Duane Washington Jr. is one of the most improved players in the NBA.
The Phoenix Suns have won just one of their last ten games and suddenly have a losing record (20-21) on the season in 2022-23.
During this stretch, they have the worst net rating of all teams in the Western Conference except for the lowly Houston Rockets. Phoenix guard Chris Paul is dealing with a hip injury and Devin Booker is sidelined with a groin injury.
Cameron Payne has missed time with a right foot sprain, and the Suns just can’t seem to catch a break. Suddenly, the backcourt depth in Phoenix looks thin and depleted and they need all the help they can get.
Fortunately, however, they have received some positive reinforcement from former Ohio State guard Duane Washington Jr., who signed a two-way deal with Phoenix during this past offseason.
With the increased opportunity, Washington has logged season-high minutes in back-to-back games for the Suns. He scored 25 points (9-18 FG, 5-6 3P) on Sunday against the Cavaliers, missing just one of his six 3-pointers during the contest.
He also had a career-high 26 points while beating Memphis on Dec. 27.
One reason behind his success is his massively increased role on the court. He is getting the ball more often than ever and once he does have the ball in his hands, he is now entrusted to do quite a bit more with it.
The data, which is available courtesy of NBA.com, backs this up as well.
As a rookie, he averaged 2.67 seconds per touch and he now averages 4.93 (+2.25, +84.5%) seconds per touch. That, too, is the largest increase of any player in the NBA. In fact, the guard is the only player who has increased his seconds per touch by more than 2.0 seconds.
Washington, meanwhile, recorded 2.23 dribbles per touch last season. He now averages 4.55 dribbles per touch. That also accounts for the greatest overall difference (+2.31) he is the only player to see a percentage increase (+103.69%) of over 100 percent.
The former undrafted free agent finished offensive possessions as the ball handler in pick-and-roll sets on 19.0 percent of his finishes in 2012-22, per Synergy. That frequency has now increased to 43.6 percent, which accounts for the largest differential (+25.6) in the NBA.
When including passes out of the pick and roll as well, his frequency increase (33.8 percent to 61.3 percent) is also the most significant (+27.5) in the NBA as well.
Phoenix is letting exploring what it looks like with Washington running the show on offense, and while the bigger offensive load and role is unexpected, it has paid dividends.
Despite the losing streak, the Suns actually have a positive net rating (0.8) during the minutes in which Washington has played since Dec. 20. He may not have enough to create wins for Phoenix, but he has already proven that he likely deserves a long-term spot in the rotation for this organization.
Sooner rather than later, the front office will need to convert his two-way contract to a guaranteed deal so that he can be an option on the floor in the postseason.
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