Young Suns center had historic night against Pacers

Oso Ighodaro isn't exactly a household name. But in a 133-98 Phoenix Suns win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, he did something only four other NBA players have ever done before.

Ighodaro had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench in the win, adding three steals and three blocked shots. The 23-year-old logged a plus/minus of +52, meaning the Suns outscored the Pacers by a whopping 52 points in the 26 minutes Ighodaro was on the court, tied for the third-best mark in NBA history.

Oso Ighodaro is part of the Suns' huge defensive improvement

Phoenix had the third-worst defensive rating in the NBA last season, but they've gone from No. 28 to No. 12 this season. They're holding opponents to three fewer points per game than in 2025-26.

The personnel changes are a big part of it. The Suns replaced Tyus Jones, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic, all negatives on the defensive end, with former All-Defensive wing Dillon Brooks and shot-blocking center Mark Williams. They're also giving more minutes to plus defenders Ryan Dunn, Royce O'Neale and Collin Gillespie.

Ighodaro was a positive on defense in his rookie season, but now he's emerging as a shot-blocker, swatting 50% more shots per minute. He's excellent at contesting shots, allowing a field-goal percentage of 40.8, which is impressive given how close to the rim he usually plays.

Single-game plus/minus remains a noisy stat

It's hard to take too much away from Ighodaro's big statistical night, considering how unpredictable plus/minus can be for a single game. The all-time leader is Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who logged a +57 in a 2017 game for the Houston Rockets. Mbah a Moute was a solid player, but not someone you'd expect to have such a massive impact.

Gary Trent Jr. is second with a +54 from a 2021 game with the Toronto Raptors against the Golden State Warriors, who were playing without Steph Curry or Draymond Green. Ighodaro's +52 matched games by Santi Aldama and journeyman Joe Smith, while the rest of the top 10 contains names like Jeremy Lamb, Daniel Theis and Jared Jeffries.

So perhaps this game won't indicate that Ighodaro is a budding superstar. Still, it is an indication that the Suns suddenly have a deep big man rotation with Williams, Ighodaro and Nick Richards, with No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach waiting in the wings. It's a dramatic change from last season and a sign that the Suns' hot start may be sustainable.

Even if Ighodaro's eye-popping plus/minus numbers aren't.