Here at Valley of the Suns we've been counting down the top 10 Phoenix Suns players of 2024, with some surprise landing spots to this point. Bradley Beal arriving in fifth felt low, while center Jusuf Nurkic appearing at all didn't sit right with some given he's been unplayable at times so far this season.
We've entered the top echelons now however, with the number four spot going to a player who only arrived in the offseason. The fact the Suns were able to get him at all was a minor miracle, and he has been everything this organization needed in order to try and get better this season. Even if that is yet to truly happen as the calendar turns to 2025.
We are talking of course, about point guard Tyus Jones.
What a revelation he has been, and it surprisingly with his availability. At a time when this Suns' roster has been cut down by injury to everybody from Beal to Devin Booker - not to mention Kevin Durant, Royce O'Neale and Grayson Allen - it has been such a boost to have Jones start and play in every game to this point.
He has helped the team take care of the basketball a lot more compared to last season - although those silly turnovers do still exist - and perhaps no number better sums up the Jones experience than the 31.4 minutes he is playing each night. Not only is that impressive on a roster that has generally had one of Booker or Beal healthy at any given time, it is also a career high.
Tyus with the bounce pass around two defenders 👀 pic.twitter.com/lPWjp144Ly
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 16, 2024
The Suns have come to rely heavily on Jones in such a short amount of time, which is part of the reason he jumps straight to number four here. Perhaps the expectations relative to the likes of Beal also played a part, but you can't argue with 12.3 points (another career high) and 6.4 assists (second highest mark of his career) each night from what is generally the fourth or fifth option offensively.
Really the worst part about the arrival of Jones is the fact it is only going to be for one season. He arrived on a minimum and so as to put himself in the shop window to get paid next summer. Something the Suns as a second apron team will not be able to do. In less than half a season Jones has achieved that, and easily beat out Monte Morris for the starting spot in Phoenix.
It hasn't been all good though, and really the Suns have a growing issue with how bad they are defensively when Jones is on the court. This is not a problem entirely of his own making though - we all know he is undersized and limited on that end - it is just he's playing alongside guys such as Beal and Nurkic who don't help his cause either.
It gets even worse than that because when playing alongside supposed better defenders such as Booker, rookie Ryan Dunn and Josh Okogie - admittedly a grouping we have seen for only 21 minutes across three games so far this season - as the Suns have an incomprehensibly bad defensive rating of 138.5. Unsurprisingly, Nurkic rounds out that particular five-man group.
Given how badly last season ended though - and really having no true point guard in the playoffs was one of the key reasons why it did - Jones has been brilliant for the Suns. He gets his teammates going, takes care of the ball and brings order and stability to a season that has gotten away from the franchise. Defensive issues aside, they would be in a much worse situation without Jones.