Phoenix Suns: Eric Bledsoe Taking Steps Toward Being Elite
Leadership
The progress the Suns have seen from Eric Bledsoe as a player has been promising, but his gradual development as a legitimate team leader stems back to his summer of hard work that set an example for the rest of his teammates.
"“You could just tell in the playing that they’ve been doing in the pickup games, that he wants to take that next step as a leader, the guy that can really step up his game and be the demanding force that we need him to be,” Hornacek said at Media Day. “You’d see stretches where Eric was dominant for 6-7 minutes and then was just kind of in cruise control and then he’d be dominant again. “We’ve talked to him about being that dominant person the whole game. He’s worked his tail off this summer to try and do that.”"
Being an on-court leader is great, and the results are certainly showing up on the stat sheet. But Hornacek said that Bledsoe has been more talkative with his teammates as well, an assessment that passes the eye test even if you don’t include his frequent victory roars after big plays — the type of animated celebration that used to be a rare occurrence.
Saturday night against the Nuggets, Bledsoe barked at P.J. Tucker for not cutting when he had an open lane to the basket. Little moments like that speak volumes about Bledsoe’s progress as a team leader, even if he’s not the most loquacious guy in the world. From his more frequent communication to his improved shooting and conditioning, this could be a breakout year for Bledsoe.
When he was asked after the Nuggets game if he thinks he’s taking the next step, Bledsoe responded, “I’m just being aggressive, man. You know, whatever, that’s for y’all guys to judge. But for my team, I’m definitely bringing it every night.”
The last time the Phoenix Suns had an All-Star was Steve Nash back in 2012. If Eric Bledsoe keeps up this level of elite play, the Suns won’t have to wait much longer for their next one.