looked at his stats, you probably think he’s a roughly $15 million per year player. He does so many useful things for whatever team he is on; he fights through screens, breaks up drives to the hoop, makes the extra pass, rebounds at a high level, looks for loose balls.
He’s hitting three-pointers at a decent rate for the Suns again this year, and if he can do that regularly, that’s a bonus. Even if he can’t, he earns his minutes every night.
At the end of the season, Goodwin will be an unrestricted free agent, and the sad truth is that his unimpressive counting stats will cause him some trouble finding another guaranteed NBA contract. But his skills will always are necessary, so that the Suns don’t have to think about it too much. Keep this guy around as long as possible!
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