ESPN slots Suns' Dillon Brooks at No. 76 after Phoenix turnaround

ESPN's NBA Rank for 2026-27 places the Phoenix wing 76th after he helped drive a nine-win improvement and a playoff return.

ESPN has ranked Phoenix Suns guard/forward Dillon Brooks as the No. 76 player in the NBA for the 2026-27 season. The ranking, part of ESPN's NBA Rank 2026 series, was assembled from the ballots of seven panel members. Brooks was unranked in last year's edition.

ESPN writer Vincent Goodwill highlighted Brooks' influence beyond box-score production, describing a shift in how the veteran is perceived around the league. Brooks was credited as a culture-changer during a 2025-26 season in which Phoenix won nine more games than the previous year and returned to the playoffs after missing out in 2024-25.

Brooks arrived in the trade that sent Kevin Durant out of Phoenix before the 2025-26 season. Of the five players the Suns acquired in the seven-team deal, Brooks appeared in the most games, playing 56.

In those appearances, Brooks averaged 20.2 points and a steal per game, shooting 43.5% from the field, 34.4% from three and 84.2% from the free-throw line. ESPN also noted he ranked in the top 10 in made two-point jumpers last season, per GeniusIQ, and pointed to a 19-win turnaround he was part of in his first season in Houston.

His midrange game fit with first-year head coach Jordan Ott's offensive system, which does not discourage those shots. ESPN suggested Suns teammates Devin Booker and Jalen Green, both with higher two-point shooting percentages than Brooks' 49.2%, could appear in the top 50 when that portion of the list is released.