Between glitches in the left knee, right leg or currently in the right ankle, Deandre Ayton has not seen the floors much this season. Limited to only 28 appearances, the Bahamian pivot of the Suns nevertheless remains a fundamental element of his team.
With 17 points, 11 rebounds and 1 against average, he is the interior anchor of Phoenix, now reinforced by JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo. In his fourth season, the former Arizona player still feels capable of going further and higher with the Suns, finalists defeated by Milwaukee last year.
“The confidence of my teammates is very important. It’s a different feeling when you have the confidence of your teammates to finish defensive moves and defend access to the circle.” he explains in a long interview with ESPN. “I have to be present in the circle, even if I don’t necessarily block all the shots. I must be the eyes and ears of our defense [en dernier défenseur]. I make sure they are in the right spots and I give them confidence so that they can defend their direct opponent in the best possible conditions. “
“I want to be able to defend in all positions”
Very mobile for his height, Deandre Ayton does not want to be forced to observe his partners from the bench when the opponents switch to “small ball” mode. For the Bahamian, it is therefore important to be able to help the Suns against any tactical configuration.
“I want to be able to defend in all positions. I want my teammates to be able to count on me and to be able to stay on the pitch in all configurations. “
This mentality comes to him from one of his idols, a certain Kevin Garnett. In the Suns team where Chris Paul is the “general in chief” and Devin Booker the face of the team, Deandre Ayton has also found his voice.
“One of my favorite players is Kevin Garnett, a guy who talked a lot on defense and made his teammates better. This is the attitude I try to have. And not even necessarily to rant in defense, or to play hard, simply to wake up my teammates during a time-out. It’s always done with respect for my teammates who know anyway that I’m like that. “
Acknowledging that he is sometimes too timid in attack, Deandre Ayton also begins to be violent. To be dominant on both sides of the field…
“In attack, I have a lot of goals. I want to be able to do everything offensively. But mainly, I would say that I want to be more present on throws, to be more of a threat. Last season, I didn’t weigh enough in attack, but now that I know more or less all that the League can offer in terms of adversity, I want to take more advantage of advantageous duels, offensive rebounds to put the ball back in the circle or provoke faults, but also in the race on the counterattack to arrive first under the opposing circle. Simple but important things. “
“Our team this year is even stronger than last year’s”
The observation phase therefore seems to be over for Deandre Ayton who has really gained confidence in himself during the last playoffs. His decisive “Valley-Oop” to beat the Clippers thus remains as “the best moment of his career”, because it in turn is part of the immense history of the League and its memorable finishes in the playoffs.
But it’s a long process, and the experience of the “bubble” has also played its part in this sense, alongside Mark Bryant, the former veteran of NBA rackets turned assistant coach (who passed by the Thunder in particular) that the young Ayton has mostly progressed continuously.
“Mark Bryant and I are still at odds. We are always fighting but we always find the best solution. He’s my guy. We really became very close during the “bubble”. It was he who taught me almost everything about the inner game. From the start, he gave me all the details to manage the physical aspect of the game at the low post, whether against bigger guys, smaller guys or faster guys. He taught me how to use floaters, which I’ve never been a fan of but, on our team, we won’t always have dunks under the circle… Sometimes you have to land a little hook shot or a floater a little further from the circle. It was a super important step for me. “
With all the weapons and qualities of the modern pivot, Deandre Ayton also believes that his Suns have everything in store to do better than last season.
Admitting that his new situation as a young dad also helped him channel himself off the field, and digest his non-extension, the pivot is fully focused on the success of this group led by Monty Williams.
“I want to go get a ring. In my opinion, our team this year is even stronger than last year. I want to be known as one of the best pivots on both sides of the pitch. We are the very definition of a team. We have a very strong cohesion between us. We like competition and we like working together. “
| Deandre Ayton | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | PHX | 71 | 31 | 58.5 | 0.0 | 74.6 | 3.1 | 7.1 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 16.3 |
| 2019-20 | PHX | 38 | 33 | 54.6 | 23.1 | 75.3 | 3.9 | 7.6 | 11.5 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 18.2 |
| 2020-21 | PHX | 69 | 31 | 62.6 | 20.0 | 76.9 | 3.3 | 7.2 | 10.5 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 14.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHX | 28 | 30 | 63.7 | 25.0 | 71.3 | 2.8 | 7.8 | 10.6 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 16.8 |
| Total | 206 | 31 | 59.4 | 20.0 | 75.0 | 3.3 | 7.3 | 10.6 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 16.1 | |
