The Phoenix Suns started the NBA season as many expected, but lost more games than they won. Unfortunately, that will likely remain the case throughout the season, but that doesn’t mean progress won’t be made as the losses pile up. It would be great if Devin Booker could get back to being the leading scorer everyone wants him to be, but there’s still plenty of time to get that right.
He’s not one of the two Suns who have clearly taken a step forward early in the season so far, but he’s also not the only starter likely to lose his place in that group anytime soon. Some players aren’t even eligible to be considered for this way-too-early list because head coach Jordan Ott overlooked them during the rotation.
Surprise package leads to today’s most improved player in Phoenix.
Rookie Khaman Maluach has been given little chance to impress so far, while both Jalen Green and to a lesser extent Mark Williams are missing out due to injuries. With an ever-shrinking talent pool to choose from, this is the trio that has been making a lot of noise for all the right reasons – and for one Sun – all the wrong ones.
Trend Up – Collin Gillespie
No other player in Phoenix right now understands their role and executes it as well as backup point guard Collin Gillespie, a brilliant development considering he spent a lot of time in the G League last season. He’s playing more than 21 minutes per night — over seven minutes more than a year ago — and his 8.3 field goal attempts are tied with sniper Royce O’Neale for fourth-highest on the team.
It would be great if Collin Gillespie kept up this kind of aggression. He’s a great pull-up shooter.
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— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) October 26, 2025
It is not that Gillespie does one thing extremely well, but it is the drive and intensity with which he plays that gives his teammates a boost. Simply saying he’s all hustle and no substance would be a disservice to the 26-year-old, and he also has his only turnovers on a nightly basis that he can take care of the basketball better than most.
His 8.7 points per night have been a nice boost, while shooting 37.5 percent from deep on a massive 5.3 attempts per game has also given the offense some life. Gillespie, unfortunately, isn’t quite ready to be a starter in this league yet — and maybe he never will be — but there’s also no doubt that he’s the backup in Phoenix and that his spot is more secure than anyone not named Booker.
Downward trend – Oso Ighodaro
It was an opening week to forget second-year forward Oso Ighodaro, who has struggled as a starting center for the Suns. This is a position he never asked for and was never drafted into. Still, it seems like some promising minutes, as a five in certain situations gave coach Ott some ideas last season.
He is generally outmatched by the likes of Nikola Jokic, and Domantas Sabonis is far too polished an offensive player for Ighodaro to cause him any problems. While he looked like a man among the boys at Summer League – and clearly put on some muscle over the summer – Ighodaro is neither a traditional big man nor diverse enough to be an offensive weapon at that spot.
This led to him looking lost for large parts of the game and unable to make an impact in any area. He concedes 4.2 fouls per game – sometimes more out of frustration than anything else – which ranks in the 35th percentile per game. Cleaning the Glass. He is also responsible for 14.7 of his team’s defensive rebounds, another unacceptable number. A terrible start.
Trend Up – Grayson Allen
You’re lying if you say you saw Grayson Allen’s rebirth coming. He appears to have shed some of the insane muscle he put on last season, and that ability to move a little faster seems to be really helping the 30-year-old early in the season. Now that he’s healthy again, he’s also trying to help Booker as a secondary playmaker more than we’ve ever seen.
He led the team in assists with seven in their only win of the season so far, while he once again leads the Suns in three-point shooting at 42.3 percent. With Kevin Durant now in Houston, the 12 field goal attempts he makes are both the third most on this roster, and also just under three more attempts per night than his previous career high (9.1).
The introduction of Green is going to complicate things for Allen, but when the Suns needed a calming presence to start the season, Allen was once again their man. He has made his mark in the world of good and looks like he can continue to make a difference on both ends of the pitch. A real return to form after whatever last season was.
#players #coming #Suns #season #freefall