While the Phoenix Suns might be falling out of favor with national talking heads, some of their players are starting to get a lot of respect from incoming talent.
The NBA has been conducting a survey among all incoming rookies since 2007.
This year, 42 rookies were questioned on topics including predictions for the upcoming season, best in class categories, and personal favorites. Let’s look at where the Phoenix Suns ranked in this highly scientific and fool-proof study.
Who is your favorite player?
The results of this question created the most buzz around the league, while giving Suns fans a really big reason to smile.
No, a Phoenix Sun was deemed the winner, of course, as clearly LeBron James with 38% of the vote came as no surprise. In fact, he’s been voted number one in this category the last three years.
Kevin Durant‘s second place finish along with Damian Lillard and Kawhi Leonard‘s tied for third was also predictable.
However, the Suns’ own Devin Booker tied with James Harden for fifth place with 5% of the total votes.
While Booker can’t seem to crack the other NBA popularity contest, All-Star voting, incoming rookies put his name among the biggest stars in the game, an indication his super-stardom stock is on the rise.
Then again, 5% of 42 participates is only two votes, so it could just be a couple of his buddies giving him a shout out.
The most conspicuously absent player from this list, however, was Stephen Curry.
The two-time MVP didn’t receive a single vote, making you wonder if it’s really only kids who love him.
There was another notable two-time MVP guard who received a vote: Steve Nash.
That’s right, someone voted for Steve Nash as their NBA favorite player in the league, the guy who, last I checked, is no longer a player in the league.
Who could this have been? Of course, the survey results are anonymous, but there is a new rookie point guard for the Suns who could have been paying homage to his legendary predecessor.
Could this vote have been cast by Ty Jerome?
It turns out sometimes the simplest solution is the right one. Jerome claimed on Twitter he was indeed the rookie who voted for Nash as his favorite player.
Lol it was https://t.co/w2d42JBiuz
— ty Jerome (@tyjerome_) August 19, 2019
Honestly, that’s kind of awesome. He’s making a strong case for most likable player on the roster this year.
For what it’s worth, former Sun and somehow-still-a-free-agent Jamal Crawford also received a vote in this category.
Which shooters is the best in this draft?
The Suns’ Ty Jerome and Cameron Johnson both finished in the top-five in one category: Which rookie is the best shooter?
Johnson came in third with 13% of the vote and Jerome came in fourth with 8% of the vote.
Besting them in this category were former Kentucky Wildcat and newcomer to the Miami Heat, Tyler Herro (33% of vote), and Ty Jerome’s former Virginia backcourt partner, Kyle Guy (29% of the vote), now with Sacramento.
The results seem a little odd compared to actual statistics.
Cam Johnson significantly outranked all these guys in 3-point shooting percentage last year, but hey: this is a survey of a bunch of 20-year-olds, not an in-depth sports pundit analysis.
The most deserving candidate doesn’t always win Homecoming King.
Regardless, it’s still encouraging Phoenix has two rookies in this category, as NBA.com was quick to point out:
"…the Suns could benefit from having two of the top four players here. Phoenix ranked 29th or 30th in effective field goal percentage from outside the paint in each of the last three seasons."
Who is the best playmaker in this draft class?
The only other question where a Suns rookie received any votes was: Which rookie is the best playmaker?
Ty Jerome finished third in this category with 10% of the vote, tied with Chicago’s Coby White and behind Ja Morant (Memphis) and Darius Garland (Cleveland).
Jerome’s status as reigning national champion with the Virginia Cavaliers likely had something to do with this higher-than-expected ranking, but nevertheless, Suns fans should be excited to see how his playmaking ability for a boring college team translates to the NBA.
Phoenix has actually had two former rookies win this category in previous years: Tyler Ennis in 2014 and Kendall Marshall in 2012 ( with career results such as theirs, maybe it’s better than Jerome didn’t win).
Other former Suns rookies to lead the vote tallies include Deandre Ayton in Rookie of the Year prediction (2018) and Josh Jackson for Best Defender (2017).
So, like I said, this survey is super accurate and essentially a crystal ball into the future. The world sits with clinched fists looking forward to seeing how this year’s results will play out.