The decision to re-sign Jordan Goodwin fell under the radar relative to the Phoenix Suns’ offseason moves to retain Collin Gillespie and Mark Williams while adding 3-point sharpshooter Luke Kennard to the fold, but it’s no less important to what the team is building.
While the other signings nabbed headlines, retaining Goodwin — the organization’s reigning Dan Majerle Hustle Award winner — brings back a glue guy from last year’s bench unit who displayed one of the more unique talent traits from a guard in Suns history.
Goodwin joined 10-time All-Star Jason Kidd by accomplishing feat
By swiping at least 100 steals (106) and hauling in at least 100 offensive rebounds (138), “Goody” became the first Suns guard in the last 30 years to hit those thresholds, joining Hall of Famer Jason Kidd.
J-Kidd reached those marks during his All-Star campaign in 1997-98 when he collected 162 steals and 108 offensive boards. Kidd started all 82 games that season for Phoenix, finishing 13th in MVP voting. To accomplish that feat off the bench, as Goodwin started just 10 of his 70 appearances, is even more impressive.
“Goody represents everything the Suns want to be about in terms of grit and toughness,” Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark said while appearing on the Third Apron Podcast. “He was the best offensive rebounding guard in the NBA, pretty much.”
Bourguet didn’t even need to hedge with the “pretty much” add-in. As ESPN’s Zach Kram noted in his offseason grades piece (the Goody signing earned a B+), “One of the most incredible statistics of last season is that the 6-foot-3 Goodwin ranked 15th among qualified players with a 9.4% offensive rebounding rate.”
All 14 players ahead of him in that statistic were centers.
Goodwin will be an essential piece for the Suns moving forward
Phoenix claimed Goodwin off waivers in July 2025 after he was waived by the rival Los Angeles Lakers, where he played 29 games (five starts). He rewarded the Suns’ faith in him by cementing himself as a board-crashing menace on offense who can also spread the floor with a reliable outside shot.
“I think he’s exactly what (the Suns) want and you couple that with his improvement as a 3-point shooter … it is something that he’s hopefully able to build on,” Bourguet said.
Goodwin shot 37.1 percent from 3-point territory with solid volume (a career-high 4.3 attempts from deep per game) off the bench. His ability to impact games on offense with his 3-point shooting and board crashing to give the Suns additional possessions was a hugely underrated reason why Phoenix defied preseason expectations.
Now, with a three-year, $19 million contract extension to stay in The Valley, Goodwin can chase P.J. Tucker (four), Mikal Bridges (three) and Grant Hill (two) to join the shortlist of Suns players who’ve won multiple Dan Majerle Hustle Awards.
If he keeps gobbling down offensive rebounds to create extra possessions for himself and his teammates, there’s no reason why Goodwin can’t take a stranglehold as the frontrunner for the award for years to come.
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