Pink backpacks, snacks, impact: Suns rookies Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro connecting

Phoenix Suns big Oso Ighodaro kept looking to the side from the podium at media day wondering what was up with Ryan Dunn over there standing behind the curtain.

“Why is he hiding back there?” Ighodaro asked.

Don’t do that, bro.

“I’m right here,” Dunn responded as he was taking pictures with a disposable camera.

Now, the two rookies are right in the middle of competing for rotational minutes. They’ve brought energy, effort and specific abilities that have the Suns believing those two can contribute right now.

“They’re doing great things,” Suns backup point guard Monte Morris said after Thursday’s practice.

“I think Oso had his best practice by far. He just brings energy. He's smart. For a kid just coming out of college, knowing what reads to make, when the slip, when to hold a screen and catch lobs, he way poised beyond his years. And then Ryan, he’s a two-way defender. He can make 3s and he’s athletic. You can’t teach that.”

The Suns made draft day trades in landing Dunn in the first round out of Virginia and Ighodaro in the second round from Marquette. They’ve connected, as evidenced by their media day interaction that was reminiscent of how Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson used to act while in Phoenix.

“Me and him have the same mentality, same mindset,” Dunn said. “Picking each other’s brain, asking questions. Us competing with these guys, just being able to learn has been great. I’m forever grateful to have him as a teammate, even as a brother now.”

They went back-and-forth after Friday’s morning shootaround when Ighodaro was asked about going through the rookie process together after Dunn answered the same question.

“I’m excited for our years to come in this league,” Dunn added.

Ighodaro didn’t reciprocate with the same type of response – at first – even with Dunn staring at him while standing behind the media contingent.

“It’s terrible man,” Ighodaro said. “He just follows me around. He’s always there.”

Just kidding, bro.

“Nah, it’s been good,” Ighodaro continued. “Obviously, it’s a new experience having to go through all this stuff. Having someone to go through it with has been great. Makes it a lot easier for sure.”

They also share rookie duties handed down from veterans like guard Bradley Beal.

“Brad has been a great vet other than the backpack,” Ighodaro said.

Backpack?

“We've got to carry those pink backpacks around,” Ighodaro said. “Brad was up here talking about his list of duties for us. He got the snacks for us, but he put them in pink sparkly backpacks we have to carry around.”

Like the “twins” when they arrived in 2018 (Bridges) and 2019 (Johnson), Dunn and Ighodaro are looking to contribute their first year in the league.

Dunn and Ighodaro have been part of Phoenix’s second unit this preseason. Having 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic out with a left middle finger injury has elevated Ighodaro as the backup big behind Mason Plumlee, but he’s making a strong case to be the backup.

His skillset enables him to find the open man in the pocket, handle the ball on dribble handoffs and be able to dive to the rim and either score or pass after ball screens.

“That’s how he’ll get minutes,” Beal said. “Playing hard, going into DHOs (dribble handoffs), getting offensive rebounds, right back out on kickouts. Hitting his little floater, tough shots. He looks really good.”

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas called Dunn the “best overall defender” entering the draft. He’s lived up to that in holding his own guarding LeBron James and Cade Cunningham.

Dunn matching up against James is his “Welcome to the NBA” moment so far.

“It was kind of a surreal dream,” Dunn said. “My childhood hero growing up, that was my GOAT growing up. Checking into my first NBA game and (Suns assistant) David Fizdale that I have LeBron James to guard is kind of insane. After that, it was just competing.”

Dunn thought he defended the NBA’s all-time leading scorer pretty good, but he made the 2022-23 ACC Academic team as a freshman for a reason.

The Suns wing will have a tougher time guarding James when the Suns and Lakers meet in the regular season Oct. 25 in Los Angeles.

“I’ll see how he is when he really gets going,” Dunn said.

Dunn appears to be competing with Josh Okogie for minutes. He’s been surprisingly knocking down the 3 after having his struggles from deep in his two years at Virginia and in NBA Summer League.

He’s 5-of-11 on 3s through two preseason games.

“Ryan is shooting the ball with confidence,” Beal said. “Everybody is saying, ‘Can he shoot?’ He’s shooting the ball. That’s what Coach (Mike Budenholzer) wants us to do.”

Having the coaches and players encouraging and supporting Ighodaro and Dunn has them believing they really can play an on-court role right away.

“Every time (Dunn) takes a shot, all the vets are like, ‘Great shot Ryan, great shot,’” Ighodaro said. “When you hear that, you feel like you can make any shot in the world. It’s been great. They’ve been helping us.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin .

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pink backpacks, snacks, impact: Suns rookies Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro connecting