Collin Gillepsie is having the breakout season of a lifetime. The same guy who spent time in the G League as recently as a season ago is now in the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year. Who would’ve
thought?
Oh, yeah… me! This was from my “3 Hot Takes Predictions” piece back in the preseason. And yes, I’ll take a victory lap, even if premature. Here’s the snippet:
And he might play his way out of eligibility due to… too many starts! In other words, he’s been too important to keep out of the starting five. Especially with the injuries to Jalen Green, Devin Booker, and Grayson Allen throughout the year.
The criteria for 6th Man eligibility:
- Must appear in 65 games or more
- Must come off the bench in more games than starts
Gillespie has appeared in 33 games, starting in 14 of them. Meaning he has 19 appearances off the bench, so he is still eligible, but the gap is quickly closing. Jalen Green’s return will likely push him to the bench, unless they decide to go with a smaller starting lineup with Gillespie, Green, Booker, Brooks, and Williams, which is a possibility.
The Case for Gillespie
The narrative is strong in the case for Collin Gillespie actually winning the damn thing. The Suns are massively exceeding expectations, in large part due to Gillespie’s breakout season.
2025-26 Stats: 14.0 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.1 rpg, 1.4 spg, on a 44/43/87 shooting split. That’s a 60.1 true shooting percentage.
He is efficiently scoring, getting others involved without turning it over frequently, and competing defensively.
His activity on defense isn’t limited to jumping the passing lanes (1.4 steals per game), but he is also not afraid to mix it up with bigger opponents. Despite the lack of size, he competes on that side of the floor just as hard, if not harder, than offensively. He picks up 94 feet. He turns his opponent. He disrupts on the helpside.
Gillepie’s movement shooting has also been dynamic. He can catch and shoot while peeling off a screen or relocating to a corner and fading right or left; it doesn’t faze him.
Pull-up triples? No problem. Defense overcommits? He’ll burn you off the dribble. Helpside comes to clog the lane on his penetration? He’ll find the open man.
Collin Gillespie makes winning plays. He is a winner. Plain and simple.
The Competition
Keldon Johnson and Ajay Mitchell are two of Gillespie’s top competitors, who also happen to be on very high seeds. They have each been instrumental (at times) to their team’s success, so I don’t want to discount what they’ve done, but I think the Spurs and Thunder would be as lost without them as the Suns would be without Collin Gillespie right now.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Reed Sheppard are also in the mix with Johnson and Mitchell, and a few other important role players are emerging, such as Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, and Anthony Black.
There may not be a “favorite” for the award at the moment, but there is plenty of depth and competition around the league, which speaks to the health of talent across the association.
If he doesn’t win Sixth Man of the Year, he has a case for Most Improved Player of the Year. He has a legitimate case for both awards with his emergence.
Either way, one thing is abundantly clear: The Phoenix Suns are a better basketball team when Collin Gillespie is on the floor.
Where would this Suns team be without him? I don’t think any of us wants to know.
