Suns' Royce O'Neale: Solid in return to first unit
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O'Neale registered 17 points (6-12 FG, 5-10 3Pt, 0-2 FT), four rebounds, two assists and one steal across 33 minutes during Wednesday's 138-122 loss to New York.
The Suns have experimented with the four frequently during Kevin Durant's (calf) absence, and they opted for O'Neale for the second time Wednesday. O'Neale's performances have rarely been consequential, as he's recorded a double-digit total only twice this season. The Suns will likely mix and match players often at the position, making O'Neale an unreliable fantasy option.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Slides into starting five
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O'Neale is part of the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Knicks.
O'Neale will make his second start of the season, filling in alongside Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Ryan Dunn and Jusuf Nurkic. In his only other start, O'Neale logged five points on 2-of-12 shooting with five rebounds and four assists across 22 minutes.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Back to bench Friday
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O'Neale is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Thunder.
O'Neale struggled in the loss to the Kings on Wednesday and will head to the bench as a result, with Josh Okogie entering the starting lineup. O'Neale is averaging 10.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game when playing off the bench in 2024-25.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Struggles in starting role
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O'Neale ended with five points (2-12 FG, 1-6 3Pt), five rebounds, four assists and one steal over 22 minutes during Wednesday's 127-104 loss to the Kings.
The Suns are struggling to account for Kevin Durant's (calf) absence. O'Neale and Ryan Dunn have both been ineffective in making up for the lost production, and the team has lost two of their last three games without Durant in the lineup. O'Neale has broken the double-digit scoring threshold only four times over the first 12 games of the season.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Moves into starting lineup
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O'Neale will start in place of Bradley Beal (calf) on Wednesday versus Sacramento.
O'Neale profiles is an integral part of Phoenix's rotation with Beal and Grayson Allen (ankle) unavailable Wednesday. O'Neale is averaging 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in five contests this season in which he's logged over 25 minutes of action, although he has failed to exceed eight points on three of those occasions.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Struggles with shot in loss
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O'Neale chipped in eight points (3-14 FG, 2-7 3Pt), nine rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal over 28 minutes during Sunday's 127-118 overtime loss to the Kings.
With Kevin Durant (calf) sidelined and Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) leaving the contest early, O'Neale had the green light and attempted a season-high 14 shots. The veteran made multiple three-pointers for the sixth time over his last seven appearances, but overall, it was a rough shooting night, especially after he scored 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field in Dallas on Friday. O'Neale's production tends to be inconsistent, but he's in line for increased usage until Durant returns.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Wakes up with 21 points
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O'Neale logged 21 points (7-8 FG, 5-6 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal over 29 minutes during Thursday's 125-119 win over the Clippers.
O'Neale's production shot up significantly, and it's too soon to say if the spike is an outlier or a sign of future success. The deck is stacked against him due to a packed depth chart, but if he can come close to 30 minutes on a nightly basis, he may be able to generate productive lines that will exceed previous expectations.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Scores 12 points, grabs nine boards
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O'Neale chipped in 12 points (4-9 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 25 minutes during Monday's 109-105 victory over the Lakers.
O'Neale is not known for being a player who will stand out due to his scoring ability, but he made a couple of key shots in the fourth quarter to ice the game for good. O'Neale is not expected to play a prominent role on offense for the Suns, however, and as good as this line was from a fantasy perspective, he's not expected to be a major contributor on offense regularly, particularly since he will continue to come off the bench regularly.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Heads back to bench Thursday
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O'Neale is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's preseason game against the Lakers.
The Suns are rolling out their expected starters for the preseason finale, meaning O'Neale will revert to a reserve role. That said, he's expected to see consistent minutes off the bench once the regular season begins as a wing player capable of defending multiple positions.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Starting Sunday
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O'Neale will start Sunday's preseason game against the Nuggets, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports.
