Oso Ighodaro lands at number six on the list of Phoenix Suns with the most to prove this season with the jury still out on how important he will be to this team long-term.
Ighodaro has opportunity to show he is capable of bigger role
The 24-year-old is currently the third man in the Suns’ center rotation, with Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach looking set to have a fascinating battle to be the starting center. Ighodaro is far from a young prospect at this point; he is the same age as Williams, who the Suns gave up a pair of first-rounders for last summer and signed a modest three-year, $38 million extension this offseason.
The time is now to try and take minutes from both players ahead of him in the depth chart, although he has a secret weapon on his side that neither teammate can compete with. The versatility and athleticism of Ighodaro mean he can also play as a forward, a position he often looks more comfortable in and which ensures he can play alongside Williams or Maluach when needed.
Miles Bridges will have something to say about that, while Ighodaro did finally find success in The Valley as a center after a disastrous start to last season when he was inserted as the starting five.
It is in the Suns' best interests for Ighodaro to figure out if he can be a backup center, as doing so would allow them to ditch Williams and increase their financial flexibility in the process. It would also help to unclog a frontcourt that currently suffers from spacing issues and an overlap of talent.
Ighodaro will end up like Ryan Dunn if he does not show more growth
The former Marquette standout needs to look at teammate Ryan Dunn to see how urgently he must prove he can help the Suns win games. The pair were selected in the same draft class in 2024, with Dunn being the first-round selection.
Dunn has failed to live up to his billing as a "3-and-D" threat in the same vein as Mikal Bridges, and the front office has moved on by bringing in veterans such as Bridges and Dillon Brooks to win games.
With Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat now coming up behind Dunn (and Ighodaro), he is now caught between not being talented enough to contribute now and not having the upside of younger players on this roster.
Dunn's days in Phoenix are numbered, and while Ighodaro did well to move away from the chopping block himself last season, he has to take another leap this season to ensure he will be kept around long-term. The front office has to be ruthless in pursuit of winning around Devin Booker, and Ighodaro begins this season having to prove himself all over again.
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