ESPN’s Kram questions Phoenix Suns’ lack of 3-point shooting, floor spacing heading into season
The Suns' shooting numbers were singled out in ESPN's rundown of every team's make-or-break stat.
Dillon Brooks #3 of the Phoenix Suns shoots a three pointer against Dominick Barlow #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half at Xfinity Mobile Arena on January 20, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Arwen Clemans/Getty Images)
(Photo by Arwen Clemans/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns surprised many by winning 45 games last season, but one glaring weakness could keep them from building on it.
In Zach Kram’s preview of the most important stat for all 30 NBA teams on ESPN, Phoenix’s was 3-point shooting, and the projected starting lineup’s numbers fall well short of what modern offenses require.
None of the five starters managed to hit the league average from deep last year, with Dillon Brooks’ team-leading 34% sitting as the top mark in the group.
Here is how Phoenix’s projected starting five shot from beyond the arc last season:
Devin Booker: 33%
Jalen Green: 31%
Dillon Brooks: 34%
Miles Bridges: 33%
Oso Ighodaro: 0% (one attempt)
Booker, who has shot as high as 38.3% during two different past seasons, has cemented himself at a 33% clip from deep over the past two seasons. Green has never eclipsed 35.4% in any single season during his career, while Bridges topped that mark only once (2020-21).
The roster construction trade-offs from the move that brought Bridges to Phoenix are beginning to show their structural cost.
While Collin Gillespie brings a steady stroke off the bench after knocking down 40.1% of his 3-point tries last season, the departures of Grayson Allen (41% during his Suns tenure) and Royce O’Neale (40.3% during his Suns tenure) stripped the Suns of two of their most reliable perimeter threats.
As ESPN noted, Gillespie’s sharpshooting could force head coach Jordan Ott to eventually shift him into the starting five to salvage basic offensive spacing.
While Phoenix managed to outrun expectations last year, navigating packed paint defenses without perimeter threats could spell trouble for the Suns during the 2026-27 season.
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Comments
1 Comments
"Booker, who has shot as high as 38.3% during two different past seasons..."
Yes, David. That's correct. 90% of Booker's career he has been a below-average 3 point shooter, only finishing above average twice. Meanwhile in this 3 point shooting league, Bradley Beal averaged 40% from 3 while he was here and Kevin Durant in 3 seasons here became the only player in NBA history to have 3 seasons of 25 ppg, 40% from 3 and 50% from 2. Not even Steph Curry has done that.
And Booker will never do what Beal did here, nor obviously what Durant did here. And yet KD and Beal were the problem?
Ishbia is a Michigan State-trained idiot.