One strong night in Las Vegas hasn’t been enough to quiet the questions around Koby Brea.
The Phoenix Suns two-way guard flashed the shot-making that made him a name to watch when he buried six 3-pointers on 12 attempts in Monday’s 95-88 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. After a brutal start to NBA Summer League, including a 1-of-10 showing against the New Orleans Pelicans, that performance felt like a reset. Plenty of fans breathed easier.
Then came the next game against the Detroit Pistons, and the old issues showed up again. Even in a win, Brea attempted only five shots, finished with five points, and shot 33% from the field in 26 minutes.
Through four games in Las Vegas, Brea is averaging 7.8 points on 27/29/75 splits, along with 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27.7 minutes per game. His offensive rating sits at 84.4.
That’s why he’s become one of the main talking points around the Suns’ Summer League roster. Brea, a 2025 second-round pick who played at Kentucky and Dayton, holds one of Phoenix’s three two-way contract spots, and his play has drawn close scrutiny from fans who are split on how worried they should be.
The concern makes sense. Phoenix kept most of its roster intact from last season, so the team needs real turnover if it’s going to beat its projected win total again. Any player occupying a roster spot has to show he can help, and the Suns also have a crowded guard group, including recent two-way addition Pat Spencer.
Brea’s regular-season numbers also leave room for doubt. He shot 43% from deep last season, but he only attempted 30 3-pointers in 12 games, and more than half of those came in games 81 and 82, when Phoenix and its opponents were already looking ahead to the postseason and facing lower-level competition. The percentage looked good, but the sample was heavily shaped by just two games.
For a player who spent a season with the organization, Summer League is supposed to be the place to show growth and prove he’s ready for more than a cameo role. Phoenix already shut down Koa Peat, Rasheer Fleming, and Khaman Maluach after strong showings in the team’s first four games. Brea, by comparison, has only had one standout outing.
He still has one more chance to make his case in what could be Phoenix’s final Summer League game, but with 75% of his games coming with him shooting under 34% from the field, it’s easy to understand why half the fanbase is uneasy about Koby Brea right now.
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Koa Peat Embraces Devin Bookers Role In His Suns Journey
Koa Peats first summer in Phoenix has already given the Suns a glimpse of why they were willing to invest in the rookie, and the next step is figuring out how that promise fits alongside Devin Booker. Peat has spoken with real enthusiasm about soaking up everything he can from the franchise cornerstone as he gets ready for the 2026-27 NBA season, a natural place for a young player trying to carve out a spot on a roster built around a star.
For Peat, the path forward is as much about learning as it is about producing, even after a strong showing in Summer League. Selected 30th in the draft, he arrives with a clear goal of helping Booker while sharpening his own game, and the Suns will be watching to see how quickly that mindset turns into a dependable role when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes Bouyea interesting for the Suns is less the box score than the fit. With Royce ONeale and Grayson Allen no longer in the picture, Phoenix has a clear need for perimeter defense and lineup flexibility, and Bouyea has shown enough on that end to stay in the conversation. The question is whether his defensive value can outweigh the limitations in his outside shot, because if the Suns are going to lean on him more, they will need to know exactly which minutes he can credibly steal. [Read more 🡒]
Khaman Maluach Is Giving Suns Fans Real Reason To Believe
Khaman Maluach did more than just look the part in Las Vegas. In four Summer League games, the Suns big man averaged 19.5 points and 12.8 rebounds, delivered a double-double every time he stepped on the floor and flashed the kind of shot-blocking and floor-spacing that can make a young center stand out right away. The early reviews from national writers only added to the buzz around a player who looked increasingly comfortable as the games went on.
For Suns fans, the encouraging part is not just the production, but the way it came together. Maluach showed a profile that fits modern NBA value, protecting the rim on one end and stretching the floor on the other, and that has him in the conversation for postseason Summer League recognition. The official honors have not been announced yet, but the bigger takeaway for Phoenix is simpler: the rookie left a strong enough impression to make people start thinking about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]