Where Suns Starters Rank at Each Position
With the Phoenix Suns having such high championship expectations, it's a bit interesting they don't have their entire starting five ironed out.
That's partly due to a massive shift on both the coaching staff and roster, as only Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton remain from that beloved 2021 squad that made a magical run to the NBA Finals.
With Booker, Ayton, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant in the lineup, a few Suns will try to insert themselves into the final solidified starting spot come playoff time. New coach Frank Vogel is sure to utilize a few different looks throughout the regular season that could rotate names such as Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop among other possibilities.
For now - Phoenix touts four incredibly strong starters. Here's where each ranks in The Athletic's rankings:
Devin Booker: No. 2 Shooting Guard
Booker fell behind Jimmy Butler for the top spot and beat out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with all three names falling in the top tier of The Athletic's SG rankings.
Bradley Beal: No. 8 Shooting Guard
Beal - who is expected to play point guard in Phoenix - fell into the second tier of player rankings under Butler/Booker/SGA.
Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards and Kyrie Irving all finished ahead of Beal. DeMar DeRozan trailed Beal to round out the rankings.
Kevin Durant: No. 1 Small Forward
Durant is the lone Suns player to be at the top of his position, beating out superstar names such as LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, Paul George and more.
He was in the first SF tier alone.
Deandre Ayton: No. 18 Center
You have to scroll down a bit to find Ayton, who finished behind the following order of players:
Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Jaren Jackson, Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, Domantas Sabonis, Robert Williams III, Evan Mobley, Kristaps Porzingis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jarrett Allen, Myles Turner, Brook Lopez, Nic Claxton and Victor Wembanyama.
Ayton was in the fourth tier of centers.
