Jordan Goodwin doesn’t play like a player who’s easy to overlook, but that’s exactly what keeps happening. Suns fans know what he brings.
The rest of the league, not so much. And after what Phoenix went through in the first round against Oklahoma City, it’s hard not to argue that his absence was the biggest one of all.
Goodwin played 70 games for Phoenix in 2025-26 and logged real minutes throughout the season. That kind of availability mattered.
So did the jump in his game. He set a career high with 8.7 points per game, up from 7.0 for his career, and his efficiency climbed with it.
He finished at 51.4 effective field goal percentage, well above his career 48.7 mark, and shot 37.1 percent from three, a clear step up from his career 33.9% entering the season. That total rose to 34.6% after this season, of course.
This isn’t even his specialty we’re talking about, it’s a luxury if you get offense out of him
For a player who was never supposed to be a scoring engine, that mattered. He looked more sure of himself as a shooter, more willing to let it fly, and more dependable when Phoenix needed a clean possession. And there was that night against the Thunder, when he caught fire with 8 threes and helped set up the eventual Devin Booker game-winner.
Then came the playoff series, and everything changed fast. Goodwin played just five minutes total in one game against Oklahoma City before a calf injury shut him down for the rest of the matchup.
The Suns were swept 4-0. That wasn’t the only issue, but it was a major one.
He would have been the one shading Shai all series long. Matching Caruso’s scrappy intangibles.
Diving on the floor for loose balls. Hitting timely threes.
All wiped away. That stuff stacks.
What Goodwin gave Phoenix went well beyond the box score. He was their best point-of-attack defender.
He was also their second-best offensive rebounder, which is wild for a guard listed at 6’3”, 6’4” on a good day. Only Mark Williams grabbed more offensive boards per game, and that’s kind of his job!
The value kept showing up in all the little places that matter over 70 regular-season games. He handled the ball, moved it, defended in switching schemes without getting exposed, and knocked down open threes just often enough to change how defenses played Phoenix.
He picked up full-court. He made sure it was not an enjoyable experience to play against the Phoenix Suns.
That’s why his role mattered so much in a turnaround season built on consistency and depth. Goodwin was part of the foundation because he was available, healthy until the playoffs, and useful in a bunch of different ways.
He didn’t need touches to make an impact. He made life easier for everyone around him.
Let’s all just take a moment to collectively thank the Los Angeles Lakers for Goody again.
The playoff loss hit harder because of what Phoenix lost in the middle of everything: a steady rotation piece, a decision-maker, and a guy who could keep a unit together without needing the ball. Goodwin’s value is tied to how well he connects the pieces around him, and against Oklahoma City’s defense, that kind of presence would have mattered even more.
His numbers won’t jump off the page forever. 8.7 points and 4.9 boards won’t get him top billing.
But the Suns know exactly what he is: not a star, but a star role player. And going into next season, that should put him firmly in the core rotation conversation.
The Suns know what they have. I just wish more people outside the building understood it, too.
In Other News...
Bradley Beal Talk Is Reopening A Frustrating Suns Debate
Bradley Beals Suns tenure has become one of those files that seems settled until somebody opens it back up. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently argued that Phoenix got more out of Beal than the broader memory suggests, pointing to his shot-making and the effort he brought on defense even while he was never positioned as one of the teams top three options. For a fan base that watched the partnership unfold alongside Devin Booker, the debate is really about whether the on-paper disappointment matched the on-court value.
The frustration around Beal in Phoenix was always bigger than any one game or stretch, though, because the injuries and the fit never quite lined up the way the Suns needed. Vecenie even floated the idea that Beal could still help a contender in a different role, potentially as a bench piece for a team like the Miami Heat on a minimum deal. For the Suns, that kind of discussion keeps circling back to the same uncomfortable question: was the problem Beal himself, or the way the roster asked him to fit? [Read more 🡒]
Mike DAntoni Just Reinforced Why Suns Fans Should Trust Jordan Ott
Mike DAntonis latest stop on the Suns After Dark podcast offered a reminder that Jordan Otts rise in the coaching ranks didnt happen in a vacuum. The former Phoenix coach talked about their time together on the Brooklyn Nets staff and came away sounding convinced that Ott already had the kind of offensive feel and preparation that teams want in a lead assistant, the sort of behind-the-scenes credibility that matters when a franchise is trying to build something durable.
For Suns fans, the endorsement lands at a useful moment. Ott has already started to look like a stabilizing presence as the organization works through recent roster changes and other moving parts, and hearing a coach with DAntonis background speak so confidently about him only adds to the sense that Phoenix has found someone equipped for the long haul. The bigger question now is how far that trust can carry once the Suns start putting the pieces together on the floor. [Read more 🡒]