Oso Ighodaro was the surprise name to land this high on a Suns 2025-26 list, but his second season in Phoenix gave the team plenty to think about.
That’s a long way from opening night last year, when he was thrown into the starting center spot and the night went badly. After that, his path with the Suns looked murky. Instead, he steadied himself, found a rhythm, and worked his way into a real role.
The biggest reason he stuck? Availability and versatility.
Ighodaro was the only Suns player to appear in every regular season game. He ended up making 24 starts, but most of his value came off the bench, and his best minutes still came at the four.
When Mark Williams missed time with injury, Ighodaro also moved back to the five and looked more at ease there.
That kind of flexibility matters for a coach like Jordan Ott, who clearly values a defensive big who can use his body to bother scorers both around the rim and away from it. Ighodaro fits that mold.
His numbers still leave room for skepticism. Averaging a little over six points and five rebounds in 22 minutes a night isn’t enough if the Suns are trying to raise their level, and his offense may already be close to what it is. At 24, there’s a real question about whether he can become more than a useful rotation piece, especially when the postseason comes around.
Even so, he has done enough to put himself ahead of Ryan Dunn, who was taken in the first round to his second in the 2024 NBA Draft. And the biggest proof came in the playoffs, where Ighodaro logged 32.3 minutes across four games against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Williams was hurt, but Ighodaro stepped in as a big body willing to bang with the Thunder’s size.
Khaman Maluach and now Koa Peat do put his minutes under pressure, but Ighodaro has already shown the Suns what they need to see: he shows up, competes, and gives them a dependable frontcourt option. The hope now is that there’s still more growth left in him.
In Other News...
Suns Offseason Progress Came With A Tradeoff Fans Will Feel
Phoenixs offseason brought a little bit of stability and a little bit of intrigue, with Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin all back in the fold and newcomers Koa Peat, Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard added to the mix. ESPNs latest power rankings reflected the progress, nudging the Suns up after a solid previous season and a busy summer of roster work.
The optimism, though, comes with a familiar catch. The Suns still look like a team trying to balance scoring, depth and fit, and the conversation around their roster has not gone away just because the front office kept moving pieces around. There is hope that some of the new and returning faces can help lift the ceiling, but the bigger question is whether the group has enough of the right kind of support to make the jump fans want to see. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Already Facing Big Miles Bridges Question After Bold Trade
Miles Bridges is already giving the Suns a new layer to think about after the trade that brought him over from Charlotte, because Phoenix did not move for him as a short-term stopgap. League sources say the Suns are interested in keeping him beyond this season, and that lines up with the way general manager Brian Gregory talked about Bridges as a competitor who brings energy. Bridges, for his part, said he wants to help Phoenix win a championship, which is exactly the kind of message a team wants to hear after making a bold roster move.
The contract part is where the real question starts to build. Bridges is on an expiring deal for the upcoming season, so Phoenix has to figure out quickly whether this is a one-year fit or the start of something longer. The Suns gave up Royce O'Neale, Grayson Allen and draft-pick swaps to get him, which makes the long-term plan matter even more. If Bridges settles in the way the Suns hope, the next step could come sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Ott Looks Like The Coach The Suns Desperately Needed
Jordan Otts first season in Phoenix gave the Suns something they badly needed: stability. After a summer in which plenty of outsiders had them pegged for the lower half of the West, Ott guided the team back to the playoffs and helped build a top-10 defense while weaving in new pieces like Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams. For a roster that spent much of the year trying to find its footing, that kind of order mattered as much as any single win.
Ott also spent the season showing he could handle the daily churn that comes with coaching in Phoenix, from lineup changes to the larger pressure of matching the expectations around the franchise. The bigger question now is how he and the organization keep that momentum going, especially with another major roster addition waiting in the wings and the same front-office alignment that helped steady this years turnaround. [Read more 🡒]