Collin Gillespie spent the 2025-26 season proving he belongs in the NBA, and he did it in a way that fit Phoenix perfectly.
The 27-year-old went from being a G League player on a two-way contract to a genuine floor general, one who made the Suns better every time he was on the floor. In a season when Kevin Durant was in town and then gone, Gillespie became the kind of player who reflected exactly what the franchise says it wants to build.
That connection started early. At training camp, he showed up fully committed and earned the nickname “Villain Jr.” from Dillon Brooks before the games even began. It may have slipped by at the time, but Gillespie also helped Brooks settle in quickly after Brooks arrived with preconceived notions about his game and how he carries himself.
What Gillespie did next was even more impressive. He stepped into the opening created by Jalen Green’s persistent hamstring issues and, by the end, looked like the better long-term fit than the former second overall pick. Starting 58 of 80 games was a jump almost nobody saw coming, and it came with winning basketball as the Suns made the playoffs.
His shooting was a big part of the story. Gillespie hit over 40 percent from deep on more than seven attempts per night, and in the postseason he made roughly the same amount of 3-pointers on 6.3 tries. He even started three games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a clear sign of how important he had become, even if the size on that roster made life difficult.
The path forward may not be as simple. After a breakout year, the only direction left could be down, and Gillespie will likely have to adjust to coming off the bench. Whether he is running the second unit or entering as a sixth man expected to create points and assists right away, he will bring the same effort.
For the Suns, though, that is the point. When they needed a feel-good story after Durant’s departure, Gillespie delivered. He left himself looking like a cult hero in Phoenix.
In Other News...
Dillon Brooks Just Put Westbrooks Free Agency Drama In Focus
Russell Westbrooks free agency has lingered into the summer with the kind of uncertainty that tends to follow a veteran who still brings name value but no simple fit. He is not expected to return to the Kings, and while there is still reported interest out there, the list of teams willing to make the basketball puzzle work has not exactly grown long. For the Suns, it is the sort of market reality that matters because every possible move around the edges of the roster has to be measured against fit, role and how much control a player needs to be effective.
Dillon Brooks added a blunt layer to that conversation during a recent stream, pointing to Westbrooks ball-dominant style as a challenge for coaches and suggesting it may be part of why the market has been slower to materialize. It was not hard to see why the comment landed: Westbrook remains a player with a track record and a reputation that can still draw attention, and a reunion with the Rockets has been floated as one of the more intriguing possibilities, especially with Kevin Durant in the picture. Even so, the bigger question hanging over all of it is whether a team believes the upside is worth the trade-offs. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Summer Moves Put Phoenixs Biggest Roster Questions Under The Spotlight
The Suns spent much of the offseason trying to stabilize a roster that kept changing around the edges, and their latest wave of moves gives the front office a clearer picture of what this group is supposed to look like entering the new season. Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin were brought back, giving Phoenix continuity in the rotation and some familiar pieces around the core, while Luke Kennard arrives with a very specific job after the departures of Grayson Allen and Royce ONeale.
Kennards fit is the easy part to understand, since the Suns have been looking for more perimeter help and reliable shooting after those trades opened up a hole on the wing. The harder questions now sit in the balance between keeping useful role players, managing the books and deciding how much flexibility Phoenix is willing to sacrifice to preserve depth, especially with salary analysis already poking at the long-term cost of these deals. [Read more 🡒]
Dillon Brooks Just Added Fuel To One Big Lakers Debate
Dillon Brooks has a knack for turning offseason chatter into something a little sharper, and his latest take on the Lakers fits right into that lane. With Los Angeles reshaping its roster after LeBron James departure, the Phoenix Suns forward pointed to the obvious pressure point: a team built around Luka Doncic may have to lean on him to do a lot of the scoring if it wants to stay in the Western Conference race. The Lakers have added pieces and brought back Austin Reaves, but the conversation around them keeps circling back to whether the roster has enough balance to match up with the leagues best.
The bigger issue, as analysts and insiders have framed it, is not just offense but whether Los Angeles can hold up defensively against the top teams in the West. Brooks comment only adds more fuel to a debate that has followed the Lakers all summer, because even if the talent level is improved on paper, there is still real skepticism about how the pieces fit in meaningful games. For a Suns team that expects to be part of that same conference fight, it is exactly the kind of early-season noise worth watching. [Read more 🡒]