After spending a season together on the Utah Jazz years prior, Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen were once again reunited after the Phoenix Suns acquired O’Neale from the Brooklyn Nets in February 2024, less than six months after Allen was sent to Phoenix in a deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks and Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers. Now that they have been traded to the Charlotte Hornets in a deal in which the Suns acquired Miles Bridges, it’s time to look back on their
Phoenix tenures.
In their three seasons together, the two played a variety of roles while being part of three wildly different Phoenix Suns teams.
After being on a balanced Milwaukee Bucks roster that boasted the best record in the NBA, Allen was quickly thrust into an important role on a Phoenix team short on depth outside of its big three of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker once he was traded. Starting in 74 games, the Duke product averaged career highs in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, and, most importantly, three-point percentage, where he led the NBA by shooting 46% from downtown.
With Bradley Beal and Devin Booker in and out of the lineup at times, Allen got ample opportunities to show off his playmaking chops, which were best on display in a February 2024 matchup against one of his former teams.
Amid Allen’s strong year, O’Neale was reunited with his former teammate after he was traded to Phoenix and, like Allen, was quickly thrust into a significant role early in his Suns tenure. Playing mostly the four spot, O’Neale took some of the team’s toughest defensive assignments to help Phoenix’s stars preserve energy for the offensive end, along with putting up a lot of threes.
In his 30 games with Phoenix during the 2023-24 season, he put up 157 threes, shooting 37.6% from deep.
Thanks to a short playoff run and Allen getting hurt, neither made much of an impact when the team got swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, but after signing Tyus Jones in free agency and with Booker, Durant and Beal having another year under their belt playing together, things were supposed to look bright in Arizona until the season happened.
Going 8-1 to start the season, when Kevin Durant got hurt in a game against the Dallas Mavericks in November 2024, Phoenix never recovered, going 28-45 down the stretch, but the root of the team’s struggles wasn’t on either of them. Allen did miss 18 games, but O’Neale averaged a career high in points per game up to that point.
The two of them solidified their status as some of the most impactful Suns role players of the past decade with this past season. Coming into this past season, there were rumblings about both of their long-term futures, considering the financial and roster positions the squad was in. With the team drafting rookies Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming, along with trading for 23-year-olds Jalen Green and Mark Williams, both O’Neale’s and Allen’s positions on a team retooling around Booker looked murky, but both found ways to contribute.
In the team’s 11th game of the year, Allen made history when he hit a franchise record 10 threes during his career-high 42-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans. The game put the Suns over .500, where they remained for the rest of the season.
When Booker was out, Allen stepped up as a scorer. His 28-point game against the Los Angeles Lakers helped the team end a February they struggled in with a comeback win against a top-six team. With Booker out in a January 29 game against the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Detroit Pistons, he dropped 24 points while going a perfect 10 for 10 from the charity stripe in a surprising 114 to 96 victory for the team.
Missing nearly 40% of the season mainly because of lower-body injuries, Allen was in and out of the lineup, but remained impactful, averaging over 15 points a game as a reserve.
For O’Neale, unlike Allen, he started the season coming off the bench, but that didn’t last long after his strong shooting to start the season. Starting in 67 of 78 games played, O’Neale built off his career year in the 2024 2025 campaign with even better numbers and productivity in an increased role. He averaged the most points and threes made per game on the best three-point efficiency of his career, hitting nearly 41% of his treys. His shining moment came in the same game Allen scored 28 against the Lakers, when O’Neale scored the team’s final seven points and hit the game-winning three with less than a second left to seal the victory.
Playing in different roles and positions on different types of teams, both found ways to make an impact as strong floor spacers in every minute on the court.
While neither will go down as the most iconic or greatest players to ever don a Phoenix Suns uniform, in their three seasons on the team, Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen helped a playoff team get back to the playoffs after a down year and helped re-establish a culture that was lacking.
And personally, as a young reporter speaking to them in NBA locker rooms after wins and losses, they gave me the respect and patience to answer my questions not only with thoughtfulness but also with kindness, which will not be forgotten.
Best of luck to them both in Charlotte. They made an impact in Phoenix.
