Deandre Ayton drew heavy criticism over the last few seasons with the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers.
As a former No. 1 draft pick, he was expected to live up to the hype. Unfortunately, this is Ayton’s third team in three seasons. But now with the Wizards, he has a chance to reinvent himself even if it means sacrificing and coming off the bench.
Deandre Ayton’s Teammates and Coach Giving Praise
Trae Young and head coach Brian Keefe both talked about Ayton’s huge sacrifice for the team.
“He was the number one pick in my class, and he has so much talent. You see what he does when he gets on the court. So it’s very selfless of him. The way he’s carried himself and his attitude and his energy, not everybody can do that,” Young said about his draft classmate.
“Yeah, he’s been terrific. His energy is terrific around the building; since we’ve got him, it’s contagious. You can feel them. This guy’s a really good player. Came in, impacted the game right away. You could feel his physicality and size. Obviously, you saw some of the offensive rebounding,” Keefe said about his backup center.
Justin Champagnie also talked about how Ayton brings energy to this team:
“He’s always telling me to keep going, keep crashing. He brings energy to the team. I think you guys will see that on the videos. But he’s a great piece to our team, a great addition in the locker room.”
Ayton’s New Role
The biggest criticism of Ayton has always been the effort on both ends of the ball. There was always talk about how he was unhappy with his role on teams, dating back to his time with the Suns playing alongside Chris Paul.
What Ayton can do with this team is buy into his role as an energy player off the bench, provide valuable minutes, and excel in a lesser role. It seems that role will be a rebounder off the bench.
So far in about 15 minutes per game, he’s averaging seven points and five rebounds, shooting a career-best 76.9% from two.
Back when he first entered the league, Ayton predicted his partnership with Devin Booker would become a modern-day version of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Ayton playing behind a top-75 all-time player like Anthony Davis and a rising star like Alex Sarr is a big luxury for the Wizards. Ayton is still a quality starting center who averages 15.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in his career.
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