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Alex Len’s Work Ethic, Attitude a Perfect Fit for Suns

It’s Saturday afternoon in Sacramento, and Alex Len is already dialed in.

He’s in Suns gear with headphones on, in full game mode.

Less than 24 hours from now, the Suns will take on DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings. The coaching and training staff do not expect Len to play due to a sprained right ankle he sustained in Portland just two days prior.

For Len, it doesn’t matter. He wants to get on the court as soon as possible, even if there’s a remote shot at getting minutes.

So he’ll work on whatever treatment the training staff needs him to do to put him in the best possible place to succeed. It would have been easy for Len to rest and accept that he’ll come back after the All-Star break, but he isn’t built that way.

That is to say, for Len to be in a position to entertain the thought of playing is rather remarkable, but it’s certainly not a surprise to those who work with Len on a daily basis.

“He works really, really hard,” Hornacek said. “He never complains, never has a bad attitude – he goes out there and does what we ask him to do and does a lot of it on his own initiative. He’s taken a big step this year, and I think people are seeing why we drafted him.”

Len ended up not playing in Sacramento. But to his credit, he likely would have played against the Rockets on Tuesday if it were a playoff game.

It seems that Len (who is basically in his first full season in the NBA) has already figured out how to be a consummate professional. The best part? He has an insatiable thirst to continually improve in all facets of his game – and it’s 100 percent genuine.

In fact, it’s something the organization saw as he battled ankle injuries during his rookie season.

“I just always want to get better,” Len said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be a better player, and [someone] who helps the team win. I’ll put in whatever work I need to.”

The countless hours of work have paid off. Alex Len was inserted into the starting lineup on December 15 and has averaged blocks per contest in the 26 games since then. That rate is tied for the sixth-most in the NBA in that span, trailing only Hassan Whiteside, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Pau Gasol, and Serge Ibaka.

Perhaps most impressive, Len has blocked at least five shots in four of the last 23 games. Prior to that, a Suns player had blocked at least five shots in a game just four times in the previous 157 games.

Again, none of this would be possible without Len making the conscious decision to do the little things that nobody sees to improve his overall health.

“His ankle is fine because of the quality of our medical staff and his work ethic,” Lon Babby said recently. “Had he not put the time in to strengthen his ankle he would’ve suffered a severe injury [on Thursday against the Blazers].

“But because he worked so hard and because our training staff is beyond superb he’ll be back, I’m sure, after the All-Star break.”

If there were any player to bet on having a stellar finish to the 2014-15 season, Alex Len should be at the very top of a short list.