PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are being overlooked once again heading into the 2026-27 season and will look to prove the outside noise wrong in coach Jordan Ott’s second season.
Phoenix big man Oso Ighodaro is confident the Suns will have the right mindset to build off last season’s success and dispel what has been said about them.
“From the outside, I would assume probably not much. It’s going to probably be about the same from the outside, but from us, it’s the same as last year,” Ighodaro said to The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin. “It wasn’t a surprise to us what we did. We didn’t do what we wanted to do in the playoffs, but we want to win every game we play. We want to compete in the playoffs and compete for a championship. That’s going to be our goal and I’m excited for it.”
Ighodaro was among several individual surprises on the team last season, as he unexpectedly began the year as Phoenix’s backup center and really came along strong after a slow start to the year.
He finished the 2025-26 season having played all 82 games (24 starts) and averaged 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 22 minutes per game.
Now going into his third season in the NBA, Ighodaro is in a crowded center room with Mark Wiliams and Khaman Maluach, but possesses a unique skillset that could lead to major minutes once again.
“I think I’m going to be a connector offensively and defensively,” Ighodaro said of his projected role to Rankin. “I also want to keep stepping into that leadership role that I feel like I have in me. I want to definitely be a lot more aggressive, but like I said being a quarterback on the floor offensively and defensively is probably my No. 1 role I would say.”
The 6-foot-10 Ighodaro has a lot of room to continue to grow, especially in terms of shooting the ball as he has no 3-point shot and was a lowly 45.3% free-throw shooter last year.
“Have been spending a lot of time on (expanding my range),” Ighodaro said. “Specifically at the free throw line. Spending a lot of time there. Been working on the 3-ball as well. You’ll have to wait and see.”
Ighodaro is slated to be one of several key bench players for the Suns, who have a reloaded starting lineup with the addition of Miles Bridges.
His ability to be a playmaker on offense with his high IQ opens up a lot of actions whenever he is on the floor, while his switchability defensively is also a key component of what he brings to the table.
Ighodaro and the rest of the Suns will look to show that Ott’s first year was not a fluke and that they can continue to make some noise in the playoff hunt in the 2026-27 season.
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