PHOENIX — While Dillon Brooks (broken left hand) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain) are sidelined, the Phoenix Suns will be without their two toughest players that play a large part in defining the team’s signature night-in-and-night-out edge.
The player in a position to best help supplant that loss is second-year wing Ryan Dunn, who will now presumably have his largest role of the year (and now his career).
And that is particularly interesting considering the season Dunn has had. To put it simply, the 23-year-old has regressed after looking well on his way to becoming a reliable rotation piece for years to come. There are plenty of reasons to remain optimistic, and he’s ultimately a player to still believe in.
Dunn’s offensive growth last season has been well documented in this space.
The gist is he went from a complete lack of confidence at Virginia that coincided with a complete lack of production, to playing with far more belief in himself as a rookie that led to a legitimate breakout considering where he started when he entered the league. Injuries and an inconsistent role were the road blocks in the way of him fully establishing himself.
RELATED STORIES
Report: Dillon Brooks suffers broken hand in Suns' win over Magic
Jalen Green's miraculous 2OT buzzer-beater lifts Suns past more injuries
That built up anticipation to see what he could do in a second year with a defined role.
The start of the year was Dunn picking up right where he left off, averaging 10 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 24.8 minutes a night over the first nine games of the year, with the scoring number notable since he was only shooting 31.4% from 3-point range.
Everything he should be doing in the half-court to still be a scorer as an off-ball player was thriving.
Great start to the year offensively for Ryan Dunn. Yes, he has to hit his 3s (32%), but all these clips are in the half-court showing how his cutting and screening fit so much better with these Suns. Shooting 70% on his 2s. Also showing some more confidence as a handler/passer. pic.twitter.com/HKLyXlCYhd
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) November 3, 2025
But since that point in the season, all the way back in early November, Dunn has scored in double figures twice across 41 games. That’s good for five PPG, with less playing time at 18.4 MPG.
Forget the shooting percentages, like 32% from deep or 55.6% at the foul line. That production has to come back before even getting to those points of improvement.
Dunn was asked where he needs to look for chances to score beyond the open catch-and-shoot 3s.
“That’s a great question. Just finding ways to get more opportunities,” Dunn told Arizona Sports, noting that comes down to finding ways to move and space, including in transition.
His head coach Jordan Ott, as you’d expect, has a different mindset than most of us do when it comes to a young player going through these types of ups and downs.
“Just normal young player development,” Ott said. “I don’t think it’s linear. I don’t think it’s straight up. I think you’re going to have some change when the season changes, roster pieces change, style of play changes. We don’t judge him by his offense.
“He is an incredible athlete, he applies a ton of pressure on the ball and he’s a really good off-ball rebounder, which we need, and he just needs to continue to disrupt every second he’s on the floor defensively. Offense comes. Offense usually comes a little bit later in a lot of development pieces.”
Defensively, Dunn has not been as impactful as he was last season.
Minor things that become major when enough of a persistent issue like screen navigation and fouling continue to be present. And to be blunt, you could feel him impacting games last year in a way he hasn’t this year.
Ott thinks some of that is opportunity, with the Suns not using Dunn as on-ball defender as much, relying on other options. Ott took responsibility for that and how it could affect Dunn’s ability to impact a game.
But with Brooks and Goodwin out, Dunn now moves up that pecking order.
“It’s a little bit just learning the league,” Ott said of what Dunn has to improve on in order to become an elite defender. “Learning the league and the league learning him.”
Dunn’s ready for this chance.
“Just trying to be ready for the moment. I trust this staff and we have great on-ball defenders,” Dunn said. “Now, it’s just trying to step back up and get those opportunities again just to get ready for that.”
Dunn wants to focus on “being able to play great individual defense and then playing team defense on the back end.”
Dunn had nearly a dozen performances in his first year where he was legitimately changing games with his defense and energy.
The good news is Dunn has done that this year.
He started the season with reckless abandon, throwing his body anywhere. Whatever was motivating him, it pushed him to be even more engaged with every possession.
Loose balls, rebounding attempts and driving lanes were an adventure. In a good way.
Ryan Dunn was a damn menace last night. pic.twitter.com/7iN7rYieGE
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) October 24, 2025
It cost him a few games after he sprained his right wrist trying to dunk on Rudy Gobert (!) but the Suns want him to play that way regardless of the risk. They are right.
Getting that confidence back is big. Anyone who has watched enough sports can see when a young player has lost some, and he has.
Dunn’s got the makeup to get that back on track.
“We’re with him,” Ott said. “His spirit doesn’t change. He’s an incredible worker, he’s incredibly hard on himself, which we know at the end of the day those two things lead to success down the road. Don’t know if it’s tonight, don’t know if it’s the next night, don’t know exactly when that comes and when that pop of consistent minutes where they impact winning comes. We just know who he is and how he works.”
You can imagine what that type of coach can do for someone like Dunn.
“It’s been great,” Dunn said of his relationship with Ott. “He’s a guy I’ve been able to talk to. Just being able to speak with him and talk to him, giving me confidence to keep doing my job. Telling me things I need to work on, telling me what I’m good at and my strengths and what he needs from me for this team. Every night I know what they expect from me when I come out on the floor.”
It’ll be a big few weeks for him.
The Suns have other wings to put at their disposal. Ott has previously given Amir Coffey a look and has trusted two-way signee Isaiah Livers on the back-end of the rotation. Rookie Rasheer Fleming is waiting in the wings, and Haywood Highsmith was signed for a reason.
It’s on Dunn to cement his role in what has suddenly developed into a competition that could decide who Ott trusts the most for the closing stretch of the season.
Follow @KellanOlson
Hence then, the article about ryan dunn steps into biggest suns role yet with dillon brooks out was published today ( ) and is available on Arizona sports ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Ryan Dunn steps into biggest Suns role yet with Dillon Brooks out )
Also on site :