Deandre Ayton knows that he's the next man up for the Phoenix Suns and he's more than willing to step up to the plate. The 2018 first overall pick now has two seasons under his belt and is ready to play an even bigger role for Phoenix as they prepare for the upcoming 2020-2021 NBA season.
“Starting a winning legacy,” Ayton said (via AZ Central). “Being a part of that puzzle that brings a lot to the table. Just taking that load and embracing that load as well. Getting everybody better around me and leading this team to greatness. Being the best person I can be no matter how the season goes. Being that guy.”
Albeit a bit of a rocky start to his career, Ayton has been ‘that' guy for the Suns so far in his young two-year stint in the league. After an impressive rookie year as the Suns' lottery pick, Ayton shined as a budding big man in the NBA and made it to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. His second year in the league would be far from ideal though as an unexpected and unprecedented 2019-2020 NBA season came about.
After an 18 point, 11 rebound opening night performance, Ayton was suspended for 25 games after testing positive for a diuretic. The 22 year old though bounced back strong and continued to develop his skillset down low as he and point guard Devin Booker became quite the tandem for Phoenix.
These two balled out after the NBA restart and proved to be the hottest team inside the bubble. The Suns just missed the playoffs even after going bonkers and winning all of their eight seeding games. In those eight wins, Ayton averaged 15 points per game, 9.5 rebounds and added 0.9 blocks in 30 minutes of play per outing.
Deandre Ayton is hoping that he, alongside his young squad, can build on their momentum and bring the Suns back to its winning ways.
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