Phoenix Suns top 10 players of 2024 - Number 5

With the NBA calendar about to flip to 2025, we have been counting down the top 10 Phoenix Suns of the last 12 months. Not that it has been a straightforward process, the inclusion of some players having already raised a few eyebrows.

The best thing about taking this on a year-on-year basis is that there is such a large sample size to work with, that crosses two completely different seasons. It is the reason Eric Gordon somehow found himself on there, despite playing for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Number five on our list though, might just be the most disappointing of all.

In bad news for the Suns, this is the spot that Bradley Beal finds himself.

Beal can't say it is not deserved however, despite being at worst the third most talented player on this roster across the last year. Injuries are one of the key reasons why he lands fifth - and as we will see as the rest of the top 10 is revealed - it was his inability to stay on the court that allowed others to jump him in Phoenix.

Beal was limited to only 53 games in his first season with the Suns - and although he's been much better so far this season - he has again missed time through injury. There has been a calf strain and knee swelling, and it partly coincided with Durant also being out. With Devin Booker and some role players left to hold down the fort, that fantastic 8-1 start vanished quickly.

Beal has appeared in only 21 games so far this season - the same amount as Durant - although the eye test would have you believe he's improved considerably. It is hard to argue with that, and yet the Suns are four points worse off when Beal is on the court this season (117.2), compared to all of last time out (113.2).

Even worse, the team has gone from scoring 116.2 points when he was playing last season, to what would be the 25th ranked offense (109.2) when Beal plays this season. Again injuries are part of the reason for that - but when you combine that with the fact he's 31-years-old and can't get a consistent run of games under his belt - you begin to see why we find Beal here.

Then there are the long-term implications of keeping him in The Valley, when he clearly looks like a rapidly decreasing asset. Beal is owed $110 million across the next two seasons after this one, and has a no-trade clause. If there was a way to turn him into Jimmy Butler the Suns would surely make a deal, which says a lot considering he is 35-years-old himself and has struggled with injuries.

Which gets to the heart of the matter and why everything just feels a bit... off with Beal in Phoenix. The fit next to Booker is poor. Last season both were expected to be the point guard sometimes, while this time out both have been asked to revert back to their high-scoring ways while Tyus Jones tees them up.

This is a tough spot for Beal, both because he's replicating what the franchise cornerstone does, and he's doing it not as well as him either. He's also taking about 1.5 more attempts from deep per game at 7.0, yet his shooting percentage has dipped from 43 percent last season to 38.9 percent in 2024-25.

To end on a high note though, Beal was there when the Suns needed him most. In the playoffs he appeared in every game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, playing 38.5 minutes per night and shooting a scorching 43.5 percent from deep. For context in his last postseason appearance with the Washington Wizards in 2020-21, he finished a horrific 21.9 percent on 6.4 attempts from downtown.

It hasn't been all bad since Beal got to Phoenix, it just hasn't gone how the franchise would have wanted either. Some nights it looks like he has figured it out as the third star, and plays accordingly. But more frequently he looks like he would be better served coming off the bench, even if that doesn't appear to be a conversation the organization is ready to have. Here's to 2025.