Bol Bol on the Phoenix Suns feels like a fever dream, but it actually happened. Two full seasons of the enigmatic big man playing for the franchise when they were trying to contend for a championship.
In hindsight it is incredible that both Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer, for brief stints of desperation at least, actually turned to the player for whom every possession was an adventure.
Bol would have been tons of fun on this Suns roster
We're not for a second suggesting that if Bol was around this season, that head coach Jordan Ott would be happy about it. In many ways he is the opposite to the kind of player he likes out there.
Players like Collin Gillespie, Isaiah Livers and Jordan Goodwin have thrived because of how hard they try defensively. For guys like Nigel Hayes-Davis, that's the reason they will be back in Europe again soon.
But with expectations a lot lower in Phoenix than when Kevin Durant was in town, which coincided with Bol's tenure, he definitely could have excelled playing in lower stakes games.
Loud cheers for Bol Bol as the starters are introduced ahead of his first start for the Suns pic.twitter.com/GnF0xsH4mH
— Brendan Mau (@brendan_mau) February 12, 2025
You can also be sure that Dillon Brooks would have gotten on him every practice, while having an actual center in Mark Williams to do the defensive work also would have helped the South Sudanese big man.
The Suns are taking the ninth most 3-pointers so far this season (38.8), and that is with Grayson Allen (who accounts for 8.2 of those) having missed some time through injury.
We all saw Bol shoot 42.3 percent from deep that first year, and he followed it up last season with a still respectable 34.4 percent on over two attempts per game.
You can't tell us 12 minutes of that wouldn't have been all the fun in coach Ott's defensive structure, and we are including the missed assignments from Bol and opponents picking on him.
It would have been fun, messy, disastrous and entertaining all rolled into one, which is of course why he is no longer in the league. Intriguing as the offensive upside was, he was showing no signs of real improvement year on year.
We'll always have those precious memories of him playing as a glorified "3-and-no-D" wing alongside Durant and Devin Booker, and we will always wonder what might have been if he'd stuck around one more year.
Most likely coach Ott would have tried to trade or waive him, send him to the G League at least, before having to use him out of sheer desperation and curiosity.
Which sums up the whole Bol experience, and one that would have been lots of fun as his roster continues to exceed expectations. Thanks for the memories Bol Bol.