Phoenix Suns: Ranking the 8 Most Important Suns in the NBA Finals

As the 2021 NBA Finals tip off tonight, the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns will go head to head, with each team wielding rosters full of players lacking experience on this grandest stage. The only exception would be Jae Crowder, who has been in the Finals twice (with the Miami Heat in 2020 and Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018).

Other than Crowder, it is everyone’s first time on the big stage for both teams. Fortunately, Crowder is with the Suns, likely to play a vital role in sharing his experiences and guiding this young Suns squad. With that, Crowder becomes a key player for Phoenix, but not exactly the most important one.

As one of the more deep teams in the league this year, the Suns possess weapons at every position. This flexibility not only helped them earn the Western Conference’s second seed during the regular season, but also continue advancing to become Conference champions, even after brief injuries/health issues involving Chris Paul and Cameron Payne.

But with a new opponent stepping into the fix, who knows what punches they might throw, and how the Suns need to react. Although stars are meant to shine brightest when it matters most, all too often, we see heroes come out of nowhere during the NBA Finals.

Preparing ourselves for what seems certain to go down as an entertaining series, likely calling on the Suns to pull out all the stops, here are the eight most important players on Phoenix’s roster for the NBA Finals.