Collin Gillespie’s first full season in the Phoenix Suns’ rotation looked like a breakthrough. The deeper read is even more interesting: it may have been the beginning of the next step, not the finish line.
That’s the case for why Gillespie could have another gear as he enters year 4. The 27-year-old guard went from a player on the outside looking in to someone who carved out real value across 80 games in 2025-26, and he did it with a game built on production, feel and toughness rather than any one loud athletic trait.
The clearest evidence showed up in the Suns’ numbers with him on the floor. Phoenix posted a plus-3.7 net rating when Gillespie played, compared with a minus-2.2 mark when he was on the bench.
In an 82-game season, that’s the kind of split that tells you a player mattered. And Gillespie didn’t just matter in flashes; he was available almost every night, appearing in 80 games and starting 58 of them after opening the season outside the rotation.
His value came from a few very specific places. He shot 40.1 percent from three on 7.2 attempts per game and finished with 232 made threes, tied for the seventh-most in the league.
He also brought the kind of transition decision-making and steady guard play that can stabilize an offense. Add in a strong assist-to-turnover ratio, real comfort in late-game pick-and-roll situations and a willingness to attack closeouts with basketball IQ instead of pure burst, and you get a player who fits cleanly into a functioning system.
The defensive effort has been part of the package too. Gillespie may be undersized, but he competes hard, picks up opponents 94 feet, chases loose balls and works through screens. Those are the kinds of habits that line up with what Phoenix wants to be.
None of this came easily. Gillespie went undrafted in 2022, signed a two-way deal with the Denver Nuggets, missed the 2022-23 season because of injury and never managed to lock down a steady role in Denver during 2023-24. Phoenix gave him another chance in July of 2024 on a two-way contract, and he turned that into a legitimate rotation spot.
That’s why the idea that he’s already hit his ceiling feels premature. He just completed his first real full season in a meaningful role, and the production suggests there’s still room to grow.
He averaged a career-high 12.7 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the field. Solid?
Absolutely. Final form?
Not necessarily.
There’s still more for Gillespie to sort through, especially with the added responsibility that comes from consistent starter’s minutes and playing alongside Devin Booker in a coherent system. He still has to learn how to balance aggression in tight games. He still has room to expand his playmaking, which looks even better than the raw assist numbers suggest.
If Phoenix gets the version of Gillespie that showed up in 2025-26, that’s already a win. If he pushes a little higher from here, the Suns may have found more than a breakout. They may have found a guard who’s still climbing.
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