Oso Ighodaro Is Becoming the Suns’ Quiet Catalyst - And It’s Time Everyone Noticed
Last season, Oso Ighodaro was more of a question mark than a cornerstone. Scouts and fans alike were split.
Some saw a limited offensive game - no real shooting touch, shaky free-throw numbers, and a style that felt a little too predictable. Others saw flashes: high-IQ passing, soft touch around the rim, and a defensive toolkit that hinted at something more.
Fast forward to this season, and the uncertainty is gone. Ighodaro has been a constant presence - logging minutes in all 41 games so far, alongside Royce O’Neale and Collin Gillespie - and he’s earned every second.
He’s not just filling a role. He’s shaping one.
The Suns’ Interior Connector
Every team needs a glue guy. Not the loudest voice, not the top scorer - just the one who makes everything work.
For Phoenix, that’s Ighodaro. He’s become the team’s interior connector, the offensive hub who keeps the gears turning.
He doesn’t dominate the ball, but his fingerprints are all over the offense.
He smooths out possessions, keeps the ball moving, and makes the right reads. He’s the one who makes the game easier for everyone else - and that’s not just a compliment, it’s a fact backed by the numbers.
Let’s start with his off-ball movement. On cuts and dump-offs, he’s converting at a 50% clip - good for the 99th percentile.
That’s elite territory. When he’s fed in the short roll or sneaks behind the defense, it’s almost automatic.
But his real value shows up in the work that doesn’t always get noticed: screen assists. He’s putting up 5.56 per 75 possessions (98th percentile), and his screen-setting talent ranks in the 96th percentile.
That’s the kind of stuff that opens up lanes, creates space for shooters, and makes life easier for ball-handlers. It’s also a sign of a player who understands timing, angles, and how to create real advantages without needing the spotlight.
Shot selection? He’s nearly flawless.
His rim shot quality ranks in the 99.8th percentile. Translation: he knows where his bread is buttered, and he rarely takes a bad shot.
He’s finishing a quarter of his possessions in pick-and-roll, pop, or slip actions (93rd percentile) - and when he’s involved, the Suns’ offense hums. His offensive impact luck sits in the 92nd percentile, which suggests that while he’s benefitting from a favorable environment, he’s also raising the floor of the entire unit. This isn’t just a player fitting into a system - he’s helping define it.
A Sophomore With Veteran Poise
What really sets Ighodaro apart is his playmaking. Among bigs who roll and cut, his passing is a tier above. He’s not forcing the issue - he’s just making the right read, over and over again.
His assist consistency (82.9th percentile) and assist points consistency (85.7th percentile) show that this isn’t a fluke. He’s generating real scoring opportunities, and doing it with regularity.
His passing creation volume and potential assists per 100 passes both sit in the 85.7th percentile. And this isn’t just simple ball movement - he’s creating looks near the rim, often out of tight windows, with a passing efficiency that ranks in the 82.9th percentile.
And then there’s the pick-and-roll creation rate - 100th percentile. That’s the ceiling.
That’s as good as it gets for a player in his role. He’s not an on-ball initiator, and he doesn’t stretch the floor, but in the short roll and two-man game, he’s deadly.
Quick decisions, sharp reads, and a knack for finding the open man. That’s modern playmaking, and he’s mastering it at just 23 years old.
The Numbers Back It Up
When Ighodaro is on the floor, the Suns are simply better. They score 6.4 more points per 100 possessions with him in the lineup - a swing that translates to an expected +15 wins over the course of a season. That’s massive value for a player who isn’t even a featured scorer.
But his biggest impact might be on the defensive end.
A Versatile, Disciplined Defender
Defensively, Ighodaro has become a problem - in the best way possible. He’s versatile, mobile, and smart.
He can close out on shooters, hold his own in drop coverage, disrupt passing lanes, and help off the ball without overcommitting. We’ve seen him switch onto guards, rotate with precision, and anchor the back line with textbook positioning.
Against Cade Cunningham recently, he showed off the full package: help defense, timely contests, and the kind of body control that lets him challenge shots without fouling.
His defensive metrics paint the picture of a player who’s not just holding his own - he’s tilting the court. Opponents shoot 5.4% worse when he contests shots at the rim.
He saves 1.1 points per 100 possessions on those plays. And he’s doing it without hacking - his foul rate on contests hovers around a manageable 12%.
He posts a STOP% of 3.5%, which speaks to his ability to end possessions - whether it’s with a block, a steal, or a forced miss. He’s generating 2.5 steals per 100 possessions and averages five deflections in that same span, half of which turn into takeaways. His vertical activity is strong too: 1.4 blocks per 100 possessions, with a 65% recovery rate on those swats.
That’s not just active defense - that’s disciplined, disruptive defense. And it’s happening every night.
The Value of Knowing Your Role
Oso Ighodaro doesn’t need to be a rim-running dunk machine or a stretch-five sniper. What he brings is structure. He understands what the team needs, and he delivers it - consistently, efficiently, and with a maturity well beyond his years.
He may never be the guy on the highlight reel, but he’s the one helping you win games in January - and maybe in May, too. That’s the kind of player every playoff team needs.
A connector. A communicator.
A glue guy who holds it all together.
And right now, that’s exactly who Oso Ighodaro is.