Current, Former Suns Discussed in Anonymous Players Survey

The Phoenix Suns are currently locked in a tight battle with the Los Angeles Clippers, tied at 1-1 in their first-round playoff series.

Names such as Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton appear in Phoenix's lineup each night. There's hope they can go far in the postseason, though it doesn't appear Los Angeles will make anything easy.

While that series will eventually find a winner, the Suns saw a handful of their own mentioned in The Athletic's anonymous players survey, where they asked active NBA players their opinion on a variety of topics from MVP to heaviest trash talker.

To no shock, a handful of current - and former - Suns saw their names mentioned.

Current, Former Suns Discussed in Anonymous NBA Player Survey

Who's the best defender?

Current Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges received 2% of votes, which tied for 11th of all players.

Jrue Holiday was No. 1 with 28.7%. Lu Dort finished at No. 2 with 11.4%.

"Mikal Bridges. I love Mikal defensively. I’ve always loved Mikal," said one player.

You’re building a roster from scratch: Who are you going to sign first?

Kevin Durant gained 1.9% of votes, ninth for individual players.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ran away with 53.4% of votes while Nikola Jokic was next with 8.7%.

Who’s the most overrated player?

Chris Paul received 3.7% of votes in this category, tied with six players for seventh in the NBA. The "other" category actually led the way with 31.5% of votes, though Trae Young (14.8%) was the top player after.

“Damn, I hate to say that," said one player who voted for Paul.

Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker also received a vote.

Who’s the most underrated player?

Mikal Bridges finished with 5.2% of votes, good enough for third behind Jrue Holiday (17.5% of votes) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11.3%).

Deandre Ayton also received a vote in the category.

“Even when (Mikal Bridges) was in Phoenix, he was always capable of ringing off his own runs. He was still always that prolific scorer that he’s showing now. He just has more opportunities to show it now," said one player.

What arena has the best fans?

The Suns' home of the Footprint Center received 2.9% of votes, which tied for 11th in the league. Boston Celtics' TD Garden and the Sacramento Kings' Golden 1 Center ranked as the top two.

Which current coach, aside from your own, would you most want to play for?

Suns coach Monty Williams tied for fifth in the league with 4.2% of votes. Gregg Popovich led the way with 25.3% of votes with Steve Kerr behind at 13.7%.

“I like his vibe. I like the way he talks about, and talks to, his players. I feel like I could learn a lot from him.” — said one player who voted for Monty Williams

Who talks the most trash on the court?

Devin Booker finished with 7.1% of votes, fourth among NBA players. Draymond Green (26.3%), Patrick Beverley (25.2%) and Dillon Brooks (14.1%) finished ahead of Booker.

“If (Devin Booker) has it going, he’ll start chirping. But he’s not loud," said one player.

Chris Paul also got two percent of votes, while Kevin Durant got one vote as well.

“(Chris Paul) does it quietly, when he’s bending over and people can’t see him. He talks a lot. He just speaks a lot to the bench. He talks a lot to the guys on the bench. He said to one of my teammates, ‘You’re gonna need me when you’re done playing, and you should be thanking me,’ and this type of stuff," one player said.