Something that has happened over the years since I started writing here at Bright Side of the Sun back in 2020 is that my approach to the craft has changed. It evolved. Slowly, almost without me noticing at first. The longer you do this, the more you feel a responsibility to look at the game with a clearer lens. So I started leaning into the analytical side of things. When I sit down to write, I try to examine what I am watching with a little discipline. I look at the numbers. I watch the possessions
again. I try to understand why something is happening rather than reacting to the first emotional wave that hits you while you are on the couch.
The goal is balance. Acknowledge the different sides of the conversation. Lay out the context. Let the statistics speak when they need to. Lean on the eye test when the numbers do not tell the full story. Then land somewhere that feels honest and grounded based on what actually happened on the court. In short, I try to stay level-headed. Present. Rooted in reality. I allow space for possibilities and projections, although I try to keep my feet planted on the floor while doing it.
Although let’s be real for a second. I am still a fan.
I still get excited about the dumb stuff. I still fire off ridiculous takes on social media like a lunatic shouting from the top of a tower overlooking the Valley. I will tweet something absurd in the heat of a moment and then turn around later and write something far more measured and thoughtful about the exact same thing.
That is part of the fun of sports. The hope. The adrenaline. The moment when you leap out of the chair and yell something that would make no sense if it were written down five minutes later. The overreaction is baked into the experience. Yes, there are moments when it gets exhausting. Anyone who has read my writing over the years knows I have complained about it plenty. Yet it is also part of the culture of being a fan. It always has been.
So for this column, I am leaning into that side of it. The fan hat is going on. The analytical brain can sit quietly in the corner for a minute. Today, we are letting the emotional side of the ride take the wheel.
I know it has only been a couple of games where we have truly seen Rasheer Fleming flash glimpses of what he could become, although I am fully here for it. I am talking full fan mode, leaning forward on the couch, eyes wide, letting the imagination run a little wild. Because the possibility that he is scratching the surface of what he might become as a player is the kind of thing that gets the gears turning.
And if he hits — if he truly hits — it shifts the trajectory of this franchise in a meaningful way.
Maybe I am holding onto that idea a little too tightly. I can admit that. The draft cupboard is not exactly overflowing right now, and the Suns need one of these recent picks from the past couple of seasons to turn into something real. Something more than a guy who fills ten minutes off the bench and disappears into the rotation chart. They need impact, they need growth, and they need a young player who bends the arc of the roster forward.
That context probably fuels some of my excitement.
Although when you watch what Fleming has done over the last two games, it is hard not to feel something. You see the length. You see the instincts. You see those defensive possessions where he slides, contests, disrupts, and suddenly the court feels smaller for whoever he is guarding. Then he pops up on the other end with a confident three or a strong finish and the mind starts wandering.
You may not be as hyped as I am, and that is fair. I acknowledge that I might be a few feet off the ground right now. Although you watch those moments and the feeling creeps in. Something might be there.
Shout out to Kellan Olson for putting the following clip together.
What I see in Rasheer Fleming are shades of a young Kawhi Leonard.
Yes, those are massive shoes to fill. Yes, it is way too early to start tossing around a comparison like that. Although remember, this is a fan piece. The measured and tempered version of me can clock back in tomorrow. Today, the imagination is allowed to roam a little.
Because imagine it for a second. Imagine if the Suns somehow ended up with a player who became 80% of what Kawhi Leonard has been. That is a guy who owns two championships. A Finals MVP. A player who, for a stretch of years, lived in that conversation with the very best in the league. Not a brief flash. Not a single magical season. Multiple years where he bent playoff series with his presence on both ends of the floor.
When you step back and think about where the Suns are as a franchise, the thought carries a little extra weight.
Phoenix spent a mountain of draft capital to get here. The moves to acquire Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal drained a lot of the future chips from the table. That reality places a little extra pressure on the youth that remains.
Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro arrived in the 2024 draft. If those two grow into dependable rotation players for this organization, that already qualifies as a success based on where they were selected. When we talk about Khaman Maluach, the expectations rise slightly, because a lottery pick always carries a heavier spotlight. Early signs suggest the 19-year-old is developing the right way and might start carving out real impact in a season or two.
Then there is Rasheer Fleming.
The Suns took him with the first pick of the second round in the 2025 draft. They maneuvered to get him. They saw something in the kid from Saint Joseph’s that made them move pieces around the board. A humble kid from a military family. A personality that fits the blueprint of someone who wants to show up, do the work, and let the effort speak for itself.
If that pick hits, if it becomes anything beyond a simple rotation piece, the ripple effect could be massive. Imagine if he turns into an All-Defense type of player. Imagine if he sneaks into an All-Star conversation someday. What a story that would become. What an endearing player he would be for the fan base.
It is unfair to place those ideas on his shoulders right now. I know that. Although when you watch him move on the floor, when you see that NBA-ready body and those long arms stretching across passing lanes, the imagination cannot help itself.
Personally? I am getting ridiculous with it. I am buying Rasheer Fleming rookie cards like a man who has lost control of his own wallet. Autos. Topps Chrome. I grabbed one yesterday that has a piece of his jersey stitched right into the card. That is how deep the hype spiral has gone.
This 21-one-year-old kid with wings like a condor reminds me of a young Kawhi. “Baby Claw.” That nickname is fantastic, and all credit goes to Miah Scott for that one.
Eventually, I will come back to reality. He probably will too. The NBA does that to everybody. Not every night becomes a highlight reel. Growth does not travel in a straight line where every game is better than the last.
Although that little voice sits in the back of the brain and whispers a question. “What if it does last?” What if that is the road Rasheer Fleming is about to walk down? What if jersey number 20 becomes the one Suns fans start tossing into their carts when they scroll through the team shop? It sounds ridiculous after a couple of flashes from a rookie. Although it is fun to think about.
The road ahead is long. The climb is steep. These small flashes along the way are the mile markers that make the journey enjoyable. They keep the imagination alive. They give fans something to hold onto. A little annoying at times. A little irrational. Although that is sports. That is why we watch.
Maybe it becomes something. Maybe it becomes everything Suns fans are hoping for. For now, the flashes are enough to let the imagination run, and sometimes that is the most fun part of the ride.
