Deandre Ayton Wants NBA Teams to Respect Phoenix Suns

Lost in the Western Conference power struggle between the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns have built a contender. 

After going undefeated—but missing the postseason—in eight games inside the NBA's Florida bubble last year, the Suns have kept winning in 2020-21 to the tune of a 26-12 record. That has them tied with the Lakers for second place in the conference and just 2.5 games back of Utah for first.

But while the Suns have turned around their record, their opponents' perception of them largely remains the same. Big man Deandre Ayton is working on changing that, telling Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:

"So what we did in the bubble, we were 8-0, could've lost any game. And we played hard like it was the playoffs. We treated it like playoffs and we got way more out of it than people thought. … And that's why I say 'respect us,' because you don't know our team, but we're going to show you why you have to respect our team."

Ayton has certainly done his part to change perceptions.

Among qualified starting centers, Ayton is 10th in offensive rating (114.8), putting him just behind some of the game's elite big men like Nikola Jokic (119.5), Joel Embiid (117.9), Rudy Gobert (117.5), Kristaps Porzingis (115.5) and Anthony Davis (115.3) in points per 100 possessions. 

It's Ayton's best offensive rating since he broke into the league as the No. 1 pick out of Arizona in 2018.

Phoenix's run during the league's restart last year has played a big part in the team's turnaround, per Ayton:

"The professionalism we got in the bubble, not getting tired of winning and approaching the game the right way, it became contagious to the whole team. And practicing every day in that bubble, seeing the ball every day, thinking about basketball every day, it changed the game. We made sure that we never got tired of winning. We're not used to that feeling. We're still hungry."

Adding Chris Paul in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder last November put an experienced leader both in the huddle and the backcourt. It may have been the missing piece for a young Phoenix club to become a contender. 

All that's left is proving it to the league—and earning some respect in the process.

"We know where we want to go," Ayton said. "It's bigger than where we've ever been. That's all I can tell you. We are not just playing to be part of the playoffs. That's a hell no. We ain't doing that."