Four Suns Land in NBA Top 100 Player Rankings
The Phoenix Suns have assembled one of the strongest starting lineups in the NBA, though they're not quite settled on their fifth spot outside of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Deandre Ayton.
Coach Frank Vogel will eventually figure out what puzzle piece works best along his stars, though that will take some tweaking and different looks throughout the regular season.
The Suns carry heavy expectations heading into 2023-24, mostly thanks to his starters (though they added some strong bench players via free agency).
Phoenix touts some of the best players in the league - but where do they rank among their peers?
Bleacher Report recently released their NBA Top 100 - here's where Phoenix's four known starters rank:
No. 8: Kevin Durant
"Kevin Durant's 35th birthday is fast approaching, but evidence of his aging process is tricky to find beyond some recent availability issues. If he plays, he's still the same soul-snatching scorer he's always been.
"He is one of the game's premier point-producers (in both the present and historical context), as a true three-level scorer and rock-solid secondary playmaker. He not only made his second entry into the famed 50/40/90 club this past season, but he also made it look absurdly easy, converting 56 percent of his field-goal attempts, 40.4 percent of his long-range looks and 91.9 percent of his free throws."
No. 9: Devin Booker
"The Suns' star guard averaged 33.7 points per game on 58.5 percent shooting. That alone gives him an argument for top-five placement in our top 100. But he also averaged 7.2 assists (and just 2.9 turnovers) and showed more defensive ability than ever before.
"For an 11-game playoff sample size, Booker was arguably the second-best player in the NBA. Voters decided that was enough to get him in the top 10, but not enough to pass Kevin Durant and LeBron James in a rare loss for recency bias."
No. 34: Bradley Beal
"With the Phoenix Suns, where he'll typically be the third option (maybe even the fourth, depending on how Deandre Ayton looks on a given night), Beal almost certainly figures to look better.
"Opposing teams will often send their third- or fourth-best defender at Beal, allowing him to get cleaner looks on his jumpers and perhaps preserve a bit more energy for the defensive end.
"Beal may have been miscast as a No. 1 option, but he now has a chance to be one of the league's best No. 3s in support of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker."
No. 54: Deandre Ayton
"Deandre Ayton was a solid double-double last season (18 points and 10 boards). He clearly wasn't on the same page as former Suns head coach Monty Williams but should be a better fit in Phoenix with new hire Frank Vogel.
"The 25-year-old doesn't seem to view himself in the Tyson Chandler role (defend, rebound, but scoring is a low priority).
"It will be interesting to see how Vogel utilizes him on a roster that may be an increasingly perimeter-heavy scoring team this season with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal."
Other Familiar Names
No. 25: Mikal Bridges
No. 67: Cameron Johnson
No. 69: Chris Paul
