At 32-years-old, Royce O’Neale is the oldest member of the Phoenix Suns. Entering his 9th season in the NBA, O’Neale has been a model of consistency through his career.
O’Neale’s 600 regular-season games played rank third in the NBA since he entered the league in 2017-18, trailing only Buddy Hield (632) and Harrison Barnes (607). So, availability has never been an issue for the former Baylor Bear.
Back to that consistency thing. O’Neale has shot at least 35.6% from three in each of his NBA seasons and, generally, has seen his scoring improve year after year during his career. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, last year was O’Neale’s best statistical season from a scoring perspective, averaging 9.1 PPG on 42.3/40.6/73.1 splits. Nothing that jumps off the page, but exactly what a player in his role needs to do.
O’Neale has continued that improvement through the early part of this season. Through 7 games, Royce O’Neale is averaging a career-high 12.7 points per game on a career-best 42.4% from deep. And while the number of games is a small sample size, the 3PA per game is not. O’Neale is averaging a career high of 8.4 attempts per game. And the clip with which he has been making three-pointers put him first in Suns history for 3PM through the first 7 games of a season.
(Through 8 games, now, Grayson Allen has taken the lead.)
O’Neale has been, per usual, instrumental on the defensive side of the ball, also. He is averaging a career high in steals (1.7) and played a significant role in Victor Wembanyama having his worst game of the season against the Suns earlier this week.
Of course, the start of this season has left the Suns short-handed, so O’Neale has seen a bump in minutes, too. He’s averaging a career-high 32.7 per game so far. Certainly, that has helped lead him to that career high in points, but there is something to be said about Royce taking advantage of those extra minutes.
Ultimately, again, we are looking at a small sample size. But having a reliable three-point shooter off the bench who can contribute defensively and as a leader is valuable to a roster as young as the Phoenix Suns. And if O’Neale’s consistency continues, that creates value for him as a potential trade piece.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For the time being, let’s hope that, even if we see those minutes and opportunities decrease slightly as the Suns get the likes of Jalen Green back, O’Neale continues to take advantage of them.
