Suns Forward Named 1 of Most Underrated Players of Last 5 Years

Bleacher Report says this Suns forward's contributions have been overlooked since 2020.

Mar 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Royce O'Neale (00) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns' 2025-26 roster is filled with players who have something to prove after being overlooked or written off over the years.

New acquisitions Jalen Green and Mark Williams largely lead the way in terms of these players after Green struggled mightily in the playoffs this past season and Williams' injury concerns led to the Los Angeles Lakers vetoing a trade for him by failing his physical in February.

However, there are other Suns players who have made significant contributions over the years but have still not been recognized accordingly.

Bleacher Report's Dan Favale feels Suns forward Royce O'Neale has been one of the NBA's most underrated players of the last few seasons after also including him on this list a season ago.

Favale ranked O'Neale fifth on his new list of the most underrated NBA players of the last five years, writing:

"Royce O'Neale holds onto his fifth-place finish from last year. You are now free to insert your joke about how consecutive top-five placements in 'Most underrated of the past half-decade' exercises automatically renders him...not underrated. (Properly rated?)

"Those snarky rebukes will prove true soon enough. O'Neale is phasing out of this group as he ages. But ultra-low-usage wings who hit their threes and bust their butts on defense are the crème de la crème of these discussions. Nobody has actualized this standard over the past half-decade more than O'Neale.

"Since 2020-21, he has made 724 triples at a 38.8 percent clip while posting a usage rate barely above 12. Surprise, surprise: The 32-year-old has the lowest usage rate of anyone to match this volume and efficiency. It's not close, either. Grayson Allen's 15.5 usage is the next lowest on the board.

"That O'Neale continues to splash treys so efficiently while guarding the other team's best or second-best player is ridiculous—a legitimately big deal. It's just not treated like one. Really, it never has been."

O'Neale missed the playoffs for the first time in his eight-year NBA career last season with the Suns, who originally acquired him from the Brooklyn Nets in Feb. 2024, but still shot a career-high 40.6% from 3 across 75 regular season games.

The veteran forward will likely come off the bench this season after the Suns added Dillon Brooks, but will still be an integral piece for Phoenix as it enters a new era of basketball without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.