The Phoenix Suns punctuated their weekend with an upset 114-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at home. That unlikely victory might not have been possible if not for the hot hands of second-year forward Dragan Bender, who churned out one of the best games of his young NBA career, scoring a career-high 20 points while adding six rebounds, four assists, and three blocks to his name across 39 minutes of action.
Bender also shot 6-of-8 from behind the arc which was the most he has had in a game thus far.
While the Suns are going to need plenty of performances like that from Bender to start believing they did not waste a first-round pick on him a year ago, any solid nights from the 20-year-old Croatian is very much welcome for the Suns who remain as one of the worst teams in the league today with a 16-26 record.
Taken fourth overall by the Suns in the 2016 NBA Draft (ahead of Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, Domantas Sabonis, and teammate Marquese Chriss), Bender has been slow to adjust in the NBA. He is averaging just 5.4 points per game on 36.0 percent field goal percentage this season, only marginally better than the 3.4 points per contest on 35.4 shooting percentage he had last season.
Dragan Bender has a guaranteed contract with the Suns until 2019, thanks to Phoenix picking up its 2018-19 option on the forward. But if he plans to hang around the league for a long time, he will have to start showing signs of life just like he did against Russell Westbrook and company on Sunday.
Follow Us
Subscribe