Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie played his way through a breakout year during the 2025-26 season, establishing himself as a key cog who the front office should aim to bring back in free agency this summer.
But despite his breakout averaging 12.7 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game and breaking the Suns franchise record for 3-pointers made in a season, Gillespie’s NBA peers say the point guard out of Villanova is among the most underrated players in the game.
Players vote Collin Gillespie among ‘most underrated’ in The Athletic’s poll
In an anonymous NBA player poll of their peers sourced by The Athletic (subscription required), the man Dillon Brooks affectionately calls “Villain Jr.” was voted among the “most underrated” players in the league.
With 2% of the vote, Gillespie is listed among standouts like Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell and more. The leading vote-getters deemed underrated by their NBA peers were Jalen Johnson and Derrick White — each receiving 4% of total votes.
Approval from his NBA brethren is yet another cherry on top of a career season for Gillespie. He not only set career highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game throughout his third professional season but etched his name into Suns lore with the aforementioned record-breaking performance from beyond the 3-point arc.
In a season mired by a slew of injuries, including to stars Jalen Green and Devin Booker, Gillespie was a constant. He played in 80 of the possible 82 regular season games, starting 58 of those appearances out of injury necessity after starting the season as a dark horse contender for Sixth Man of the Year.
Despite his brilliance off the bench for the Suns, Gillespie was often overlooked by the oddsmakers for SMOY even before he took over a starting role that made him ineligible regardless.
Gillespie is heading into unrestricted free agency this offseason, so the Suns’ front office needs to decide if he’ll return for the 2026-27 season. Provided that Gillespie has often shared his desire to remain in The Valley, coupled with the fact that the Suns hold his early Bird rights, hints a reunion is in the cards.
Letting Gillespie get away in free agency would be far from optimal for a Suns team in need of floor generals who can operate the offense alongside score-first creators like Booker and Green.
The fact that the league at large put Gillespie into a category also featuring All-Star talents like Mitchell, Cunningham and Kawhi Leonard shows that the secret is out on the Suns’ diamond in the rough.
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