Ryan Dunn 2024-25 Suns season preview: Defensive terror, questionable shooter

It’s been four long years since the Phoenix Suns had their own rookie on the roster, and for a team that needed a plus-sized, defensive-minded wing, Ryan Dunn checks that box emphatically.

At this point, most people understand that Dunn is a defensive beast with very real questions about his playability offense, mainly due to his poor 3-point shooting in college.

But what exactly makes him such an incredible prospect on the defensive end? And what can the Suns realistically expect from his offense as he works to develop an adequate 3-point shot?

Over the next 13 days, we’re going through our Suns season preview series, one-by-one, for all 17 players on the roster. That includes both a written piece for the avid readers (hello there!) and a video breakdown for the visual learners.

For Day 4, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at Ryan Dunn’s game, where he can help this Suns team from the get-go, how his 3-point shot is coming along, and what else he can do on the offensive end to mitigate that potential concern.

Ryan Dunn 2024-25 Suns Season Preview starts with defense

Every team says they emerged from the NBA Draft with the guys they wanted, but according to a source, the Suns really did go into draft night with Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro at the very top of their wish list. Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein confirmed as much in an interview with PHNX Sports as well.

“Everyone says, like, ‘Hey, we got two guys in our top-15,’ every team says that,” Bartelstein said. “For us, Ryan and Oso were two guys we targeted. Like, when the draft started, we said, ‘If we can get those two guys, it’ll be a home run draft.'”

For a Suns team that needed more plus-sized, defensive-minded wings, Dunn checks that box emphatically. There’s a reason multiple draft experts have referred to this 21-year-old as one of the best defensive players they’ve ever evaluated. If he can just be passable on offense, he could have multiple All-Defensive selections in his future.

“He just got drafted as a defender,” Tony Bennett, Dunn’s head coach at Virginia, told PHNX Sports. “Not many guys would get drafted with his offensive numbers, and that speaks to what they believe he can bring.”

At 6-foot-8, with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, he’s a swarming presence on the ball. He’s got a sturdy base, doesn’t mind using his chest to play with physicality, and is laterally quick enough to contain ball-handlers before getting up a contest when the frustrated player he’s guarding has to try and get a shot up. Dunn blocked an awful lot of jump shots with that recipe:

Whether it was in iso situations, switching onto smaller ball-handlers or stopping drives to the rim, Dunn was one of the more disruptive defenders in all of college basketball last season. It’s encouraging he mentioned Herb Jones, OG Anunoby and Jaden McDaniels when asked whose NBA film he watches.

In-house, it’s just as encouraging to hear a defensive menace like Josh Okogie say that Dunn has instincts that you just can’t teach, and then hear the rookie say Okogie has already offered to help guide him:

Ryan Dunn being able to pick Josh Okogie's brain is a beautiful thing! We talked about expectations for Dunn, Oso Ighodaro and the two-way contracts on the latest pod

Watch: https://t.co/6medPJnV5t
Listen: https://t.co/G0GvLlj1Zw pic.twitter.com/sWq8Vhlc2a

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) October 4, 2024

Much like Okogie, Dunn is a basketball pterodactyl with great anticipation, swooping in on unsuspecting prey on the perimeter, at the rim, and in passing lanes to turn defense into instant offense.

Dunn’s 1.3 steals per game last year at Virginia don’t sound like much, but the Cavaliers’ highly-vaunted defense limits those opportunities for wing players. He rotates quickly, and his steals are more like interceptions or even pick-6s because he’s a freight train on the break.

Dunn isn’t just a terror on the perimeter, though. On the block and in the paint, he’s capable of stonewalling bigger post-up players, and as he continues to put on NBA muscle, there’s reason to believe he’ll be able to play some small-ball 5 minutes in addition to the 4-spot.

The biggest reason for optimism there is also the most tantalizing aspect of Ryan Dunn’s defense: incredible shot-blocking. Because of his freakish athletic tools and nonstop motor, Dunn is never truly out of a play. He frequently rotates back to the basket to contest shots at the rim, and he’s a master of the chase-down block, sizing up shots from a great distance away before crashing in to deliver a volleyball spike:

Dunn actually led the ACC in blocks as a wing, averaging 2.3 per game last year. According to Stathead, he was one of two qualified players in all of college basketball to post a block percentage of at least 10.4 percent and a steal percentage of 3.1 percent. Since 1974, he’s one of five players 6-foot-8 or shorter to meet those thresholds.

“Big-play defensive ability, he’s the most impressive I’ve coached,” Tony Bennett said. “I think as he continues to mature, he’ll even get more consistent just keeping guys in front. But he would just make some plays, you’d be like, ‘Man, he just owned a game defensively with X-amount of blocks, steals, and some of these plays.'”

