Although it was a tough loss for the Suns against the Lakers on Wednesday, Deandre Ayton continued to show why he was selected first overall.
The rookie notched his third double-double in just his fourth career game as he once again filled the stat sheet while battling in the paint. Ayton scored a career-high 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
The Big Fella not only shined in front of the Phoenix fans, but also impressed the four-time MVP on the other side of the court.
“I think that he has a lot of talent,” Lakers’ LeBron James said. “He is going to continue to get better and better. They chose right.”
Not only is Ayton putting up Rookie-of-the-Year-type numbers, but he is also making life easier for his teammates around him.
“I threw it to him one time and they went to go double and it opened up a shot,” Devin Booker said about his teammate. “So, he’s going to be a force down there the whole season. And I feel like teams are going to have to figure out what they want to do.”
Unfortunately for Booker, a hamstring injury forced him to leave the game during the third quarter and did not return for the remainder of the game.
“I’m very concerned,” Ayton said about Booker’s injury. “I didn’t really see him. I just saw the whole arena got quiet and I see him walking off the court. I see him walk off and I just got a little worried. Hope it’s not too serious.”
Booker said that he will sleep on it tonight and see how it feels in the morning to get a better understanding on what happened.
The team fell to the Lakers 131-113, but Booker knows the season is still young.
“We have a long way to go,” Booker said. “I feel like there’s a lot of teams in this situation right now. It’s really early along in the season, and we know that. But figuring it out the sooner the better it’s going to be a lot better for us.“
The Suns will take the next two days off as they prepare to travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Saturday. Be sure to catch the action on Fox Sports Arizona.