Welcome to the NBA, Deandre Ayton.
In his unofficial rookie debut with the Phoenix Suns, the No. 1 overall pick and former Arizona Wildcat dropped 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds, three blocks, one steal and one assist in 30 minutes in a 106-102 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the first preseason game Monday night.
Ayton matched up against Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein to start as No. 2 overall pick and Phoenix native Marvin Bagley III came off the bench. Cauley-Stein finished with a double-double 14 points and 12 rebounds while Bagley concluded the night with seven points and two rebounds.
Ayton was active early on and caught an alley-oop dunk off a pick-and-roll from Suns wing Josh Jackson in the second quarter and continued to make consistent plays all night.
24 PTS, 10 REB, 3 BLK... DeAndre Ayton came to play in his @Suns #NBAPreseason debut! #NBARooks pic.twitter.com/zTUipCXE0A
— NBA (@NBA) October 2, 2018
After Ayton's preseason debut, he showed his new Steve Nash t-shirt in the locker room.
Postgame drip 💦 pic.twitter.com/6Uztky04uw
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 2, 2018
The Suns next preseason game is Wednesday, Oct. 03 at Talking Stick Resort Arena and is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Stats from Monday night's preseason slate:
- Aaron Gordon (Orlando Magic): 10 points (4-9 FG), 7 rebounds, 4 assists in a 120-114 loss to Philadelphia 76ers
- T.J. McConnell (Philadelphia 76ers): 2 points (1-1 FG), 6 assists, 1 rebound in a 120-114 win over Orlando Magic
- Allonzo Trier (New York Knicks): 13 points (3-7 FG, 6-6 FT), 1 rebound in a 124-121 win over Washington Wizards
- Kadeem Allen (New York Knicks): 0 points (0-3 FG), 1 assist in a 124-121 win over Washington Wizards
- Solomon Hill (New Orleans Pelicans): 4 points (0-4 FG, 0-3 3FG), 4 rebounds, 1 assist in a 116-102 loss to Atlanta Hawks
