Jordan Goodwin’s value showed up, even if votes didn’t

The Phoenix Suns may have overachieved in plenty of ways during the 2025-26 season, still, overachieving doesn’t automatically translate to end-of-season recognition. That’s just the reality of how awards work now.

Because of the NBA’s 65 game eligibility rule, Phoenix had a very limited pool of players even eligible for postseason honors. Only Oso Ighodaro, Collin Gillespie, Royce O’Neale, Jordan Goodwin, and Ryan Dunn played in 70 or more games and qualified. So when the NBA released its All-Defensive teams aon May 22, you already knew Phoenix wasn’t going to have much representation.

Someone like Dillon Brooks never really had a chance to be part of the conversation. Brooks played in 56 games, leaving him short of eligibility despite the kind of defensive season that absolutely would’ve warranted attention had he reached the threshold.

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But what about Jordan Goodwin? That’s where the conversation gets interesting.

After all, he was one of the better defensive guards in basketball this season. He finished sixth among guards in offensive rebounds per game and seventh among guards in steals. His 110.1 defensive rating speaks for itself. When you isolate rebounding alone, you can absolutely make the argument that no guard in the NBA impacted the glass the way Goodwin did.

Which makes his absence from the All-Defensive voting feel a little perplexing. Not shocking. Perplexing.

When awards voting rolls around, players on national television every week and players with bigger names tend to dominate the conversation. That’s the reality of it. Goodwin spent the year doing a lot of the dirty work that wins games and changes possessions without necessarily creating the kind of headlines that drive national narratives.

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Still, not receiving a single vote feels surprising. Especially when you watched him night after night. You saw the hands. The point of attack defense. The rebounding. The hustle plays that turned into extra possessions. The way he consistently made life uncomfortable for opposing guards. The value was obvious in Phoenix.

It’s a question that fellow teammate Collin…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jordan-goodwin-value-showed-even-190000366.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-24 19:00:00

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