Behind the scenes, Royce O’Neale keeps the Suns’ power flowing
When you need to keep things up and running, Royce O'Neale is the guy to call. The do-it-all role player has been critical to the Suns' success. Plus, general notes from Suns basketball this season.
The North American power grid is one of the most complex and important pieces of technology in existence. We don’t notice it much (unless it stops working), and yet it is essential to our day-to-day and minute-to-minute lives throughout the continent. It connects and supports our cities in the background, playing a crucial and invisible role.
Royce O’Neale – the Phoenix Suns’ steady and often unseen presence that keeps everything moving – operates in a similar way. His contributions are not always evident in the box score, and he’ll never be a real asset to your fantasy team. He boasts modest career averages of about seven points, five rebounds and two assists per game in seven-plus seasons in the NBA – not exactly lighting the scoreboard on fire. But he is sorely missed when he is not playing or not playing well.
The back of his Skybox card isn’t going to be that impressive, but O’Neale is one of the guys who keeps the lights on for the Suns. This is true even if most fans only see the result, as opposed to the source.
His contributions have been a bit louder lately, connecting on over 50 percent of his 3-point shots for the season, including 4-for-4 from three and a slick highlight on his way to 18 points on Friday against the Mavericks.
But he’s barely cracking 10 points per game this year (which is a career high, by the way), so this is not the only way he is standing out for this team.
Protection from overload
Just as a power grid’s infrastructure prevents overload by balancing current across its lines, O’Neale lightens the load on his teammates. His hustle and defensive presence absorb pressure, allowing his star teammates to shine a bit brighter and breathe a bit easier.
Most publications list O’Neale at a height of 6-foot-4. Not exactly a short man compared to your everyday Average Joe, but in the NBA, he’s far from a giant. In fact, within the Suns’ closing lineup Friday night with Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic, he’s tied with Beal as the shortest player.
Despite his size, he matches up on defense against all manner of challenging opponents. He has already spent a significant amount of time checking Luka Doncic, LeBron James and James Harden this season. Additionally, when the Suns want to go small without a traditional center, O’Neale draws the assignment of fighting with the other team’s big man, as he’s done against the likes of Anthony Davis and Ivica Zubac so far.
Watch him fighting with Zubac here. Tyus Jones is credited with the steal, but the O’Neale effort is the catalyst.
As part of the idea of being a connector, take a look at some of the subtleties here.
He starts the possession matched up with James, but the Suns want O’Neale involved in the action. When Austin Reaves moves up like he might be setting a ball screen, O’Neale immediately switches onto him. This was misdirection, though, leading to a one-five pick-and-roll involving D’Angelo Russell getting a screen from Jaxson Hayes.
The Suns were playing small here and switching all screens, resulting in Tyus Jones on a 7-footer rolling to the rim. O’Neale again knows without a moment’s hesitation that this is not what they want and scrams Jones out of the matchup before Hayes even has a chance to set up shop to exploit the mismatch.
Quick adaptability
When demand shifts suddenly, the power grid’s network can reroute energy, shifting its flow to meet changes. O’Neale does the same on the court, seamlessly adjusting his role based on the Suns’ immediate needs—whether setting screens, driving into the lane, or guarding a larger player.
Much of his value comes from the instinct to keep moving with or without the ball. He makes quick decisions with the ball, averaging just 1.8 seconds per touch and 0.97 dribbles per touch, per NBA.com. Whether it’s a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer or a quick assist to an open shooter or cutter, the ball is in and out of his hands quickly.
Quietly, O’Neale is an underrated passer. He is consistently in the 90th percentile for his career in assist-to-usage ratio per Cleaning the Glass, meaning he logs a large amount of assists considering his low usage.
Once he gets rid of it, he’s doing something useful immediately after, which is usually some sort of cut, screen or other dirty work. Check out how he gives it up and immediately cuts, initially drawing two defenders to allow Grayson Allen an open 3-pointer. O’Neale also uses the confusion he caused to get in position for an offensive rebound (he tipped it a little far, but you get the point).
These are quick decisions that need to be made to maintain a connective flow on the floor. Seriously, watch when he catches the ball throughout the game. He’s swinging it quickly and often following that up immediately with a screen somewhere to keep things moving - not as part of a designed set, but just because he can.
Importantly, O’Neale also does some things on offense that are sorely lacking for the team as a whole. He is second on the team in transition frequency, which is something the Suns struggle to get to, ranking just 26th in the league in this category. They’re extremely effective when they do run (3rd), it just doesn’t happen too often.
Additionally, the Suns are dead last in the league in paint touches. O’Neale logs more paint touches than anyone on the team who isn’t a center that spends most of his time down there anyway. He’s able to get defenders out of position with the threat of his spot up shooting, allowing him to get into the paint and make a heady play.
Efficiency in the details
A power grid minimizes energy loss through efficient connections, and O’Neale’s game is similarly economical. Every screen, cut, and pass serves a purpose, adding value without wasted movement. His efficiency might not always show in stats, but it’s clear in the team’s smoother execution.
But just to say we did, I think we can find a few stats to illustrate these things.
