Deandre Ayton took part in All-Star Weekend’s Friday night festivities, participating in the Rising Stars Challenge. What did his performance show?
Fans of the Phoenix Suns got a little taste of the action on All-Star Weekend Friday night, getting to see Deandre Ayton, the first overall pick in the draft, represent the team in the Rising Stars Challenge.
Deandre, being from the Bahamas, played for the World Team which lost to the USA Team in a high scoring and very fun game. Ayton didn’t log a lot of minutes as the coaches tried to get everyone in the game for a good stretch, but he fared pretty well. He shot 7 of 12 from the field and put up 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in 22 minutes. The big fella was one of the best players on the court which is a good sign being as he was the first overall pick.
It must have been a somewhat familiar feeling for him out there, playing in a game that didn’t feature much defense. The two teams scored a combined 305 points and both shot over 55% from the field. Being one of the best players on the losing team must have also been a familiar sting as well.
Offensively, he showed the same thing for the most part that he has thus far in his rookie season. The big man is dominant from the mid range and in, making 7 of 8 shots inside the arc. He is still working on his three point shooting and unfortunately wasn’t able to make any of his four attempts from deep. The struggles at drawing fouls and getting to the line continued as he only had a single free throw attempt which he made.
His passing is a very under the radar skill he has in his toolbox. He dished out 5 assists while not turning the ball over even once. That’s impressive for a 7-foot-1 rookie and it will be interesting to see just how much his assist total can go up as he keeps developing.
The sky is the limit for Ayton as he is already a very efficient scorer and a solid rebounder while being a good passer out of the post. If he can work on his three point shot and improve his defense while getting more aggressive, his future will be scary to opposing teams. Add in, hopefully, a solid point guard next season, and he will be really fun to watch while also very intimidating to opponents.
The first overall pick has a lot of work to do but he showed on a big stage how good he can be in the future.