The Phoenix Suns have begun the NBA season as many expected them to, but losing more games than they have won. That is unfortunately likely to hold true for the entire 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 primary scorer everybody wants him to be, but there is plenty of time to get that right.
He is not one of the two Suns who have clearly taken a step forward so far in the early goings of the campaign, but he's not the single starter who is likely to lose their spot with that group soon either. Some players aren't even eligible to be considered for this way too early list, as a result of head coach Jordan Ott overlooking them in the rotation.
Surprise package heads up most improved player right now in Phoenix.
Rookie Khaman Maluach failing to be given much opportunity to impress so far, while both Jalen Green and to a lesser extent Mark Williams miss out as a result of injuries. With a shrinking talent pool to choose from, these are the trio who have made noise for all the right reasons - and for one Sun - all of the wrong ones.
Trending Upwards - 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 given he spent considerable time in the G League last season. He's playing over 21 minutes a night - up over seven minutes on a year ago - and the 8.3 field goal attempts is tied with sniper Royce O'Neale for the fourth highest on the team.
Would be awesome for Collin Gillespie to maintain this type of aggression. He's a great pull-up shooter.
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) October 26, 2025
If he notices they're going to show or switch on the screen, there's a tiny window to launch: pic.twitter.com/03yL01JjvN
It is not that Gillespie does any one thing extremely well, rather it is the drive and intensity that he plays with that gives his teammates a lift. Simply saying he's all hustle and no substance would be doing a disservice to the 26-year-old, and he has also with his single turnover each night 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 life. Gillespie unfortunately is not quite ready to be a starter in this league - and perhaps he never will be - but there is also no doubt he is the backup in Phoenix and his spot is more secure than anybody not named Booker.
Trending Downwards - Oso Ighodaro
It has been an opening week plus to forget for second year forward Oso Ighodaro, who is struggling badly as the starting center for the Suns. This is a position he never asked for and was never drafted to fill, yet it seems like some promising spot minutes as a five in certain situations last season gave coach Ott some ideas.
He's generally outmuscled by the likes of Nikola Jokic out there, which Domantas Sabonis is far too polished an offensive player for Ighodaro to give him trouble. Whereas he looked like a man amongst boys at Summer League - and clearly put on some muscle over the summer - Ighodaro is neither a traditional big man or diverse enough to be an offensive weapon at that spot.
This has culminated in him looking lost out there for large parts of the game, and failing to have an impact in any one area. He's giving up 4.2 fouls per game - sometimes in frustration more than anything else - which ranks in the 35th percentile per Cleaning The Glass. He's also accounting for 14.7 of his team's defensive rebounds out there, another unacceptable number. A dreadful start.
Trending Upwards - Grayson Allen
You're lying if you claim you saw this Grayson Allen rebirth coming. It looks like he's dropped some of the insane muscle he packed on ahead of last season, and that ability to move a bit quicker appears to be really helping the 30-year-old in the early goings of the season. Now healthy once again, he's also trying to help Booker as a secondary playmaker more than we've ever seen too.
He led the team in assists with seven in their only win of the campaign so far, while he's once again leading the Suns in 3-point shooting at 42.3 percent. With Kevin Durant now in Houston, the 12 field goal attempts he is taking are both the third highest on this roster, and also just under three attempts per night more than his previous career high (9.1).
The introduction of Green is going to complicate matters for Allen - but when the Suns needed a calming presence to begin the season - Allen was once again their man. He's done his trade value the world of good, and looks like he can continue making a difference on both ends of the court. A true return to form after whatever last season was.