Analyzing Suns' 2nd-Round Pick Rasheer Fleming

Just under over 24 hours ago, the Phoenix Suns entered the 2025 NBA Draft with picks 29 and 59. Fast forward to Thursday ahead of round of the draft, the Suns are walking out with Duke Blue Devil center Khaman Maluach and Saint Joseph's forward Rasheer Fleming.

Phoenix through three trades Thursday afternoon turned the No. 59 pick (and future seconds) into picks 31 and 41, making way for the Suns to take Fleming, a prospect they had in the top-20 of their draft board, per insider John Gambadoro.

Felming was projected to go in the first round of various mock drafts heading into the draft. His 6-8, 7-5 wingspan frame sets the foundation for the dynamic 3-and-D prospect he is. With versatile defensive ability and upside as a knockdown perimeter shooter, Phoenix continues to address the holes they have from the wing spot.

The 20-year-old forward joins Ryan Dunn and Dillon Brooks in Phoenix's wing depth and could be primed for immediate impact given the track record of how successful players of his archetype are in the modern era.

Here's what The Athletic's Sam Vecenie had to say in his evalutaion of Fleming:

"Fleming very much looks the part at 6-8 with a 7-5 wingspan. He’s also got great leaping ability and a chiseled frame that allows him to play with force and strength on both ends. He averaged 15 points, eight rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, and drilled 39 percent from 3. The idea here is a 3-and-D forward who can potentially be switchable across the positional spectrum while also drilling 3s. But he doesn’t yet process things happening around him on the court quickly. But any team that values the frame and shooting potential will be interested in Fleming."

The Suns should be regarded as winners in the draft with their Maluach and Fleming picks alone. Never mind their mid-lottery trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams who was acquired for the 19th pick and a 2029 first that likely won't mean much.

Fleming was projected to go 22nd on The Ringer's mock draft and was evaluated thoroughly by Danny Chau. Here's what he had to say about the newest Sun:

"It can be tough to watch Fleming without lamenting a future that was once promised but never delivered. He’s a rumbling athlete with a wingspan longer than humanity’s list of sins, whose arms dig low on steals and rise high on thunderous blocks. He’s a strong, two-footed leaper who happens to hit 39 percent of his 3s at an attempt rate that would have been deemed excessive not 10 years ago. Fleming is a defense-oriented stretch 4, a term hardly used anymore. Turns out the future is way weirder than we could have predicted. Fleming is almost quaint in that context: still extremely cool in theory, but maybe not the game changer he would’ve been considered in a different time.

"At minimum, Fleming projects as a versatile 4 or 5 who can chip in steals and blocks, pop or roll hard in the two-man game, and be an active presence on the offensive glass. What potentially pushes him into lottery range is that 3-pointer and whether it can be trusted at the next level. Fleming’s attempts and percentages from deep spiked in his junior season after he shot just 31.3 percent from 3 across his first two seasons. If the accuracy is real, Fleming has a place on just about any roster in the league. If it isn’t, well, he wouldn’t be the first player to rocket up boards because of rosy optimism based on a small sample size. 

"Another potential worry is his complete and utter lack of self-creation when playing against a lower standard of competition in the Atlantic 10. Fleming had scarcely any reps in isolation or as a ball handler this past season. For a player with his build, coordination, and first step, it’s fair to wonder why there weren’t more flashes of that in what was otherwise a breakout year. Of course, there’s an easy retort there: You dress for the job you want. Fleming will be a finisher in the pros, so that’s exactly what he was in college. If the rest of his game translates seamlessly to the NBA—if he’s a legitimate floor spacer shooting league average from deep and offering serious weakside rim protection—the return on a team’s investment could be massive. Fleming presents a rare archetype that promises teams that what they see is what they’ll get. But it’s fair to wonder whether there’s something hidden in what Fleming’s game doesn’t show."

Heading into the offseason with a disgruntled Kevin Durant and little idea of what a retooling would look like as Devin Booker nears the end slope of his prime years, Phoenix made it's future a lot brighter in this year's draft.

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