The franchise’s 15th best player ever drafted was actually a second-round pick, selected 48th overall, and only played for the Suns for four seasons before being traded to the franchise’s biggest rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, where he became a 20-point scorer.
Coined a point-a-minute player, Ceballos could put the ball in the basket in an uncanny way. Not a prolific outside shooter, Ceballos made his name as a scorer who sliced and drived through the lane taking defenders through the spin-cycle, often ending with a ferocious jam — a talent he was most widely known for.
His best season as a Sun would be the fourth season of his career when he averaged 19.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, shooting 53.5 percent from the field — the second best field goal percentage of his career behind his prior season (1992-93), when he led the league with a 57.6 field goal percentage.
In that 1992-93 season, Ceballos was part of a potent bench attack that helped lead Phoenix to the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, in the second half of game 6 Ceballos severely sprained his ankle, keeping him out for the remainder of the playoffs, and most importantly, the NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls.
Following the 1993-94 season, Ceballos was traded to the Lakers for a 1995 first-round pick, a welcome pick that would later be used to draft Michael Finley, who was eventually traded for Jason Kidd.
Ceballos averaged career highs in scoring in two years with Los Angeles., averaging 21.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game overall. He would have a serendipitous falling out with the Lakers eight games into the 1996-97 season and was traded back to Phoenix for Robert Horry. In 1998, he would be sent to the Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Scott where he would play for two seasons, ending his career in 2001 after time with the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.