PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are just eight days out from opening the 2024-25 regular season – and the franchise is coming into the season with lofty aspirations just a few brief months after a disastrous playoff exit in April.

One of the major talking points pertaining to the bullish nature of the team the last two-plus seasons has been the conglomeration of phenomenal top-end talent – with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal possibly comprising the most feared “big three” since the Brooklyn Nets.

Beal came in at number 37 in the yearly ESPN top 100 players list where a panel of insiders and experts rank players across the NBA. That could have been considered low at the time for the former 30 PPG scorer – but the stock has dropped even more significantly just a year later.

Beal now comes in at number 70 – just ahead of Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks and just behind Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets.

Dave McMenamin wrote why Beal’s fall from grace was seen as substantial according to this panel – much of it had to do with health rather than on-court production.

“It was quite the precipitous fall for Beal as he had 51/43/81 shooting splits in his first season with the Suns, but he missed 29 games, prohibiting Phoenix from really finding an identity. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Beal has now missed 130 games because of injury — which is more than Anthony Davis (120) and in the neighborhood of Kawhi Leonard (161) — without taking the hit to his reputation the way those two did. This plummet in the rankings is directly tied to his recent unreliability. If he can stay on the court and help the Suns realize their potential, he, too, will rise again.”

– Dave McMenamin on Beal

A ranking of 70 may feel disrespectful to some, but this brief synopsis takes a positive spin on the situation – it is very clear that there is still belief that Beal’s former all-star status hasn’t vanished completely and he can still be a star in the league if the health bills remain positive over the course of a season.

Beal’s shooting splits, along with his willingness to play aggressive on-ball defense and play a jack-of-all-trades role on offense during his debut season in Phoenix just opens the gate of possibilities as to what we could see in year 2.

Mike Budenholzer appears to be one of the few coaches that could right the ship after a disappointing season all around in the last campaign – particularly on offense – and this year could see Beal re-establish himself among the elites in the league while also aiding in improving Phoenix’s regular season fortunes.

Booker and Durant are expected to be the other two Suns players included in the ranking – with Booker aiming for a position inside the top 15 – and Durant being a virtual lock for the top 10.