Defensive Intensity/IQ/Technique
Among all rookies who were the closest defender to at least 200 shots this season, Suggs had the third-best defensive field goal percentage (43.5 percent). Only Sacramento’s Davion Mitchell (43.0 percent) and Suggs’ Orlando Magic teammate Franz Wagner (43.2 percent) held opponents to lower shooting percentages as the nearest defender.
Making Suggs’ defensive mark even more impressive is that he guarded some of the most electric and dynamic backcourt players in the league in many of the 48 games he appeared in.
Fellow rookie Cade Cunningham missed all seven of his shot attempts with the Magic’s 6-foot-5, 205-pounder as the closest defender, per Second Spectrum tracking data, while perennial All-Star James Harden also failed to connect on any of his shots with Suggs near, going 0-of-6.