Who Is Oso Ighodaro? All About Phoenix’s Hometown Hero Who Joined Kevin Durant & Suns on NBA Draft Night

In the era of positionless basketball, the Phoenix Suns might have captured a gem in the NBA draft. With their second-round pick, they selected Oso Ighodaro from Marquette. Ighodaro spent four seasons in college honing and developing his point center role. As he did, the Marquette offense grew more enchanting than ever. He was the find the program never knew they had until two seasons ago.

With the Phoenix pick, Ighodaro gets to stay home as he was born in Arizona. Not just that, but the teenage basketball prodigy will share the floor with scoring legends such as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. In his fourth season at Marquette, Oso Ighodaro achieved incredible things on and off the court.

In his best collegiate campaign by far, Ighodaro averaged 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds while being a consistent interior scorer. He is an efficient scorer with his abilities near the rim, shooting 57.6% from the floor. However, his elusive skill is his playmaking. For his size, the architect averages 2.9 assists, with his peak coming last season when he averaged 3.3 dimes per game. It is an extraordinary asset for a 6’9″ center considering he has a secure handle with the cerebral impulse to hit the right passes.

Off the court, Oso Ighodaro is a genius in every sense. The 21-year-old Marquette product was presented with the Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of The Year award this season. It granted him a $2,000 scholarship, not that he will need it now. Ighodaro is also speeding through his MBA degree which he will attain next year since starting the program in the summer of last year.

The Suns can use Oso Ighodaro

As much as the buzz around the Suns convinced fans of their feasibility, their three-headed monster trio (KD, Book, and Beal) could only get them to the first round of the postseason. Yes, the franchise did suffer from an onset of injuries, primarily to Beal but there were still some glaring problems in their roster.

First, there was no clearly defined playmaker on their roster. Devin Booker averaged a career-high 6.9 assists since he took on the role of being the point-of-attack initiator. However, that has never been his natural role. With Oso on the floor, it enables the scoring phenom to play his natural game, manipulate the defense off the ball, and create scoring opportunities for the team. With the 21-year-old’s passing acumen, the Suns can count on his precision.

Additionally, they also needed some depth for the center spot. Besides Jusuf Nurkic, the Suns didn’t have someone who could command the paint. Luckily, Ighodaro is comfortable around the rim and can also hit floaters at a high rate. For Phoenix, Ighodaro can instantly inject life into their independent offense and promote teamwork.

Ighodaro is also known to be a motivator who uplifts his team and reignites their spirit. With everything considered, he seems to be a solid pick for the Suns.

To know what Shaq’s ex-agent Leonard Armato had to say about his former client’s long dragged tensions with Kobe Bryant, make sure to watch this video below.