He’ll have to adjust to NBA speed, strength and shot-making, and Bennett mentioned how they would joke about Dunn guarding everyone’s man but his own because he was always gambling all over the court.

But Dunn really is the ultimate disruptor who can singlehandedly blow up an opponent’s play from any phase of the game. He aspires to be the Suns’ designated lockdown defender, and we saw a bit of that at NBA Summer League.

“I don’t think he sees it as a challenge; I think he sees it as, it’s his job,” said assistant coach Vince Legarza, who coached Dunn in Las Vegas. “And I think it’s gonna be the role that we’re gonna try to carve out for him throughout the year.”

“He was adamant: His desire is to become an elite defender in this league, first and foremost,” general manager James Jones added.

Getting daily reps in against the likes of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal certainly won’t hurt on that front.

“Going up against them day by day, I’ll probably get torched a little bit there and there, but it’s just how it is,” Dunn said. “I’m ready for that, my ups and downs, but it’ll help me get ready, especially with those guys, learning from them and having to take that into going against different players in the league.”

The concerns about Ryan Dunn’s offense

It’s the offensive side of the coin that comes with plenty of concerns, as we’ve seen many a defensive stalwart struggle to find minutes in the NBA because they’re unplayable on the other end. This fear is the main reason Dunn fell to the end of the first round, with his NBA swing skill being his 3-pointer.

Dunn’s 8.1 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting sound functional enough, but he made just 20 percent of his 3s last season, and over his two years at Virginia, he only shot 23.5 percent from deep. That came on incredibly low volume — only 51 attempts total over two seasons — but the results weren’t pretty.

In fact, Dunn shot 22 percent on all jumpers last year. That doesn’t project to improve anytime soon for guy who shot 53.2 percent from the foul line. With that being said, both Dunn and Bennett agreed that launching 3s wasn’t his role in college.

“In his second year, even though his numbers maybe didn’t show up percentage-wise, his shot improved, his ball-handling improved, and he kept getting better,” Bennett explained. “And you can just feel like that’s gonna be his trajectory with it.”

Dunn feels his college numbers don’t represent what he can be as a shooter, and the Suns seem to agree. The rookie leapt up draft boards based on what he was showing teams during pre-draft workouts, and Dunn was excited to address that major talking point behind the scenes.

“When he came in, evidently he knew that was a narrative that was surrounding him, but he shot the ball exceptionally well, shot it with confidence, and what we realized was there’s still a lot of work, a lot of room for growth, but the fundamentals and the basics of there,” James Jones said. “I think you’ll find with the game’s best players, these guys, the more volume they have, the better they get. I have no doubt he’ll be a capable and above-capable shooter in the near future.”

Our friend @YoungNBA asked Jalen Bridges if anyone stood out at Summer League practice

"Not necessarily, but a lot of people had questions about Ryan [Dunn]'s shooting, and I feel like he's answered those questions really well."

Knocking down 3s?

"He's knockin' 'em down, yeah" pic.twitter.com/mewt8thKFC

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) July 10, 2024

Now that basketball is his full-time job, the people who know him best seem confident the shooting will improve over time because of Ryan Dunn’s work ethic. It’s just a matter of getting in enough reps to build that mental confidence up.

“I think his mechanics and all that shooting-wise, there’s probably a little bit of some confidence, in more of a ‘got in his head’ a little bit,” Bennett said. “So that stuff, when you’re a pro and that’s all you do, I think you have a chance to get better and better.”

Progress doesn’t happen overnight. Despite all the reps he’s gotten since the pre-draft process, despite impressing teams with his game, and despite his stroke looking good in offseason workout videos, Dunn still only shot 1-for-13 from beyond the arc at Summer League.

Those comparisons to guys like Herb Jones, OG Anunoby and Jaden McDaniels will only stick if he can be passable on offense, which is the reason The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie named Derrick Jones Jr. as a comparison that may wind up being more apt.

Comparing Jones’ and Anunoby’s first two college seasons and McDaniels’ lone college season to Dunn’s two years at Virginia provides some hope. But all three weren’t that bad as shooters, they provided more as playmakers, and even as late-bloomers in the 3-point department, it still took them a few years in the league to become respectable:

• Ryan Dunn: 12-51 3P (23.5%), 35 assists in 65 games over first 2 college seasons
• Herb Jones: 13-47 3P (27.7%), 115 assists in 69 games over first 2 college seasons
• OG Anunoby: 27-74 3P (36.5%), 41 assists in 50 games over first 2 college seasons
• Jaden McDaniels: 43-127 3P (33.9%), 61 assists in 31 games over 1 college season

Dunn is probably tired of answering questions about his 3-point stroke, but he also understands it’s the biggest area that will determine his NBA future.

