Deandre Ayton dedicates season-high 30 points, shoes to son’s 1st birthday

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton has been candid about how his perspective in life has changed since becoming a dad, so it was no surprise to see his best game of the season come on his son’s first birthday.

March 6 marks Deandre Ayton Jr.’s, or as Ayton calls him, “‘Lil ‘Dre’s” day of birth last year.

pic.twitter.com/0hjCiEiao7

— Deandre Ayton (@DeandreAyton) March 6, 2022

To celebrate the occasion, Ayton scored a season-high 30 points in the Suns’ loss on Sunday to the Milwaukee Bucks.

He did so in special shoes that had his son’s name on them, as well as Sesame Street character Elmo.

Ayton told ESPN’s Malika Andrews that’s because ‘Lil ‘Dre listens to Elmo more than his father, understandable behavior for a 1-year-old.

A little extra motivation for DeAndre Ayton today: it is his son’s first birthday. Ayton told me that DeAndre Jr. doesn’t listen to him, but does listen to Elmo — so Elmo is on his shoes. pic.twitter.com/n08mgyquFj

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) March 6, 2022

Ayton was terrific in Milwaukee, utilizing his floaters and midrange jumper to adjust to the way defenses like to clog the paint for the center who does most of his damage in that area.

The 23-year-old ended his postgame press conference on Sunday with another shoutout and dedication to his son.

A shoutout to Deandre Ayton's son celebrating his first birthday today. Pops dedicated his season-high 30 points to him. pic.twitter.com/b6JWO1XPNe

— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) March 7, 2022

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