Everyone from first-year head coach Jordan Ott to star guard Devin Booker to trade acquisition Dillon Brooks has received widespread praise from the NBA community this season.
As the Phoenix Suns continue to defy expectations well into January with a record nine games above .500 at the time of writing — better than the Houston Rockets, who traded with the Suns last summer to acquire Kevin Durant — that comes with the territory.
But another Suns player earned praise from John Hollinger, NBA analyst for The Athletic.
In a glowing piece about the Suns’ turnaround (subscription required), Hollinger notes how the “gritty, undersized” Suns have overachieved this season.
He credits everyone from the aforementioned Brooks and Ott to Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, but takes the time to point out just how valuable Oso Ighodaro has been in his sophomore NBA season for the Suns.
Oso Ighodaro continues to be a difference-maker in second NBA season
While Ighodaro hasn’t seen a huge increase in minutes under Ott compared to his rookie year a season ago — 19.6 minutes per game this season vs. 17.1 as a rookie — he’s improved pretty much across the board.
The 23-year-old is averaging 5.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks while converting 62.2% of his field goals. All of those figures are improvements from his rookie campaign. In fact, the only areas where he’s gotten worse are turnovers (which makes some sense with increased usage) and free throw shooting. He’s shooting a dreadful 46.9% from the charity stripe this year after converting 58% of his tries a season ago.
While Hollinger notes the warts, including Ighodaro’s free throw shooting, he relayed that a lot of what the Suns big man does well doesn’t show up in the box score.
In the Suns’ Jan. 9 win over the New York Knicks, Grayson Allen had the play of the night. Up three with less than a minute remaining, Allen tipped away a Jalen Brunson pass intended for Mikal Bridges, then hustled to smack the ball off Bridges out of bounds to regain possession.
Allen’s heady play was the biggest of the night, but it couldn’t have happened without Ighodaro’s defense on the front end.
As Hollinger notes, Ighodaro and Brooks switched on defense, putting Ighodaro on Brunson while Brooks shadowed Karl-Anthony Towns. Although Brunson vs. Ighodaro is a clear mismatch on paper, Ighodaro kept his feet down, wouldn’t allow Brunson to bait him into a foul beyond the 3-point arc, and thus forced the errant pass when Brunson picked up his dribble.
Hollinger called it, “The embodiment of the Suns’ season.”
“I just tried to stay down and not foul, forced him right,” Ighodaro said, per Hollinger. “Then, yeah, he tried to step back, and I didn’t bite. … He picked up his dribble, and then, like I said, (Allen) made a great play.”
Hollinger also credited Ott for keeping Ighodaro in the game after he bricked two free throws that could have extended the Phoenix lead. That trust was rewarded with Oso’s defensive effort and smarts.
“In a Phoenix season that seemingly makes no sense, it is the player who makes no sense that typifies the Suns’ success,” Hollinger wrote.
He notes that Ighodaro’s stats don’t jump off the page. He doesn’t block many shots and “has one of the worst rebound rates among any center in captivity.”
“Based on that information, you’d think he stinks. You would be horribly wrong,” he writes.
Excluding Isaiah Livers and Jalen Green in limited sample size, Ighodaro boasts the best net rating on the Suns of 8.7 points per 100 possessions. Phoenix outscores opponents by 7.5 points per 100 possessions when Ighodaro plays and gets outscored by 1.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the bench, according to NBA.com data.
While some Suns fans have been pining for No. 10 overall draft pick Khaman Maluach to get more minutes over Ighodaro, what the second-year player has provided for Ott and Phoenix goes well beyond the stat sheet.
Through the first few months of the 2025-26 season, Ighodaro has been an unsung hero. Credit to Hollinger for recognizing his impact.