Summer Suns outmatched by Kings despite all 5 recent draft picks playing

The Phoenix Suns had all five of their last draft picks in summer league action Monday, but that wasn’t enough to beat a Sacramento Kings squad that forced the issue on both ends.

Phoenix’s Ryan Dunn squaring off against Sacramento’s Nique Clifford, the 24th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, was the game’s premier individual matchup. The younger Clifford may have gotten the better of Dunn in the battle as his team came away with a dominant 94-76 win.

Dunn forced the issue early for Phoenix with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in the first quarter, but he rarely found help from his teammates on that end. He finished with a team-high 18 points (2-for-3 from 3), while no other Sun had more than eight.

Dunn down the lane! pic.twitter.com/oJNuZbpoNI

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 15, 2025

Clifford had 15 points on just six shots in the first half, whereas the Suns scored just 28 points over the same time. Clifford finished with 19 points on eight shots with three assists and three steals.

Oso Ighodaro had his worst game of this summer league statistically with three points, five rebounds and no assists after having multiple dishes in each of the previous games. He appeared to come off the floor in pain after diving for a loose ball at the end of the third quarter, and he did not play in the fourth.

Suns rookies flash infrequently

Phoenix continued to give 10th pick Khaman Maluach the necessary runway to make mistakes, which is what this setting is for. After shooting 5-for-13 (1-for-6 from 3) in the first contest and sitting out the second (rest), he shot 3-for-9 (0-for-2 from 3) on Monday with two of the makes being emphatic dunks.

Man Man soaring through 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/UiicIVSuU8

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 15, 2025

Khaman with the two-hand jam 🙌 pic.twitter.com/U9zMpxlUWt

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 15, 2025

No. 31 overall pick Rasheer Fleming made his Suns debut after sitting out the first two contests (knee soreness), and he fairly looked like someone who hadn’t seen game action in months.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward still managed to show some of his 3-and-D potential with a 3, steal and block early in his minutes. His rust appeared on missed opportunities, such as a wide open corner 3 that rimmed out or a missed pass under the basket from Ighodaro the two weren’t quite on the same page for.

Two-way rookie guard Koby Brea came down to Earth after shooting 60% from deep over the first two games and did not hit a 3 Monday (0-for-4). He came out with the right approach, aggressively launching a quick 3 on the Suns’ first possession as his role calls for.

The Summer Suns next face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday at 2 p.m. MST.

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