Rookie Ryan Dunn Catching Fire as Suns Surge

In a Thursday-night bout with the Washington Wizards, rookie forward Ryan Dunn was against pivotal to the Suns’ winning effort. Something that’s becoming more and more common as he continues through his debut season in the NBA.

Through three quarters, it seemed Phoenix had itself a comfortable lead, but a 40-point fourth quarter on the home team’s end made things interesting. All in all, the Suns left with just a seven-point win over the league’s worst team. 

Dunn finished with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting, hitting two of his three attempted triples and adding 11 rebounds, one assist and one block in finishing with a +4 plus-minus. It was one of the best shooting performances of his young career.

Suffice it to say, Dunn was pivotal in keeping the Wizards at bay on Thursday night, hitting shot after shot to extend the Suns lead at several points in the game and help his team survive. The rookie, who played the third-highest minutes on the night, was the fourth leading scorer, trailing only Devin Booker with 37, Kevin Durant with 23 and Grayson Allen with 21.

But it wasn’t his only solid performance, of late.

In a close loss to the Hawks on Tuesday, Dunn poured on 14 points on 50% shooting. And prior to that, he scored 11 and 10 versus the Hornets and Jazz, respectively, in single-digit wins.

In January, Dunn’s only scored in single digits himself twice, scoring six points apiece agains the Hornets and 76ers, scoring in double figures in the other six contests. In that span, the Suns have won five times in eight tries — not exactly earth-shattering stuff, but certainly a step in the right direction for a team desperately needing positive momentum.

No matter where the Suns goes from here — be it holding on to their aging trio of stars, or opting for a full on rebuild via the trade market — they can rest assured they’ve at least found a highly capable role player in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Now winners of three of their last four bouts, the Suns are looking to make a push up from No. 11 in the Western Conference.