There's no doubt that the Phoenix Suns got one of the steals of the NBA Draft this summer when they landed Ryan Dunn with the 28th pick via a draft night trade with the Denver Nuggets. The hope was that his two-way potential could make him the next Mikal Bridges, and Dunn made good on that early on.
Through four games played he's already managed to start once as a result of injury to Bradley Beal, while the 43.8 percent he's shooting from 3-point range on four attempts each night has already surpassed rookie expectations in this category. Dunn didn't shoot the three with much confidence or volume (less than one per game) in college, but that has quickly changed.
He's somehow managed an even more impressive stat than this though.
The defensive end is where Dunn is going to make his name - he already looks like this ability alone is going to give him a long career in the league - and it is also the reason many fans have lobbied for him to be inserted into the starting lineup. He's nowhere near as good as Beal, who has looked back to his best in the early goings, but he creates much better balance for the starting five.
This has already been on display, with Dunn next to Tyus Jones and Devin Booker to give the Suns a much better two-way threat with those guys on the court together. Which leads into the below stat, which is without doubt the most impressive statistic a Suns player has managed so far in this young season.
Ryan Dunn is holding All-Stars to 26.3% FG when he is the primary defender this season. pic.twitter.com/wgTfOmM1KK
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) October 29, 2024
That number above is frankly astonishing, and the sort of return this organization would have hoped to get from Dunn - at best - towards the end of this season. Ensuring All-Star level players are making basically 1-in-4 shots also seems unsustainable, but the fact it happened at all is incredibly encouraging.
It also partly explains why the Suns have started the campaign 3-1 - and although the scoring prowess of Kevin Durant is going to get more of the plaudits - this is the number that raises the ceiling of this group. Imagine what previous head coach Frank Vogel could have cooked up if he'd had Dunn on the roster last season.
The Suns have gotten off to a hot start on the defensive end, and currently rank fifth with a rating of 108.3. Dunn is a big reason for that, his ability to guard elite scoring wings at an above average rate so early in his career a massive bonus. It's not like the Suns have played scrubs either, with two meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers - which they split - already in the bag.
They've also beaten the L.A. Clippers featuring a James Harden who is comfortable doing everything, while the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic were also disposed of. If Dunn can continue to keep that number as low as possible when he is the primary defender, then the calls to insert him into the starting lineup will grow louder still.
As it stands he's already made fans forget Eric Gordon was on this roster last season, while the idea of going after P.J. Tucker isn't nearly as appealing as before. Why go after a veteran who is only going to take minutes from Dunn, a guy who is already capable of defending players that Tucker no longer can?