O’Neale has by far the best net rating on the team, logging a plus-15.8 differential when he’s on the court (95th percentile) while the team is 27.2 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the court vs off, per Cleaning the Glass.
The job of any role player is to enable and enhance the stars he’s playing with. With that in mind, O’Neale has been particularly effective when teamed up with the Big Three on the floor. The three stars themselves have logged a plus-4.2 net rating on the court together, which is a bit disappointing but not bad. But when adding O’Neale with Beal, Booker and Durant in the game, the Suns have a plus-32.4 differential (100th percentile).
O’Neale plays off these guys so well. He’s logging a 95.0 effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot opportunities (63.3 raw 3-point percentage) and a whopping 1.42 points per shot attempt so far this season. He’ll come back down to Earth on the shooting obviously, but the attention the stars get and his ability to intelligently space and relocate provide him with tons of open looks.
Additionally, he is 80th percentile or better in rebounding on both ends for his position, while opponents collect offensive rebounds at a rate of 6.6 percent less when he’s on the floor (90th percentile). The rebounding is a huge part of the game that the Suns need to control to be successful and O’Neale has been a critical part of that so far this season.
Defensively, he is 94th percentile in block rate, holds opponents to a minus-9.0 percent field goal differential on shots defended and is top 20 in the league in defensive win shares, per NBA.com. He has so much utility that he just fits in seamlessly.
O’Neale’s career arc matches his game
Entering the NBA draft in 2015 out of Baylor University, O’Neale went unselected on draft night. After failing to secure an NBA contract in Summer League in 2015, he spent the next two seasons playing overseas in Germany and Spain.
O’Neale returned to the states each summer during this time and impressed enough with his grit and skill by 2017 that the Utah Jazz signed him to a multi-year contract.
He was immediately a regular rotation player in his first season in Utah and earned a consistent starting spot by 2019-20. O’Neale was an essential cog on a Jazz team that cranked out wins during his five-year tenure, logging a .625 win percentage during his time there.
He took on the toughest defensive assignment every night and proved that he could be an important piece on a successful team. He has played a similar role throughout his career to the one he has now, crashing the boards, defending every position and spacing the floor as a shooter.
Royce was a role player in college, undervalued in the draft, a role player overseas and now continues to do the dirty work in the best league in the world, so he’s no stranger to being an unsung member of the team.
Now, he’s playing big minutes for another team that fancies themselves a title contender. And if the Suns are going to make it to the top of the mountain, they’re going to need O’Neale at his best. Coach Mike Budenholzer sang his praises after the Mavericks win on Friday night:
“…he gives us an edge, he gives us a toughness. He’s a talker, communicator…that’s where it all starts…he’s just doing a little bit of everything.”
Suns fans are starting to talk about him in the NBA Sixth Man of the Year conversation, and who can blame them? He’s firing on all cylinders, closing games and making huge plays that are leading to wins.
Like the unseen power lines of a grid, O’Neale works tirelessly in the background to keep everything humming. His contributions go beyond what’s easy to see, creating stability and balance for the team’s star-powered offense. Whether he’s making a quick pass, securing a tough rebound, or locking down a larger opponent, O’Neale is the silent force that keeps the lights on for Phoenix.
Notes on the Season so far:
Bradley Beal has really been putting in effort as the team’s primary point-of-attack defender. He leads the team in deflections per game by far and trails only Nurkic in contested shots per game. He’s having a defensive renaissance, the sustainability of which will be key this season.
The Suns are fourth in the NBA in 3-point attempt rate, while converting at the fifth-highest percentage. Coach Bud is certainly putting his money where his mouth is.
Despite the 3-point shooting, the Suns still rank 29th in the league in location effective field goal percentage. This is largely due to the fact that they still take a ton of mid-rangers and get to the rim at the lowest frequency of any team in the league.
Phoenix is 12th in the league in turnover rate and fifth in opponent offensive rebound rate, two huge bugaboos from last year that are going pretty well so far.
The Suns have played just four of their nine games against teams with a positive net rating (Mavericks x2, Clippers x2). Things are going to start to get tougher soon, so they’ll be tested much more thoroughly as time goes on.
7-0 in clutch games is crazy good. Kevin Durant is first in the league in points in the clutch (35), shooting 12-for-19 with a plus-minus of 29. It’s also worth remembering that no team goes undefeated in the clutch, so things could regress at any point.
As hit-and-miss as his offense has been (though he’s on a 3-point hot streak), Jusuf Nurkic has been absolutely invaluable on the defensive end. Was big in the clutch against the Mavs Friday with an important steal and rebound (plus the game-winning free throw) in the final minute.
Opponents are shooting 2.5 percent worse at the rim (58th percentile) and 5.6 percent worse on short mid-rangers (80th percentile) when he is on the court. Individually, opponents shoot 20 percent worse when he defends shots within six feet of the rim.
He’s keeping opponents off the offensive glass, where offensive rebounds are collected them at a rate 2.7 percent lower when he’s on the court than when he’s off (70th percentile).
He’s top 15 in the league in contested shots per game.
He’s defending pick-and-roll ball handlers more often than anyone in the league, stopping scores in the 73rd percentile.