PHOENIX– Collin Gillespie secured the Phoenix Suns' 114-113 comeback win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday with a beautiful game-winner. Even though it was a game to forget for the team itself, Gillespie showed how valuable he is to the Suns.

The playmaking, improved shot-making, and growing confidence have transformed him from another G-League player into one of the premier backup guards.

And ever since head coach Jordan Ott took the job in Phoenix, he’s been dead set on maximizing Gillespie’s talent.

It came full circle on that Friday night. With Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks out of the game due to foul trouble, Gillespie took the bull by the horns and hit the most important shot of the night.

As the media was making its way to the press conference room, his teammates were hyping him up, mostly with expletives.

Still, the game-winning shot required a celebration, and Ott joked that what he said postgame wasn’t PG, and that he’ll leave what was said in there.

Some of it might’ve come from Dillon Brooks, who gave Gillespie the “Villain Junior” nickname during training camp. Two months later, and the same sentiment applies, except he believes that it all stems from the summer.

“Aside from the nickname thing, I think it's just competitive spirit between our group,” Gillespie said postgame. “In the summertime, competing against each other, wanting to win every game, pickup game that we had, and I think that's what we're doing.

“I think that's a ton of our guys, they're just super competitive. Winners want to play winning basketball and will do anything to win basketball games. You saw a little bit of it at the end of the game there, just no quit, continue to fight until there's no time left.”

Jordan Ott knows all about Collin Gillespie’s success with Suns

Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) dribbles against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center.
John Hefti-Imagn Images
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One of the first players Ott had his eye on was Gillespie, but that stemmed way before his time with the organization. He caught a glimpse during the 2024-25 season, where the former Villanova guard was orchestrating an offense with Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Granted, he was on the second unit, but there were times former head coach Mike Budenholzer would start Gillespie.

Despite missing an entire NBA season and suffering an ankle injury at the beginning of last season, Gillespie continued to work, and work, and work, and work some more.

However, he left his remarks about Gillespie’s journey out for the media and in the Suns' press conference room.

“It's not the first time in his career. This is what he does,” Ott explained. “He does the work behind the scenes when the lights aren't on. He's always ready. I think he's playing multiple end-of-game scenarios now.

“We feel really comfortable putting them out there in the big moments. Yeah, he's always ready, because he's done the work. Tough dude, really smart, and he’s played at a high level everywhere he's gone.”

With career-highs in nearly every statistical category, the improvement is obvious, but it’s been his role on the team that has drawn so much attention. Game by game, Gillespie's confidence grows in the coaching staff and his teammates.

They knew this about Gillespie since the summer, and for some of his teammates, ever since he joined the Suns. But now, he’s evolving into one of the premier players at his position, and turning into a player who’s carved out a niche role for this season and possibly beyond if Phoenix decides to give him a contract extension.