“Just reps, repetitions, getting the shots up in-game, in practice, shooting after practice, trying to get as much of that in,” Dunn explained. “I think mechanically, just keeping it smooth. Don’t try to overthink, just let it go and have the confidence to shoot it.”

If he can develop a serviceable 3-point shot, he has all the tools to cement himself as a stellar two-way wing in this league. It just may take longer than one offseason, or even a full year in the NBA.

“The shooting isn’t where he wanted it to be or where we think it will be in a few years, but he’s an impactful player, and great players find a way to impact the game, not just with the offensive box score,” Jones said. “So I’m confident with our staff, with Bud, our coaches, that he’ll be primed to improve as a shooter. And if he can do that and do it quickly, I think we’ve found a gem.”

Can Ryan Dunn crack the Suns’ rotation as a rookie?

None of this is to say that Ryan Dunn is useless on the offensive end without a 3-pointer. His offense for the Cavaliers was largely limited to transition opportunities and cuts, but in fairness, Dunn converted at a 68.5 percent clip at the rim, per Hoop-Math, which was where a whopping 62.5 percent of his shot attempts came from.

That cutting component will be crucial to keeping him on the floor early in his NBA career.

“I think it’s pretty big,” Dunn said. “We have a lot of great players, and people might start ball-watching, so I think my ability to just see them turn the back of their heads and just being able to cut to the rim or rebound, offensive rebounding and finishing, getting those extra possessions, it can help a lot.”

Dunn averaged 2.2 offensive boards per game last year, and like Josh Okogie, it’s understandable for Suns fans to feel guarded about another elite defender, cutter and offensive rebounder who may not be able to shoot. But there’s a big difference in gravity between a 6-foot-4 Okogie cutting and a 6-foot-8 Ryan Dunn cutting.

So if Dunn can learn to function as a screener, roller, straight-line driver, cutter and finisher in the dunker spot or in transition, a Suns lineup with enough shooting around him could theoretically mask his offensive shortcomings enough to capitalize on his elite defense.

“Obviously his ability to impact the game defensively, we think he’s got a chance to be elite on that end of the court,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And I think his length and his athleticism and then growing into a two-way player with his size, we think he could be somebody that’s gonna be good for us for a long time.”

The Suns are banking on Dunn’s work ethic paying dividends, and they find your lack of faith disturbing. Josh Bartelstein said he’s always in the gym, and Dunn has spent the last few weeks picking teammates’ brains during open gyms at the practice facility. Dunn got that “gym rat” mentality from watching his brother, Justin Dunn, who’s a pitcher in MLB.

“He was telling me about his brother and how his brother really is his inspiration on how to be a pro, and that he really feels like he owes it to his brother and his entire family to really take advantage of this opportunity because of all they’ve done for him and all they’ve done to help him get here and the guidance they’ve given him,” Vince Legarza said. “And I think that’s really special.”

The Suns don't need another scorer or shooter.
They need a dog. They need someone to do all the dirty work without the ball in their hands.

That is who Ryan Dunn is.

— Zona (@AZSportsZone) June 27, 2024

Tony Bennett echoed that sentiment with a recruiting story that spoke to Dunn’s character and hunger to improve. On a tip from coach Steve Donahue (who originally tipped off coach Bennett about De’Andre Hunter back in the day), Bennett watched a young Ryan Dunn play at a lower-level AAU tournament in Atlantic City. It was a scrappy two games that he saw, but Dunn’s athleticism, dives to the floor and willingness to support his teammates stood out.

Virginia tried to get Dunn in for a visit, but by the time that happened, they had already run out of scholarships. A few hours after breaking the news, Dunn’s father called Bennett and asked if Ryan could play for him anyway. A scholarship eventually opened up and it all worked out, but that willingness to sacrifice in order to get better as a player stayed with Bennett.

“We recruit real specifically on our core values of our program and our pillars,” Bennett said. “And two of those jump out at me when I think of Ryan that describe who he is, kind of as a person and as it relates as a player. He’s humble, and he doesn’t think too highly of himself, doesn’t think too low. He’s confident, but he’s humble.”

By drafting their first rookie in four years and adding a G League team, the Suns are clearly taking development seriously. Despite his flaws and areas for growth, it’s good that Ryan Dunn will be taking it just as seriously.

More 2024-25 Suns season previews

• Collin Gillespie: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• TyTy Washington: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Jalen Bridges: Written breakdown | Video breakdown