Phoenix Suns: Grades for every player this season

Deandre Ayton

Grade: Incomplete

Stats: 19 points, 12 rebounds, 1.7 blocks per game (30 games played)

I so want to give Deandre Ayton some kind of grade. But I don’t know how I possibly could brand him with anything other than an Incomplete considering he missed over half the games in an already shortened season.

At times, he was phenomenal, and other times I wanted to block his mid-range jumper through the television because his use of it frustrated me so much. It was like watching someone play NBA2K who didn’t know which was the dunk button

But enough about his basketball ability and aggressiveness for now. If you want more on that, check out this piece on a break down of his improvement on defense and on the glass.

If I were a teacher giving him an Incomplete, I’d fill into the comment box, “Needs to grow in maturity.”

I get it. He’s 21 years old. He’s young. He’s inexperienced. We all acted immaturely when we were his age too. While all true, at some point, playing in the NBA has to make you mature beyond your years. I get that he has a baseline goofy personality, but at some point, he will need to mature from the guy who thinks it’s hysterical to feed his bobblehead popcorn to a man people respect and take seriously on and off the court.

You could tell in his NBA2K Player Tournament run that his goofiness annoyed his opponents (even Devin Booker, to an extent) and while I’m all for these guys having a fun personality (insert Kelly Oubre love here), I get the distant impression DA makes his teammates roll their eyes more than roll on the floor laughing.