Phoenix Suns center Jock Landale is a feel good story for the ages.
Landale, an Australian born basketball player, all but locked the backup center position on the Suns after his impressive performance in the final preseason game against the Sacramento Kings.
In the 2018 NBA Draft, Landale went undrafted but that did not stop him from continuing to play the sport that he loves. From 2018-2021, Landale bounced around different teams primarily playing overseas besides for his brief stint in the 2018 summer league with the Atlanta Hawks.
It wasn’t until Aug. 20, 2021 when the San Antonio Spurs signed him to a two-year contract, where Landale had his first opportunity to show the world what he was truly capable of.
In 54 games played last year with the Spurs, Landale averaged 4.9 points, 2.6 rebound and 0.8 assists.
Landale had a busy 2022 offseason after being traded to the Atlanta Hawks on June 30. Less thann one week later, he was shipped off to Phoenix.
While showing some promise last season, potential playing time looked grim for the 26-year-old as the Suns are loaded with a mixture of veterans and young talent on the bench that could fill in those second unit minutes.
In the four preseason games he played for the Suns, Landale has scored 10 or more points in each of them as he has shown why he is deserving of having a spot in the rotation.
He saved his best performance for last against the Kings on Wednesday dropping 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
“For me, I play such a high intensity brand of basketball and that is what I am going to do to stay at pacts with these guys, so I can leave it all out there and flat-chair every second,” Landale said.
“It is all the same thing for me compared to prior seasons like setting hard screens, roll, pop and do-little things as best as I can.”
Offensively, Landale has thrived in the pick and role while he has also impressed his teammates and coaches on the defensive side of the ball. Landale finished the preseason with four blocks in his final performance.
“It’s something that, I’m not sure where he learned that or if that’s just him but he’s made plays like that in practice and he’s made them in preseason games, where he gets his hands on the ball, whether it’s him blocking the ball or getting a deflection,” head coach Monty Williams said.
“We’re excited about his ability to play in the pick n’ roll because if you can block shots or least distract them, it allows us to be in steal out, where we can trust two guys in the pick n’ roll and we don’t have to help as much. He does a good job of keeping his big in front of him but also dealing with the ball and then being able to go up and distract the shot. That’s a skill that we lost in JaVale (McGee) and now we feel like we have some similarities in Jock.”
As the season opener against the Dallas Mavericks rapidly approaches, Landale has clearly shown he is more than ready to take on the task of the backup center position.
The Suns have shown they're willing to give him that opportunity.
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