5 Player Picks ahead of Phoenix Suns ’26-’27 season

By Eliav Gabay & Gerald Bourguet

As the Phoenix Suns gear up for the 2026-27 season, our own Sports360AZ Suns coverage squad made player picks for each topic presented.

We gave our explanations and even had some conflicting opinions. 

We’re as excited for this year as you are, so let’s get to it:

Standout Starter

Gerald – Oso Ighodaro

Jordan Ott has remained mum on who he’ll be starting at center for opening night, but Oso Ighodaro still makes the most sense until we’re absolutely sure that Khaman Maluach is ready to seize that mantle for good. And If Ighodaro does indeed get the nod as expected, I think he’s in for a big year.

For all the gripes about his lack of a jump shot, his poor free throw shooting and how undersized he is, Ighodaro’s strengths often fly under the radar. Fresh off a new contract extension that is an absolute steal for Phoenix, Oso brings some much-needed secondary playmaking to the starting lineup. I’m not sold on Miles Bridges making a massive difference there, nor do I think one summer with Steve Nash has turned Jalen Green into an above-average decision-maker, so Ighodaro’s ability to get Devin Booker off the ball more is vital.

His quick screen-setting and basketball IQ will shine on the offensive end next to the starters, and defensively, he’s an underrated rim protector and the team’s most switachable big. Booker is obviously the Suns’ best starter, but if Ighodaro wins the starting job, he’s going to silence a lot of critics this year…which should’ve already been the case after the strides he made last year:

Oso last season:

☄️ Net Rating of +5.1, best on Suns (min. 1,000 minutes played)
☄️ One of 18 players to play all 82 games
☄️ Held opponents to 0.97 points per possession when switch on to a ball handler after a screen
☄️ 3rd in NBA with Suns generating 616 points off his screens
☄️ Led team with 65.3 FG%

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 19, 2026

 

Eliav – Jalen Green

Never felt like he got a full go at it last year being in and out with injury. When he was out there, he gave the Suns a whole new level of offensive rim pressure and seamlessly fit Jordan Ott’s system (remember him scoring 29 points in 23 minutes in his Suns debut or dropping 36 on the Warriors to send Phoenix to the postseason?). Now that he finally has a full offseason of healing & training under his belt, including learning from the great Steve Nash, I’m expecting Green to take another step forward. Whether it’s as a main piece of the Suns puzzle or as a valuable asset at the trade deadline, Green’s importance cannot be understated.

@Sports360AZ @kpeat10 Jalen Green was also impressed by how much the entire #Suns group was together for most of the summer.

Not common to have that type of cohesiveness & ability to “start early” with so many guys already in the gym.

@Sports360AZ

— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) September 28, 2026

 

Bench Mobster

Gerald – Collin Gillespie

I thought about giving this to Luke Kennard as the newcomer, or Khaman Maluach as a prime “Year 2 leap” candidate, or Jordan Goodwin as an unsung hero who plays exactly how the Suns want to play, but Collin Gillespie is probably going to be Phoenix’s most impactful player coming off the bench this year.

Although Gillespie’s numbers will probably take a hit going from starting 58 games last year to predominantly coming off the bench, this is the same guy who just set the franchise’s single-season record for made 3-pointers, and the Suns need his shooting even more now that Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are gone. He can be a spot starter in a pinch, he’s a great fit next to Book whenever they’re the court together, and whatever minutes he shares with Ighodaro and Kennard will be truly difficult for defenses to contend with.

Gillespie is the guy who’s going to be leading the charge and orchestrating a lot of the offense with the second unit. With Phoenix’s bench rightfully expected to be one of the best in the NBA, Suns fans should be excited about what they’ll be getting out of Gillespie in his second season of being a full-time rotation piece.

Eliav – Collin Gillespie

Here’s where Gerald and I are completely aligned.

Gillespie gets to settle in and continue to own the role he played so well for Phoenix last season. Armed with a four-year, $48 million contract, Gillespie has earned his way in the league and plays like he’s still earning it every day. He’ll likely move from bench to starter throughout the year depending on injuries and lineup adjustments by the coaching staff and there’s no reason he won’t fit nicely regardless of who’s out there with him. His calm leadership at the point guard spot combined with his ability to facilitate and shoot the leather off the ball will shine through once again, especially as the stage gets bigger. The NCAA champion is no stranger to a defining moment and he’ll step up when his number is called.

Surprise Sun

Gerald – Ryan Dunn

If you’d have asked me this question a month ago, I would’ve said Rasheer Fleming. But it appears Ryan Dunn is currently ahead of Fleming in the rotation, and after watching Dunn’s progress in the preseason, it’s hard to disagree with Jordan Ott’s assessment of why that is.

“They both bring different superpowers to the table, and we’ve gotta continue to bring them out,” Ott explained. “They’ve gotta be the possession guys, they’ve gotta be elite defenders. I think Ryan has taken some of those steps where he’s more solid on the basketball right now. Rasheer still has incredible hands, incredible length. He’s gotta know when he’s in the middle of the floor, he can’t probably use it as much.”

