The Phoenix Suns are about to exit 2024 in much the same way as they entered 12 months ago. With a trio of stars that can't seem to remain healthy at the same time, while faltering through a regular season campaign with glaring holes in their roster.
This is a better team than last season - but as head coach Mike Budenholzer is already aware - that doesn't mean the final outcome is going to be any different. It also says a lot that some unexpected faces have already appeared on this list, and really that is because the Suns in 2024 haven't been all that deep beyond their star players.
Which is why it shouldn't surprise you Jusuf Nurkic is at number six.
Nurkic? The center who the franchise are seemingly desperate to get rid of, to the point where talking about bringing back a disastrous former lottery pick to help ease his workload actually makes sense? Actually yes, but this has as much to do with what Nurkic achieved after Christmas last season, than it has this time out.
Don't forget that this is the big who was traded for a former first overall pick in Deandre Ayton - and after one season of the swap - it was Nurkic who looked like the better and more reliable fit in The Valley. In no way is he the better player, but unlike Ayton he actually tries and cares, which on a lot of nights next to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker is enough.
No other Suns player gets their statistics picked apart more unfairly than Nurkic either, who played more games in 2023-24 at 76 (all starts) than anybody else on the roster. The knock on the Bosnian was that he was injury-prone - and while that has been the case so far this season - he was extremely reliable during the regular season in his debut campaign in Phoenix.
Back to those aforementioned stats and when he has monster double-double games - including setting a franchise high with 31 board earlier in the year - nobody seems to jump to his defense. Yet when he has a poor night statistically or is outplayed by a fellow big - which happens more than the Suns would like - social media is ablaze with fans begging for him to be dumped.
The playoffs were the real low point, and Nurkic was exposed badly by both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. But so would a lot of centers in the same position, and he did what he always does in those situations. Battled hard despite being outmanned, while also giving the group the same offensive skills that he was acquired for in the first place.
There had been some talk recently of the Suns being interested in Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls - and while a trade can't actually happen as they're in the second apron - you're kidding yourself if you think Vucevic would be much of an upgrade defensively. Which again feeds into that narrative that Nurkic has been made a scapegoat of sorts for the failures of the last 12 months.
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker certainly won't get that level of criticism, while fans are just happy when Bradley Beal is able to play. Talking bad about him may damage what little trade value he has too, so he gets an easier time of it. In Beal's defense here, he has been much better so far this season, particularly defensively.
Kyrie was in shock of what was going on between Jusuf Nurkic and Naji Marshall 😭 pic.twitter.com/fBdX4exQTX
— Kyrie Center (@kyriecenterig) December 28, 2024
This season under coach Budenholzer Nurkic has been asked to take more 3-pointers than ever before, and to his credit he has given it a go. It might not be the best use of him on the court, but that is for the coaching staff to decide. Can you imagine Ayton being cool with seeing his role change again on this roster? Exactly.
The skirmishes with Draymond Green and more recently the Dallas Mavericks - which led to a three game suspension - surely have to stop, and yet there's a positive way to look at this too. The Suns have been called soft plenty by other fanbases - and on a lot of nights - they look it. At least Nurkic is doing what he can to change that opinion, even if his attempts have proven misguided.
Really though when Mason Plumlee (and Drew Eubanks before him) and Oso Ighodaro are the backups, you again understand why Nurkic has been valuable to this organization. He's a starting calibre big in the league - unlike those other guys - and continues to give his all. Even if it often isn't close to good enough. Jusuf Nurkic is more than deserving of this spot.