Being drafted into the NBA is something that every young basketball player dreams of. This week, the Suns made two of those dreams come true with Virginia forward Ryan Dunn and Marquette big man Oso Ighodaro.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Today, the Suns shared the phone call and raw emotions from inside the team’s facility when they decided to draft Dunn at No. 28 overall yesterday.
Dunn Deal ???? pic.twitter.com/cUozoIx59k
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 28, 2024
General manager and president of basketball operations James Jones starts the call by introducing himself, owner Mat Ishbia and chief executive officer Josh Bartelstein and welcoming Dunn to the “family.”
“I’m grateful. I thank you for having me,” Dunn said in response. “I’m excited to get down there. I’m ready to go to work from day one.
“Trust me. I promise you. I’ll be in that gym. I’ll live in that gym. I promise you.”
Phoenix traded back six spots from their original position with the Denver Nuggets before drafting Dunn. The Suns also got the No. 56 overall pick in this year’s draft (eventually traded to acquire Ighodaro at pick 40) and Denver’s 2026 and 2031 second-round selections in the deal.
However, Jones reveals they were targeting Dunn, who worked out for Phoenix last Thursday, the whole time.
“I told you, post-workout, we’re going to make it happen,” Jones said. “Excited to have you here, man. Start of the journey. Let’s get it going.”
New Suns coach Mike Budenholzer, who was hired by Phoenix on May 11 to replace Frank Vogel, who was fired after only one season, then came to the phone.
“Ryan, you ready to go?” Budenholzer said.
“Yes, sir. I’m ready to go right now,” Dunn responded.
“I knew when I saw you in Thea (a restaurant in Camelback) that night, you were our guy,” Budneholzer said. “Congratulations. We’re very happy for you. Happy for us.”
Dunn could not stop saying thank you in response to Budenholzer.
The next person that talked was Ishbia.
“How you doing, man? Congratulations,” Ishbia said.
Dunn answered: “Thank you so much. Thank you for this opportunity.”
“We’re excited to have you. We’ve been talking about you for a week,” Ishbia said. “We’re excited about it. We’re going to get you here.”
Bartelstein then chimed in: “Ryan, we’ll see you soon. Go enjoy the night with your family.”
Dunn once again could not stop thanking them, and everyone in the room started applauding as the call came to a close.
Jones, Dunn and the rest of Phoenix’s draft acquisitions will be speaking with the media next week. The 2024 NBA Summer League begins on July 12 in Las Vegas, where fans will get to see these rookies play for the first time.
Jones also spoke with the media yesterday about Dunn following the first round. You can read about what he said by clicking here.
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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
