Fandom is a funny thing. You watch your team, take in their highs and lows, and somewhere along the way, you start forming a bond with certain players. You see them hit a big shot when it matters or note
the effort they display, and something about that sticks. It builds a quiet kind of appreciation.
Over time, players move on. Trades happen, careers wind down, and all that’s left is how you remember them. You think back on the moments they gave you and feel that mix of nostalgia and gratitude. You remember the sweat, you appreciate the effort, and you hold on the memory of what they did for your team.
Names like Lou Amundson, Leandro Barbosa, Danny Ainge, P.J. Tucker, or Jevon Carter. They weren’t the stars, but they left a mark. Players like that live in their own space, one that belongs to the fans.
The Phoenix Suns have one of those players right now, though the respect and appreciation haven’t caught up to the reality of what he brings. The consistency is there, but the recognition isn’t. It’s barely a whisper. His name comes up more in trade talk than in praise, mostly because he’s owed $16.9 million this year, making him the third-highest-paid player on the roster. Well, fourth if you count that $19.4 million still tied to Bradley Beal after the buyout.
He’s the kind of player who clocks in, does his job, and keeps things steady while everyone looks elsewhere. His contributions don’t always make the highlight reel, but they’re felt. His sacrifices show up in the details. He embodies everything that makes a fan favorite, even if the fans haven’t quite realized it yet.
That player is Grayson Allen.
As I sat in the third row of the Mortgage Matchup Center during shootaround yesterday, I couldn’t help but enjoy watching Grayson warm up. His focus, his rhythm, his ease. But what stood out most was his playfulness. The way he laughed with the staff rebounding for him, traded jokes with the trainers shadowing his movements, and carried himself with a lightness that made the whole scene feel effortless.
There was a real joy in it. A guy who loves what he’s doing, even on a night when he hit the injury report earlier in the day with an illness. Shot after shot after shot, the net barely moved. Each make came with a grin, a quick comment, or a laugh shared across the court.
Then he went out and did what Grayson Allen does. 7-of-13 from the field, 4-of-9 from deep, four assists, three rebounds, three steals, a block, and 18 points. He finished a +22. But the headlines pointed elsewhere. To Jalen Green’s debut, to the boos for Bradley Beal, to the relief Devin Booker must’ve felt finally sharing the scoring load.
No fanfare, no celebration. Just Grayson Allen doing what he does, contributing in ways that help the team win.
It’s probably not something you think about often. Honestly, neither do I, and that’s part of the point. We all overlook him. But Grayson Allen is now in his third season with the Phoenix Suns. That’s the longest stretch he’s spent with any team since entering the league as the 21st overall pick in the 2018 draft. He’s played 148 games here, ten more than his entire run in Milwaukee.
When he arrived, he carried a reputation. A “dirty player.” Too physical. Maybe even reckless. But since he’s been here, he’s been nothing but a grinder. A blue-collar guy who shows up with his lunch pail, clocks in, and does the work.
In his first season, he started 74 of the 75 games he played, hitting a league-best 46.1% from deep and posting a career-high 13.5 points per game. He did all that while stretching the limits of his role. In his second season, he appeared in 64 games but started only seven after the team brought in his former Duke teammate Tyus Jones, a move that cut into his minutes. Even then, he shot 42.6% from three and averaged 10.6 points per game. On a team that couldn’t find consistency, Grayson was the one who provided it.
This season, he’s started all nine games for the Suns. No one mentions that. We’re too busy checking the injury report to see what Jalen Green’s status is, or how Dillon Brooks’ soft tissue is holding up. But it’s Grayson Allen who’s been steady through it all. Consistent as ever.
Against the Clippers, he suited up while feeling under the weather and still delivered.
Through nine games, he’s playing 34.8 minutes per night, taking 13.4 shots, nine of them from deep, and averaging 16.6 points per game. All career highs. He’s also handing out 4.9 assists per game, another career best, while shooting 39.5% from three.
In short, Grayson Allen has done everything to earn a spot in the heart of Suns fandom. He came to Phoenix with a reputation and turned it into a home. Now the second-longest tenured player on the roster, he’s been reliable, durable, and quietly impactful. You’d think we’d talk about him more.
He does everything well, does it consistently, and throws in the occasional highlight that makes you double take. Who knew Grayson Allen could get that kind of lift on layups and dunks? I sure didn’t.
For someone I used to despise at Duke, back when he was tripping guys and smirking his way through games, he’s turned into someone I genuinely respect.
He’s become a player defined by effort, by steadiness, by the way he holds this team together when everything else feels uncertain. The grin, the grit, the quiet efficiency. Grayson Allen might not make headlines now, but one day we’ll look back and realize how much he mattered. Because in an era full of questionable moves, the trade that brought him here — sending Deandre Ayton to Portland — still feels like one of the best decisions of the Mat Ishbia era.
