In an interview with Basketball Intelligence’s Mark Medina, Deandre Ayton said that he has nothing left to prove in the NBA.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“I’m a max player, and I’ll continue to be a max player,” Ayton said.
"I got nothing to prove in this league. I’m a max player, and I’ll continue to be a max player."
– Deandre Ayton
(Via https://t.co/mA6QxLpfSm) pic.twitter.com/RDTTiR2LSc
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 23, 2024
The Phoenix Suns matched a four-year, $133 million deal for Ayton back in July of 2022 after the big man originally signed with the Indiana Pacers. Since, the former No. 1 overall pick was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sept. 27 after a very up-and-down tenure in Phoenix.
Most notably, Ayton helped the Suns reach the 2021 NBA Finals. During this run, he had one of the best plays in team history now known as the “Valley Oop.”
However, Ayton’s inconsistent play on the Suns had fans calling for a trade of the big man for a while, but more so than ever after a rough end to the 2022-23 season. This was highlighted by Ayton getting benched during the team’s last playoff series against the Nuggets.
All in all, Ayton played in 303 total regular season games for Phoenix, starting 296 of them. He averaged 16.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and one block on 59.7% shooting across his five seasons in the Valley.
Now, Ayton is averaging a career-low 12.8 points on 53.7% shooting along with 10.4 rebounds in 26 games for the 12-30 Blazers, who are currently in 14th place in the Western Conference.
Ayton appears to not be having that good of a season based on these numbers, but is apparently not worried about the start to his Blazers’ career.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
