Deandre Ayton goes all out on his first Father’s Day as a dad in Suns win

Sunday was a big day for Suns big man Deandre Ayton on the court in the Game 1 Western Conference Finals victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, but an even bigger day for him off the court.

It was Ayton’s first Father’s Day as a dad, and he visited with his son ahead of tip-off.

Deandre Ayton shares a special moment with his son on Father’s Day ahead of the Western Conference finals ❤️ pic.twitter.com/3BITLdYFoX

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 20, 2021

He said the first person to wish him a happy Father’s Day was, unsurprisingly, Chris Paul, who was away from the team due to COVID-19 protocols.

“I think CP, Chris Paul was the first one to text me this morning, that’s the first happy Father’s Day I’ve gotten,” Ayton said. “I had to look at my phone, I glimpsed at it and it was like seven in the morning and I was like, ‘is this for me?”‘

“But I had to read the whole message and say ‘oh yea bro, you are a father.”‘

Being his first Father’s Day as a dad and his first Western Conference Finals game, Ayton said he had to “go all out.”

And he certainly did.

Ayton continued his impressive first postseason appearance in the Game 1 victory by scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

His presence on the floor also caused headaches for the Clippers, who had to go away from their small-ball game to put in centers DeMarcus Cousins and Ivica Zubac just to try and slow down Ayton.

“Just embracing that feeling was a lot, and it was a game day and my first finals playoffs,” Ayton said.

The performance of the Suns’ big man and fellow star Devin Booker – who recorded his first career triple-double – helped the Suns grab the important first step to the team’s first finals appearance in nearly three decades, and possibly the franchise’s first championship.