If you tuned in to watch the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans for the second night in a row, you likely left talking about the fight that broke out during the game.
Lost in amongst all those dramatics was rookie Rasheer Fleming having the first NBA highlight play of his career, a monster block, before it was cruelly waved off by the referees.
Fleming is taking chance given to him by head coach Jordan Ott
That his big moment came on the defensive end is exactly why the coaching staff have felt comfortable giving him more minutes across the last four games.
That's not to say it was all good, and Zion Williamson blew past him like he wasn't there for his own highlight reel layup during the game. On the whole however, Fleming has been impressive.
Don't agree with this call. What a massive block by Rasheer Fleming at the rim. Yes, I'm saying it's a block. pic.twitter.com/U8MHUp2IEh
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) December 28, 2025
He's played at least 10 minutes in his last four contests, including a career high 15 versus the Pelicans on night two of their back-to-back series, having only cracked that number once all season prior to that run.
He's also up to 9.3 points per game in December, and although some time was spent down in the G League this month as has been the norm for the 21-year-old, he looks much more comfortable with the ball in hand.
Another interesting quirk is the fact his team are 10-6 in games he has appeared in, which appears to go against the belief coach Ott has that leaning on veterans is what will win him games.
The fact that he was trusted to play 10 minutes (which started this run of games) against the Oklahoma City Thunder was the real moment that he was trusted, and in hindsight you can see why.
The Thunder are a group of switch everything forward types, but Fleming has the body type to also switch on different kinds of players that they have. He also managed seven points in that defeat, which to this point ties his career high.
That is clearly going to change soon, while he has also leapfrogged center Khaman Maluach as the rookie who is most likely to break into the rotation proper as the season progresses.
This is even more bad news for Nigel Hayes-Davis, but the franchise has to look to the future. They're ahead of schedule and are starting to integrate their rookies, which should have the rest of the league on notice,