Season in Review: Oso Ighodaro proved his doubters wrong

Welcome to our Phoenix Suns Season in Review series, where we revisit every player who suited up during the 2025–26 campaign through the lens of expectation, reality, and what it ultimately meant.

Player Snapshot

Contract Status: Rookie-scale contract, team has a club option in 2027-2028, UFA in 2028-2029 if not resigned

SunsRank (Preseason): 10

SunsRank (Postseason): 8

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*SunsRank is based on Bright Side writers’ ranking.

Season in One Sentence

In his sophomore year, Oso Ighodaro showed that there is room to grow, but the prospect has the potential to be something special.

By the Numbers

The Iron Man suited up for all 82 games and had some nice stats.

GP

MIN

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

FG%

3PT%

FT%

DEFRTG

OFRTG

+/-
(TOTAL)

82

22.0

6.5

5.1

2.3

0.9

0.7

65.3%

0.0%

45.3%

109.7

114.8

+5.1

The Expectation

Coming into this year, Oso Ighodaro was expected to continue to grow as a backup big and prove that he deserved to be part of the rotation. Last season, the big man saw sporadic playing time and did not get much burn until the season was dust. This had the fans questioning what his role could truly be on the roster, especially with the front court getting two new additions. Would Ighodaro get lost in the shuffle or rise through the cracks to make a name for himself?

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The Reality

Well, Ighodaro definitely proved his worth, even if his role did change throughout the year. To begin the year, he was the big man Jordan Ott trusted the most, getting the start with Mark WIllimas getting to game speed. This was a bit too much for Ighodaro to handle, but who else would they throw into the fray, their rookie? Ighodaro dealt with tough matchups against Nikola Jokic and Ivica Zubac to start the season, and it had fans ready to ship the big man away, not even a week in.

That is where it all started to change for Ighodaro, though, as when Williams returned, he found himself in his true role: the backup center. This is where his and Gillespie’s connection began to brew as the duo quickly realized their pick-and-roll would be a feast for opponents. This allowed Oso to find multiple trips to the boom room and get comfortable in the rotation. He…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/season-review-oso-ighodaro-proved-120000076.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-13 12:00:00

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