:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60146197/usa_today_10685642.0.jpg)
With the 59th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns selected George King, senior forward from the University of Colorado.
It’s happened, King has made it to the NBA. After five seasons with the Buffaloes, King worked his ass off to become the player he is now. King proved that over his long Colorado career that he is good enough for the Suns to take a flier on him. There’s reason to believe that he’s ready for minutes from the get-go, and with his work ethic, he should continue to improve.
King’s future with the Suns will likely be as a 3-and-D hybrid forward. King is somewhat of a tweener as he’s too small to play the 4 and he’s not athletic enough to play the 3. But King’s length and basketball IQ should help him develop into a quality defender nonetheless. On the other side of the ball, King will never be a go-to scorer, nor will he create much offense for teammates, but he should settle in nicely in a supporting role as a spot-up shooter. At his time in Boulder, he proved himself to be a dangerous shooter, particularly from the corner. That skillset will certainly play in the NBA.
King should be able to compete for a roster spot on a thin Phoenix roster. At forward, the Suns will have Josh Jackson and T.J. Warren as the presumptive starters, plus 10th overall pick Mikal Bridges, but they don’t have much depth beyond that. It’s reasonable that King could win a spot over Danuel House, Davon Reed and Jared Dudley. If he doesn’t make it to the NBA immediately, he should see heavy time in the G League and would be a strong candidate to have one of the Suns’ two-way spots, meaning he could travel back and forth between the G League and NBA.
Joining King on the Suns roster is 1st overall pick Deandre Ayton from Arizona, 10th pick Mikal Bridges from Villanova, and 31st pick Elie Okobo from France. It’s safe to say that the Suns nailed this draft as they targeted players who are both NBA ready and have plenty of potential left untapped.
Also of note, King is now the fifth player in the Tad Boyle era to be drafted. He joins Alec Burks (12th overall, 2012), Andre Roberson (26th, 2013), Spencer Dinwiddie (38th, 2014) and Derrick White (30th, 2017).