Marquese Chriss

2016–17 season

Throughout the draft process, Chriss went from being a considerable late-lottery or mid-first round talent to rising up in the draft as a potential Top 3 draft candidate.^[8][9] In the days leading up to the draft, Chriss agreed to terms on a multi-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Nike.^[10] He ended up being selected with the eighth overall pick in the draft by the Sacramento Kings. Chriss was later traded to the Phoenix Suns on draft night for the draft rights to Bogdan Bogdanović and the rights of the 13th and 28th picks of the draft, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissière.^[11] He became the first recruit outside of the top 50 rankings to be drafted in the top 10 as a one-and-done player since the rule was instituted in 2005.^[12] On July 7, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Suns and joined the team for the 2016 NBA Summer League.^[13] Chriss played in three games for the Suns during the Summer League before developing an illness that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament.^[14]

Chriss made his debut for the Suns in their season opener on October 26, 2016 against the team that originally drafted him, the Sacramento Kings. In 22 minutes off the bench, he recorded seven points, four rebounds, two assists and one block in a 113–94 loss.^[15] With Chriss playing alongside Devin Booker and fellow rookie Dragan Bender, the Suns became the first NBA team to have three teenagers on the floor in the same game.^[16] He made his first start for the Suns on November 8 against the Portland Trail Blazers, recording seven points, four rebounds and one block in 20 minutes of play during the 124–121 loss.^[17] On December 13, he recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 113–111 overtime win over the New York Knicks.^[18] On January 25, he was named in the U.S. Team for the 2017 Rising Stars Challenge.^[19] Five days later, Chriss had his first 20-point game in a 115–96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.^[20] On February 2, 2017, he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in January, after averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals for the month.^[21] Two days later, he scored a career-high 27 points in a 137–112 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.^[22] On March 5, 2017, he had a career-best five blocked shots in a 109–106 win over the Boston Celtics.^[23] His five blocks were the most by a Suns rookie since Amar'e Stoudemire had six in November 2002.^[24] On March 15, 2017, he had a career high-tying five blocks in a 107–101 loss to the Sacramento Kings.^[25] On April 1, 2017, he recorded 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 130–117 loss to Portland.^[26] As a rookie, Chriss played in all 82 games—the only Suns player to do so in 2016–17.^[27] At the season's end, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, becoming the 14th player in franchise history to be named All-Rookie.^[28]

2017–18 season

In July 2017, Chriss re-joined the Suns for the 2017 NBA Summer League.^[29] In five games, Chriss averaged 14.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. On December 26, 2017, Chriss tied a career high with 13 rebounds in a 99–97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.^[30][31] On January 12, 2018, Chriss missed the Suns' game against the Houston Rockets due to a hip injury, ending a streak of 124 consecutive games to begin his career. It was the longest streak by a Sun since Kyle Macy played in the first 329 games of his pro career from 1980–84.^[32] He returned to action on January 26 after missing six games, and was 1-for-12 from the field for three points in a 107–85 loss to the New York Knicks.^[33] On January 31, in a 102–88 win over the Dallas Mavericks, Chriss reached 100 career steals, three-pointers and blocks at 20 years, 213 days old. He became the third youngest player ever to reach 100 of each with only LeBron James and Kevin Durant doing so younger.^[34] On April 1, Chriss scored a season-high 22 points against the Golden State Warriors.^[35] He topped that mark on April 6 with 23 points against the New Orleans Pelicans.^[36]

Regular season