Phoenix Suns: Grading every player’s 2019-20 season
By Jono Perilli
Elie Okobo
Elie Okobo’s sophomore season wasn’t as great as a lot of people expected, especially since he was expected for an abundance of backup point guard minutes.
Okobo’s rookie season was okay at best, but Suns fans were expecting a comeback, a new dawn perhaps. We did not receive that in the slightest. Okobo didn’t develop as much from his rookie season, still showing his decent playmaking skills, but his lack of shooting and defense let him down as a player.
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His statistics took a dip as well, while that can be caused by his decrease of minutes. Okobo never made that leap into reliable backup status, which could cause for some alarms for the Suns’ higher-ups.
Okobo averaged 4.0 points per game while dishing out 2.1 assists per game. Okobo played 54 games, which was one of the highest on the team while playing 13.1 minutes per game. These stats aren’t as formidable as his rookie stats, where he averaged a little bit more on all ends.
Now it’s not his fault that he was disappointing this season. The Suns simply rely on him too much to produce some decent games. He’s way too raw to handle backup minutes, which can be a call for why the Suns still have the Frenchman. This season should be his final chance to play his way into the squad because he’s starting to become loose baggage for this young Suns squad.
He was below-average for his sophomore season, which is something to worry about. The Suns will look for a trade destination if Okobo can’t step up next season, especially considering he was in discussions for a Luke Kennard trade.