Dynamic duos have always had a way of telling the real story, and for the Suns, the two-man combinations from last season offer a pretty clear window into what might matter most in 2026-27.
Looking at the top 25 Suns pairings by minutes and then sorting them by net rating, a few names kept popping up in the strongest groups. Here are the 10 best two-man combos from that sample:
Player 1 Player 2 Net Rating
Goodwin Ighodaro 7.8
Goodwin Gillespie 7.5
Gillespie Dunn 7.4
Booker Gillespie 7.0
Gillespie Ighodaro 6.9
Booker Ighodaro 5.5
Booker Goodwin 4.5
Booker Williams 3.7
Ighodaro Dunn 3.6
Allen Ighodaro 3.5
The biggest takeaway is hard to miss: Oso Ighodaro showed up in five of the top 10 pairings. That’s a strong sign of how much he matters to this group.
Phoenix needs to find more ways to get him on the floor, and Ighodaro needs to keep pushing his shooting forward. Even a small jump in free throws or short jumpers would help his efficiency and, just as important, make him a better option late in quarters when the team is over the foul limit.
Jordan Goodwin also stood out. The numbers match what many people saw with their own eyes last season - he was a beast. With the team’s depth improving, keeping him involved and getting him minutes will matter.
Ryan Dunn appeared twice among the top 10 pairings, which is another reminder that there’s still real value there. Like Ighodaro, even a modest improvement in shooting consistency could change a lot for him.
Booker and Gillespie each showed up in four of the top combinations, and their pairing together was Booker’s best at +7.0. That makes a pretty strong case for using them together often, even in staggered lineups, both to preserve size in the starting group and to get a better read on the Green/Booker dynamic.
At the other end of the list, the five worst combinations all included Grayson Allen or Royce O’Neale, with net ratings ranging from -2.7 to -8.7. That was a surprise. From a spacing standpoint, and to help make room for the best combinations above, it will be important for Luke Kennard to hit his long-range shots, for Gillespie to keep shooting at a high clip, and for Booker to get back above 35% from three, something he has done in six of his 11 seasons.
The new name worth watching is Miles Bridges, who should log a heavy workload as the main addition. When looking at the same high-volume lineups for the Hornets, his best pairing was with Moussa Diabate, a center listed at 6’10” who brings athleticism and rebounding.
That’s the kind of fit that suggests an Oso-Miles look could work here too. If Khaman Maluach develops a shot, then Oso could spend time at the four in a big front line with Maluach, Ighodaro and Bridges.
Every season builds its own chemistry, and this kind of look back at last year’s duos gives a few hints about what to watch when camp opens.
In Other News...
Former Suns Finals Sparkplug May Be Drifting Out Of Phoenix Plans
With training camps getting closer, Cameron Payne still sits unsigned, and the former Suns sparkplug is looking at an uncertain NBA market after last playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Phoenixs current backcourt picture makes a reunion increasingly unlikely, especially with the team choosing to evaluate younger guards and see who can carve out a larger role before the season begins.
Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Jamaree Bouyea are all in the mix for those minutes, giving the Suns a different kind of guard competition than the one Payne would step into. For a player who once provided energy and playoff-shotmaking for Phoenix, the door does not appear completely shut around the league, but the path back to the Suns is getting harder to see. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Kennard Could Force A Real Suns Lineup Decision
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The tricky part is that Kennards value may not be limited to spot minutes. His defensive limitations are still part of the equation, but the offensive fit is good enough to make the Suns think harder about how they want their best five arranged. At some point, that kind of balance can turn a bench addition into a lineup decision, and Phoenix may have to decide how much creation it wants on the floor without giving up too much defense. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Rotation Squeeze Puts Three Players In A Tough Spot
The Suns rotation picture is getting tighter, and the pressure is starting to show on a few familiar names. With new roster additions and more competition around the lineup, Ryan Dunn, Jamaree Bouyea and Jalen Green are all in line to see less floor time than they did before, which is never a comfortable place for players trying to carve out a steady role.
For Dunn, the squeeze goes beyond simply losing minutes, because his place in the long-term plan suddenly looks less secure as the season unfolds. Bouyea is expected to have a smaller part to play than he did a year ago, and Green, whose usage is already headed in the wrong direction, could wind up sliding even further down the pecking order if the minutes keep shrinking. [Read more 🡒]