Phoenix Suns top 10 players of 2024 - Number 1

The Phoenix Suns have entered 2025, and with it comes a renewed sense of optimism. But before the franchise can embark on what they hope will be a healthy voyage to the postseason and beyond, we first need to crown the best player for the organization across 2024.

With Devin Booker having finished as runner-up - in a decision not everybody is going to get behind - that left only one answer as the player who would take top spot. Now 36-years-old, this superstar is somehow playing some of the best basketball of his career, and it is frightening to think where the Suns would be without his play over the last 12 months.

We are talking of course, about Kevin Durant.

Really the only reason this was close was because Durant - just like Booker and Bradley Beal - had some bad injury luck in 2024. Given that he's the oldest of that trio - and has also missed entire seasons with injury in the past - the truth is he gets more of a pass in this area than the other two, and that still hasn't stopped him producing at an elite level.

This spot was likely already Durant's, but the 8-1 start he powered the team to at the start of the season really did seal the deal. The 27.7 points is higher than the 27.1 that - alongside Booker last season - led the entire team and was one of the highest in the history of the franchise. That Durant is also shooting over 41 percent from deep is just the icing on top.

The 5.9 attempts from 3-point range is the highest amount since his days as a Golden State Warrior, while offensively he continues to be the one player the Suns will just dump it to in hopes of getting a bucket when a possession breaks down. This is not a good thing - it has led to some ugly basketball at times this season especially - but the fact Durant can routinely then make shots says it all.

With the injuries to Booker and Beal, Durant has essentially been the offense as well this season especially. The team has an offensive rating of 113.4 (which is good for ninth in the league), and that number essentially holds true at 113.2 when Durant is on the court. Playing with guys such as Jusuf Nurkic, Ryan Dunn and Tyus Jones, it is not hard to see why.

The greatest disappointment in all of this is that the Suns have been unable to mount a serious run at a championship, as Durant continues to extend his prime beyond what most thought was possible. Off the court, and you can bet one of the reasons Jimmy Butler is keen to go to Phoenix is to play alongside Durant.

Defensively he rarely gets talked about, and yet this season the team are better when Durant is on the court on that end (114.2), compared to how they've been on the season as a whole (115.2). Last season he was deserving of some All-Defense love - and although that didn't happen - it speaks to the underrated importance of Durant on that end of the court as well.

Having centers such as Nurkic, Drew Eubanks and Mason Plumlee to man the paint alongside him has put extra responsibility on him to contribute beyond just scoring, and Durant has duly obliged. In all other areas of the game - including free-throws per game, effective field goal percentage and even rebounds - Durant's numbers have remained consistent compared to previous seasons.

This might be Booker's city - but for now at least and partly out of necessity - it is Durant's team. Booker defers to him to close games from time-to-time, while his best nights in a Phoenix jersey in 2024 were better than what anybody else could muster. Which is part of the problem, but that's for another day. Kevin Durant was the best Phoenix Suns player across the entirety of 2024.