Tier 2 of SunsRank is in the books, and to be honest, there haven’t been many surprises. That’s what happens when you open the floor to enough people on a question as subjective as “who’s better than who.” Sure, there are always outliers. Some folks will hitch their wagon to a bias and ride it all the way from Independence to the Willamette Valley. But when you’ve got 300-plus votes rolling in, the trends overwhelm those stricken with dysentery.
Tier 2 — “The Pillars” — has now been locked in. These
are the stabilizers of the roster, the players who carry weight without being the Cornerstones. And as it pertains to SunsRank Preseason 2025, here’s where we stand:
It was close. Ryan Dunn earned the 5th spot by a grand total of…checks notes…1 vote.
Tier 2 really underscores why so many people are down on the Phoenix Suns. If Mark Williams is your third-best player, and he’s someone who has been plagued by injuries throughout his young career, then what is the true ceiling of this team? How good can they really be? There’s reason for optimism, sure. Williams has shown the talent to be a top-third center in the NBA. But the best ability is availability, and that’s been the one thing he hasn’t been able to provide consistently. Having him slotted as your third-best player says everything about where the Suns are right now.
And with that, we move on to Tier 3. The Wild Cards. This is where the youth lives, where potential upside sits down at the dinner table, where an old veteran gets one more shot at relevance, and where a backup point guard is finally put in a position to sink or swim. They’re wild cards for a reason. If they hit, good things can happen for the Suns and for the players themselves. But uncertainty will always be their destiny.
And the list is, going alphabetically by first name…
Collin Gillespie
A year ago, Gillespie entered the season at the very bottom of SunsRank. But through effort, tenacity, and seizing every sliver of opportunity, he climbed all the way to number eight by the end of the year. By NBA standards, it wasn’t a standout season, but within the context of what the Suns were, his hustle and determination stood out.
Those qualities earned him the right to stick around, and now he enters this year as the backup point guard. This is his chance to carve out a true rotational role, to prove he belongs as a steady piece of an NBA roster.
Khaman Maluach
Ah, our first look at a rookie. The 10th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Khaman Maluach entered as the top big man prospect in the class. He fell to the Suns, fittingly with the pick that once belonged to them before it was sent away for Kevin Durant. That alone makes him more than just another draft selection. Maluach represents a shift in the franchise, a tangible reminder of a new era.
Gone is a Hall of Famer, in comes the promise of a potential foundational big man.
Koby Brea
Another rookie, this one on a two-way contract. Koby Brea comes to the Suns as a pure sharpshooter, a specialist who can stretch the floor in a way every roster needs. He led the SEC in three-point shooting last season and the entire NCAA the year before. Over five years in college — four at Dayton and one at Kentucky — he buried 317 of his 730 attempts, a career mark of 43.4% from deep.
At 22, Brea has the potential to be a spark off the bench, the kind of player who can change the rhythm of a game with his shot. Long term, he could even slide into a role that looks a lot like the ones currently held by Grayson Allen or Royce O’Neale. Maybe not right away, but the skill set is there, and the opportunity will eventually come.
Nigel Hayes-Davis
NHD. It’s a nickname that feels destined to stick, especially if he carves out a regular spot in the rotation.
What kind of impact he’ll make is still an open question, but from a talent standpoint, and from the ever-subjective “who is better” standpoint, where does he really land? He’s one of the most intriguing players on the roster, and it will be fascinating to see how the community perceives him once the votes are cast.
Oso Ighodaro
Year two of Oso brings plenty of questions. What has he added to his game? How will the Suns use him? When will they use him? Does he have more than just a push shot in his arsenal? How does his rebounding look? Has he added gerth to his game?
A season ago, he entered SunsRank at 13th overall. By the end, he climbed to 10th. That’s a jump into the Wild Cards, and one he earned. All things considered, it feels like the right step forward. So here’s the next Oso question: where does he land now?
Rasheer Fleming
That makes three rookies in The Wild Cards. Fleming’s talent is obvious. He turned himself into a force at St. Joe’s, and now the question is how he channels that talent at the NBA level. That’s the storyline to watch in 2025–26. We’ve seen plenty of wings with promise enter the league only to fall short of the impact we imagined. Earl Clark still lingers in my mind as the great “what if.”
So, how do you rate Fleming? Do you lean into the talent and the upside, or do you focus on the reality of where he stands right now…a true Wild Card?
Now we know the players in the tier. Now it’s time to do what SunsRank is all about. Vote it out. Drop your rankings, and more importantly, tell us why. The “why” is where the debates live, and that’s where this whole thing gets fun. So flood the comments, make your case, and let’s see how it shakes out.
