{"id":113027,"date":"2024-12-18T16:29:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T21:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=113027"},"modified":"2024-12-18T20:35:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T01:35:36","slug":"the-suns-unsung-hero-royce-oneale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/18\/the-suns-unsung-hero-royce-oneale\/","title":{"rendered":"The Suns Unsung Hero: Royce O’Neale"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Suns fans, this season has been one wild ride. In the first months, the Phoenix Suns<\/a> have put fans through a rollercoaster of emotions. One player has risen above it all: their unsung hero, Royce O’Neale<\/a>. He has been one of the key players for the Suns this season after inking himself a long-term extension in the Valley. With O’Neale’s excellence so far this year, let’s dive in and analyze how big of a contributor he has been.<\/p>\n

The Suns’ Unsung Hero: Royce O’Neale<\/h2>\n

Why Did He Have to Be a Hero?<\/h3>\n

As we all know, the Suns have dealt many injuries to multiple players. Jusuf Nurkic<\/a> and Kevin Durant<\/a> have been out numerous times to Grayson Allen<\/a> and Collin Gillespie<\/a>, and the Suns injury bug<\/a> has yet to leave Phoenix from last year. The injury bug does not want to go either, as Bradley Beal<\/a> is swelling in his knee, so he needs to rest. With all these roadblocks popping up, O’Neale was called to be that replacement in scoring for those stars. Did he perform to our expectations in that role? He did, and even more, going above and beyond for this team.<\/p>\n

O’Neale’s Contributions<\/h3>\n

Royce has been fortunate (or simply built different) as he has suited up for the Suns in all of their 25 games this year. With the Suns being bitten by the injury bug, what it feels like every day now, Royce has had to play impactful minutes. He had to fill in for KD when he was out both times at the starting four. Even recently, with Durant back, he has filled in the last starting spot for Beal as he has been recovering.<\/p>\n

He is averaging 11.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2,2 assists on 45.8% from the field and from three. That’s right, he is shooting almost 46% from three-point range on the year. At that percentage, he ranks<\/a> ninth in the league in three-point percentage on 5.7 to be exact attempts per game. For a Mike Budenholzer offense that prioritizes the three, this is incredible. That is phenomenal for any player, but for one who has had to deliver for the better of the team, now that is just extradentary to hear. This month alone, O’Neale is one of two players who is averaging 15 points on 50\/50\/100 splits. The other is his teammate Tyus Jones.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Players averaging 15+ PPG on 50\/50\/100% shooting this month:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyus Jones
\n\u2014 Royce O\u2019Neale<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it. pic.twitter.com\/Azz3oo8gF7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Booker Muse (@DevinBookerMuse) December 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n