O'Neale will enter the starting lineup due to all of Phoenix's usual starters getting the night off. O'Neale will likely be a rotational piece for the Suns come the regular season.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Sticking around in Phoenix
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O'Neale is expected to sign a four-year, $44 million deal to return to the Suns when free agency officially opens July 6, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
The Suns acquired O'Neale on Feb. 8, and he averaged 8.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.9 steals across 25.0 minutes in 30 regular-season games for the team. The 31-year-old also shot an efficient 37.6 percent from deep in that span. Even with Phoenix fizzling out in the playoffs with a first-round exit and the team having since replaced Frank Vogel as head coach with Mike Budenholzer, O'Neale is still viewed as a core rotational piece for the club heading into 2024-25.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Strong from deep to lead bench
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O'Neale had 14 points (5-10 FG, 4-8 3Pt) and four rebounds in 26 minutes during Saturday's 120-95 loss to Minnesota in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
O'Neale led the Suns in threes made while pacing Phoenix's bench in scoring and ending as one of four players with a double-digit point total in a postseason defeat. O'Neale connected on four or more threes in 13 games during the regular season, nine of which came off the bench. He concluded the regular season schedule with 10 or more points in two of his final four contests.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Shifts to bench
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O'Neale will come off the bench Friday night against the Kings, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports.
O'Neale drew a start at small forward Wednesday over Grayson Allen as the team experimented with a new lineup, but O'Neale will head back to the bench for Friday's clash. The Baylor product has shown that he can produce off the bench, collecting 10 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes Tuesday as a reserve.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Balanced outing in starting lineup
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O'Neale ended Wednesday's 124-108 victory over the Clippers with 15 points (6-12 FG, 3-9 3Pt), seven rebounds, five assists, one block and three steals in 33 minutes.
O'Neale got the starting nod Wednesday, replacing Grayson Allen in the lineup while ending as one of four Suns players to tally 15 or more points while swiping a team-high trio of steals in a balanced performance. O'Neale, who also connected on a trio of threes, has posted at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in two games this year -- this being his first while in the starting lineup.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Returns to bench
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O'Neale will come off the bench in Friday's game against the Timberwolves.
O'Neale is coming off a spot start, but Grayson Allen (hip) will be back in action. As a result, O'Neale will come off the bench. He is averaging 7.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists across 23.0 minutes as a reserve this season.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Set to start Wednesday
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O'Neale is in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Cavaliers, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports.
O'Neale will replace Grayson Allen (hip) in the starting five Wednesday. O'Neale is averaging 9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 32.2 minutes across his last 10 starting appearances.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Available to play Thursday
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O'Neale (shoulder) will be available to play Thursday against the Hawks.
O'Neale will continue to power through the shoulder issue, but it did limit him to just 10 minutes his last time out, so he's a risky target in most formats.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Questionable for Thursday
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O'Neale is questionable for Thursday's game against Atlanta due to a right shoulder contusion, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports.
O'Neale fell on his shoulder in Wednesday's win over Philadelphia and played just 10 minutes. While he downplayed the severity of the injury after the game, it's unclear whether he'll be available for the second half of the back-to-back set.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Finds shooting stroke late
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O'Neale registered 16 points (6-12 FG, 4-9 3Pt), five rebounds and three assists across 26 minutes during Sunday's 140-129 loss to the Bucks.
From Feb. 25 through March 7, O'Neale started five of six games and averaged 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks in 34.2 minutes. He also shot 43.5 percent from deep (20-for-46). However, he couldn't get anything to go for the next four games, averaging just 2.0 points while shooting 15.0 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from deep. It was more of the same to start Sunday's contest, but O'Neale found his three-point stroke in the fourth, sinking four of five triples while playing nearly the entire quarter.
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Suns' Royce O'Neale: Moves to bench
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O'Neale is coming off the bench for Monday's game against the Cavaliers.
O'Neale will return to his usual bench role following the return of Devin Booker from an ankle injury. O'Neale fared well in his last contest as a reserve, putting up 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 27 minutes Mar. 2 against the Rockets.
