The Phoenix Suns’ success this season has been driven by the emergence of unsung heroes. Young players like Oso Ighodaro and rookie Rasheer Fleming are part of that group.
While Phoenix has its star in Devin Booker, and veteran leadership and toughness in Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks, there have been others like Jordan Goodwin, Collin Gillespie, Ighodaro and now Fleming who have lifted the gritty Suns to another level.
Ighodaro has filled the stat sheet more recently, but his impact has been there for Phoenix all season long.
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“He’s been playing great. He’s had some bigger statistical games recently but his impact and what kind of got him on the floor and what’s made him such a big part of our team usually doesn’t show up in the stat sheet,” Allen told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo. “It’s his pressure defensively, his versatility and us being able to throw in trapping lineups, switching lineups or playing in our normal coverage.”
When Ighodaro was taken in the second round of the 2024 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, it wasn’t because of his scoring ability. At Marquette, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged fewer than 10 shot attempts per game his senior year, which was the highest mark in his four years.
It was his defensive intensity and versatility, averaging more than one block and one steal, and just under seven rebounds per game. That’s what was on display for the Suns early this season, and now that focus and hard work is paying off with more numbers in the stat sheet.
“Offensively, how we can play through him and his speed and running the floor and getting other people shots or his speed and running up and setting screens and getting other people shots,” Allen said. “It’s been all the little things that he’s been elite at to start the year.
“Now he’s scoring the ball more, rebounding more and doing all those things to complement that even more. So he’s been excellent.”
While the Suns started the season blowing all expectations out of the water, they hit a bit of a rut heading into the All-Star break and immediately afterward. With injuries to its stars, Phoenix had to lean on depth and young talent, and that’s when Fleming began to shine.
The Suns lost four of their last six games before the All-Star break and three of their first four games out of the break. Phoenix lost a combined seven of 10 games over that stretch before its current two-game winning streak.
What were Fleming’s stats in those two games? He scored eight points (tied career high) and collected six rebounds (career high) in each game, and added a steal against the Los Angeles Lakers and an assist against the Sacramento Kings.
“(Fleming’s) just getting a lot more comfortable. He’s always been a guy you could just like plug in right away and he’s defensively disruptive just because of how good he is and how versatile he is,” Allen said. “I think his confidence shooting the ball, making those extra plays again as an offensive rebound and extra possession, he’s a really good defensive rebounder and just being able to get up and go get it and then kind of adding some rim pressure offensively for us mostly as a cutter.
“With all the shooters that we have, that’s something that’s extremely helpful too to get some pressure in the paint so that we can get up and finish at the rim.”
Fleming played at least 12 minutes twice in his first 29 games this season and now he’s played at least 12 minutes in six straight games, with at least 20 minutes in three of those.
The Suns rookie is getting the most playing time of his rookie season right now, and while the hope is Phoenix will only get healthier down the stretch, Fleming seems to have earned a role on the team no matter who’s active.
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