The Phoenix Suns are going to be represented at the NBA's All-Star game in Los Angeles later this month, with Devin Booker being selected to the midseason exhibition for the fifth time.
He's also going to take part in the 3-point contest the night before, despite entering as a massive underdog even though he won the competition back in 2018.
Grayson Allen would have been perfect for 3-point contest
Although Suns fans are delighted Booker will get another chance to put Phoenix on the national stage once more, something that has happened less since Kevin Durant's departure, this should have been Grayson Allen's moment.
You could make the case the swingman is having a career year in The Valley, high praise considering he was the third best player on a roster that once included Bradley Beal his first year with the team.
Grayson Allen is one of the biggest reasons why the Suns have been so good this year.
— LEEZUS (@AndrewLeezus) February 4, 2026
Pure hooper man. Took a leap this season. pic.twitter.com/7CrE9Q8lNv
That's how important he has become to head coach Jordan Ott's system on both ends of the court, managing to defend all manner of bigger forwards at times this season.
We even saw him form part of a successful game plan is shutting down Victor Wembanyama alongside Royce O'Neale en route to a big win over the San Antonio Spurs earlier this season.
But we all know 3-point shooting is the skill he is most well known for, having led the league in this category during that aforementioned first season in Phoenix at 46.1 percent.
This season Collin Gillespie has gotten more props for how he has been able to add to the offense with his own long-range efforts, and he leads this roster at 42.6 percent.
Allen is at a shade under 37 percent, although he's taking a whopping 9.1 per game. Not only a career high, but nearly twice the average he has managed (5.4) since coming into the league.
Injuries have curtailed his involvement recently, and to date he's appeared in 35 games. Of those appearances 26 have been starts, miles ahead of the paltry seven he managed in what was a down year last season.
So entering the 3-point contest and showing out would have been the perfect reminder that Allen is a player worth having on your roster, which the Suns themselves are well aware of at this point.
His in-game shooting can be so consistent and get hot so quickly, that to see him light up the 3-point contest would have been a spectacle. Maybe next year.