Dunn is a mad man on the offensive glass, which fits the Suns’ M.O. perfectly and makes for a nice pairing with Jordan Goodwin. Despite not making a single 3-pointer in preseason, Dunn found ways to attack the rim, looked more solid on defense and avoided some of the cheap fouls he routinely committed over his first two seasons — something Fleming still struggles with.

He’ll probably have to make some 3s in order to stay on the floor all season, but if Dunn can hold his place on the depth chart in a make-or-break year, he could be an under-the-radar success story that takes people by surprise.

Eliav – Rasheer Fleming

It’s funny cause while Gerald and I have different answers for these next two, I can honestly see it going either way. So much so that Fleming was as close to being my “Fall Short” guy as Miles Bridges was to being my “Surprise Sun,” depending on perspective.

For now, I’m rocking with Fleming as my surprise. A few of you might be saying “Eliav – we’re all fired up about Rasheer, it wouldn’t be a surprise”… maybe he has developed somewhat of a cult following amongst Suns diehards, but when it comes to his actual time spent playing relevant minutes on the court, he hasn’t fully gotten his shot yet. I believe when he does, we’ll all feel his impact as a two-way guy. Fleming is an especially compelling discussion cause I keep thinking back to what Ott said at media day:

#Suns HC Jordan Ott on Rasheer Flemming’s “ceiling”:

“What excites me most is we don’t know what the ceiling is & he’s constantly raising the floor… he wasn’t on every list in high school & college… now he knows he belongs…”

Ott says it’s their job as a coaching staff to help Flemming realize that potential.

@Sports360AZ

— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) September 28, 2026

 

Might Fall Short of Expectations

Gerald – Rasheer Fleming

If you’ve followed my work at Suns After Dark, you might be surprised my answer isn’t Miles Bridges. But my expectations for him — both on and off the court — have been pretty low from the start, so I’m going in a different direction for this one.

I still think Fleming can work his way into the rotation by season’s end, especially since we saw him do just that in his rookie season. Fleming proved he can be an impactful rotation piece last year, when he led the Suns in total plus/minus from mid-February onward while shooting 40.5 percent from 3.

But after watching his disappointing Summer League and preseason, and seeing Dunn ahead of him in the rotation, it’s hard to feel like that Year 2 leap is coming. Maybe our (read: my) expectations for him were too high, but before the Miles Bridges trade, it felt like Sheer was ready to ascend into a starting role. Now, he (and Koa Peat) might be the odd man out of that crowded rotation at the 4-spot.

Eliav – Miles Bridges

Phoenix’s biggest trade splash this offseason was acquiring forward Bridges from the Charlotte Hornets. Aside from the obvious off-court question marks given Bridge’s controversial past, I’m not certain his on-court results will live up to what some fans may be expecting of him. He’s a below average three-point shooter who can push the ball and prides himself on physicality. In theory, the ability to get out in transition paired up with his athleticism could be a big benefit to the Suns. Also, his scoring will take some weight off the guards, as long as he’s able to do it within Ott’s system and not bring that hero ball style offense from Charlotte. He’s averaged 20+ points per game in 3 out of the last 4 seasons he’s played – I wouldn’t be shocked if that dropped closer to the 13-15 ppg range depending on what the team asks of him.

Impressive Newcomer

Gerald – Luke Kennard

Assuming Kennard’s knee injury isn’t serious, he’s going to be a real asset to the bench unit. The 30-year-old has spent the last few weeks praising the way the Suns play, how he fits into that, how his teammates have been in his ear nonstop about shooting more 3s, and how he’s excited to be able to show he’s “more than just a shooter.”

He backed all that talk up during preseason, looking like a seamless fit, complete with a 3-point rate that would be a career high if it carries over into the regular season. He probably won’t play enough to suddenly start launching 7-8 3s a game, but somewhere in the 5-6 range feels attainable…and the Suns need every bit of it with the shooting they lost over the summer.

I’m still not convinced Peat will see the floor much this season unless there’s a rash of injuries, and I’m notoriously low on Bridges’ fit with the starting lineup. So Kennard is my answer by default, but there should be genuine excitement over what he can do with that second unit as a movement shooter, cutter, unexpected source of rim pressure and secondary playmaker, especially when he shares the court with Gillespie and Ighodaro.

Eliav – Koa Peat

Call it bias – to quote Mike Tomlin – “We do not care.”

We’ve seen Peat grow from his days winning championships at Perry to his big time freshman campaign at Arizona. He’s objectively one of the most impressive young players I’ve seen in regards to the maturity in his game, his process, and his mentality. He’s a straight up winner & worker who makes an impact in any role he’s given and I woudn’t be surprised if he ends in the rotation by the time playoffs roll around:

@Sports360AZ 2 minutes from #Suns GM Brian Gregory on the process that led to Phoenix drafting Koa Peat, who they had much higher on their board than 30th pick:

@kpeat10 | @Sports360AZ https://t.co/DoLYbkXvIW

— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) September 28, 2026

 

The Suns start their season in Portland against the Trail Blazers later today at 7 PM.