Deandre Ayton has lost a lot of games in his NBA rookie season with the Phoenix Suns, but he won a high honor on Saturday night.

Ayton, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, passed Alvan Adams for the most rebounds by a Suns rookie in Phoenix's 120-115 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

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Ayton has had to learn on the job this season. Phoenix is one of only two NBA teams with at least 60 losses. The New York Knicks (14-62) are the only team in the league with a worse record than the Suns (17-60). Phoenix will count on another high draft pick this June to engineer a true revival for the franchise, which has fallen on hard times and remained dormant as this decade has progressed.

Deandre Ayton has entered circumstances far different from the man whose rookie rebounding record he broke. Alvan Adams was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1976. Adams helped the Suns make their first appearance in the NBA Finals, engaging the Boston Celtics in a classic series and an iconic Game 5 before losing in six games. That Finals berth marks one of only two times the Suns have made the Finals, the other being in 1993 thanks to Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson.