The ball is precious and Royce O'Neale is just as much for the Phoenix workforce. Arriving a little over a month ago from Brooklyn, the all-purpose winger has since stood out on a very specific point: his ability not to lose the ball.
Royce O'Neale is indeed a player who loses the ball very little, and he therefore has a very good ratio of assists to lost balls. His eloquent career figures in this area (a lost ball every 26 minutes in 509 matches played) are confirmed under his new colors, since he has gone two games in a row without a single lost ball, against Toronto and Boston. His secret? Play simple and… limit dribbling.
“I was always told to shoot or pass the ball“, he confided. “Sometimes you're going to pass up an open shot, and it's going to turn into a turnover. In my case, a lot of times, if I try to do the extra pass, I'll overdo it. You just have to do the right reading, and try to involve everyone (…). I just try to play simple, make the right play read and make it easy on myself.”
Knowing how to make the right choice: the essence of basketball IQ
This ability to take care of the ball is far from trivial, especially within a team which is in 26th place in the ranking of lost balls. His accuracy and versatility have made him a now essential rotation player for Frank Vogel.
“He has an excellent ratio,” confirmed Devin Booker, while Royce O'Neale has 3.5 assists with Phoenix for 0.7 turnovers in 15 games. “Taking care of the ball is important. The further you go into the season, the more you understand how important each possession is, and you want to value each one.”
For Kevin Durant too, Royce O'Neale has become an essential cog in the Suns' attack. KD thus praised all the qualities which are ultimately summed up in two letters: IQ.
“ He is an intelligent player who understands the value of the ball, but who also knows how to create,” he added. “He can play in several positions. He is intelligent with the ball. He wants to pass first. When you have guys with such high IQs, we leave the ball in their hands.”
It now remains for him to regain a bit of marksmanship since he has had three very complicated matches, notably during his two outings against the Celtics, at 1/9 last weekend and 0/7 Thursday evening.
| Royce O'Neale | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | UTH | 69 | 17 | 42.3 | 35.6 | 80.3 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 5.0 |
| 2018-19 | UTH | 82 | 20 | 47.5 | 38.6 | 76.2 | 0.3 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 5.2 |
| 2019-20 | UTH | 71 | 29 | 43.3 | 37.7 | 76.4 | 0.4 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 6.3 |
| 2020-21 | UTH | 71 | 32 | 44.4 | 38.5 | 84.8 | 1.2 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 7.0 |
| 2021-22 | UTH | 77 | 31 | 45.7 | 38.9 | 80.4 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 7.4 |
| 2022-23 | BRK | 76 | 32 | 38.6 | 38.9 | 72.5 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 8.8 |
| 2023-24 * | All Teams | 63 | 26 | 37.7 | 36.1 | 67.7 | 0.8 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 7.6 |
| 2023-24 * | BRK | 49 | 25 | 38.8 | 36.6 | 68.2 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 7.4 |
| 2023-24 * | PHX | 14 | 29 | 34.5 | 34.5 | 66.7 | 0.8 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 8.1 |
| Total | 509 | 27 | 42.4 | 37.9 | 77.3 | 0.7 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 6.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
