Phoenix Suns basketball finally returned to our lives on Friday, and on the basis of a single preseason performance over the Los Angeles Lakers, it was worth the wait. After a summer of upheaval which saw Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal depart, you would have been forgiven for thinking that the combination of 11 new faces plus a new head coach in Jordan Ott would meant a disjointed display.
What we were instead treated to was a group that not only tried - something we have seen precious little of in the last few years - as they cruised to victory over their division rival, but that also entertained The Valley in the process. It is already clear that even if they don't make the playoffs, this version of the Suns will be worth tuning in to watch every night.
Deandre Ayton explains away awful performance versus former team.
Part of the enjoyment of the victory for Phoenix was watching rookie center Khaman Maluach - despite having no offensive game whatsoever at this stage - score more points than former first overall pick for the franchise, Deandre Ayton. Although Maluach could only muster four points, it was somehow still three more than Ayton.
Devin Booker was cutting in his opinion of his former teammate in the lead up to the game, and his performance did little to suggest he is going to be a force in Los Angeles this coming season. Only that's not how Ayton saw it himself - and as you can see from the video below - he instead viewed only scoring one point as a good thing.
Deandre Ayton after recording two blocks but only two shot attempts in his Lakers preseason debut: “I wanted to show the team I’m more committed on the defensive end, more than the offense … I’m not here for numbers. I’m just here for whatever the Lakers really want me to do” pic.twitter.com/eLFx3BovPY
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 4, 2025
Suns fans know from their run to the NBA Finals in 2021 just how important a defensive anchor Ayton can be for a team. So although it is commendable to want to give up shots and points in favor of defending for the group, that doesn't sound nearly as impressive when you've just lost 103-81 and finished the contest with a game rating of minus two.
Context is everything, and it is also worth pointing out that neither LeBron James or Luka Doncic played in the game either. Really then he should have taken on more responsibility on the offensive end as well in their absence, even if Ayton's response to that would likely be that he can't win no matter what he does.
In his own words he willingly gave up shots to do the dirty work, and had he instead opted to take on a huge scoring load he would have been ridiculed for that as well. Yet despite this, it still feels like Ayton is trying to mask the fact he didn't not have a very impactful game, and was overshadowed by a young rookie in Maluach who Suns fans are already falling in love with.