Inside The Suns

Suns Give Injury Update to Rising Rookie

Ryan Dunn limped off the court in the first quarter against Washington.
Brendan Mau|
Jan 16, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) looks on during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Jan 16, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) looks on during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

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Phoenix Suns

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns' clean injury report did not last long in their 119-109 win over the Washington Wizards.

Less than two minutes into the game, forward Ryan Dunn limped off the court and into the locker room after stepping on Devin Booker's foot on a drive to the basket, rolling his left ankle in the process. Dunn was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game with a left ankle sprain.

”The image tonight was negative. We’ll just see how he feels in the morning,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said postgame.

Bradley Beal subbed in for Dunn with 10:11 in the first quarter. Beal was just returning from an ankle injury of his own tonight that caused him to miss three of Phoenix's past four games.

Dunn moved into Beal's starting role on Jan. 6. In the 10 games since becoming a starter entering tonight, Dunn was averaging 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 49.4% from the floor and 36.4% from 3-point range.

Phoenix also activated Jusuf Nurkic tonight for the first time in six games after he was dealing with an illness.

Dunn has now started in 24 of his 40 games so far in his first NBA season, quickly developing into one of the premier defenders in the NBA and among the league's top rookies despite being the 28th overall selection.

Phoenix, now sitting at 23-21 on the year, is in desperate need of a stretch of good health as it looks to string together some wins. With the win, the Suns moved to the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, but only 2.5 games back of the fifth seed.

Dunn missed four games across two different stretches earlier this season due to ankle injuries.

The Suns are back in action Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Brendan Mau
BRENDAN MAU

Brendan Mau is a staff writer for Suns on SI. Brendan has been a credentialed media member covering the Suns since 2023 and holds a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism from Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Follow Brendan on X @Brendan_Mau for more news, updates, analysis and more!

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