Guard Collin Gillespie has been one of the Suns' biggest surprises this season, and is turning heads by nearly doubling his scoring average from last season. Gillespie is up to 11 points per game after just 6 a game last season, but maintaining his incredible efficiency with the added volume. He's also taking on more playmaking responsibilities and proving that he's one of the NBA's most improved players.
Gillespie should be on the short list for Most Improved Player
The most impressive aspect of Gillespie's increased production is his continued efficiency and hustle. Even as he has roughly doubled both his points and assists (5.7 this season vs 2.4 last season), he's avoided taking up costly possessions.
He's still shooting 43% from the field (same as last season) and a stellar 40.5% from three. The field goal percentage may appear low, but it's understandable when 75% of his shots are threes.
The consistency in his percentages year-to-year proves that he's not relying on unsustainable lucky shooting to boost his stats. It's a good sign for the Suns that can point to Gillespie maintaining this play for the whole season.
It's not just shooting where Gillespie has shown improvement either. He's looked a lot more comfortable running the pick-and-roll and making plays for others, punctuated with a 13-assist performance in Utah. Gillespie has established good chemistry with the Suns' center rotation and gets them great looks right at the rim. At the same time, he's able to make kickout passes that get shooters open threes.
While taking on more point guard duties, Gillespie has avoided making many more mistakes. He's maintained a stellar playmaking ratio by only averaging 1.3 turnovers per game against his 5.7 assists. Young guards thrust into bigger roles can often have costly turnovers, but Gillespie has not had that issue.
Arguably, he makes up for his 1.3 turnovers a game with 1.3 steals per game on the defensive end. Despite being undersized, Gillespie is able to hold his own defensively by staying in position and getting sneaky steals as a help defender. It's a useful skill which can create runout opportunities for the Suns and disrupt opposing offenses before they even get going.
The Suns don't expect to have too much luck at the NBA Awards ballots this season, but Gillespie is a name to watch. Although the Most Improved Player award has frequently gone to stars in recent seasons, Gillespie is still a classic example of the award's archetype.
He was an unheralded player who's scratched and clawed his way into a regular role, and gradually shown that he's capable of handling more. In the process, he's improved drastically by sticking to his strengths and adding new facets to his game.