PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns roster is loaded with talent.
Their star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal hope to push Phoenix to its first NBA title in their second full season together.
Other key players such as Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic return to the lineup while Tyus Jones should also be a strong presence at point guard.
Royce O’Neale, who signed an extension with the Suns this summer after landing in Phoenix at last year’s trade deadline, also returns to the Valley.
Bleacher Report Grant Hughes ranked O’Neale as one of the most underrated players in the NBA with the following explanation:
“Availability is a skill, and only two players can claim to have more of it than Royce O’Neale over the last five years. He has played 374 games in that span, a figure surpassed by Buddy Hield (388) and the NBA’s undisputed iron man Mikal Bridges (392),” he wrote.
“O’Neale made 38.2 percent of his three-pointers in that sample, frequently defended the opponent’s best player and was a full-time starter for three dominant years for a Utah Jazz team that finished ninth, first and third in point differential from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
“A true three-and-D wing who began to showcase that skill set at a time when every team in the league was obsessed with it, O’Neale consistently put together low-usage, high-efficiency scoring seasons, augmented by an assist rate that ranked above the 90th percentile for his position in each of the five years we look at.
“O’Neale never averaged double-digit points in a season, but he does everything else well and fits into any lineup. That’s still true today, as evidenced by the Phoenix Suns giving him a four-year, $42 million contract to fill their fifth starter role. But it was especially undeniable during O’Neale’s prime, which fit almost perfectly with the five years being considered here.”
O’Neale fits exactly what the Suns need on the wing with his shooting and length. While O’Neale isn’t exactly the brightest star on the roster, he’s undeniably a key piece for Phoenix in 2024-25.
