<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-rumors-odd-reason-bol-bol-fell-out-mike-budenholzer-rotation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns rumors: The odd reason Bol Bol might have fallen out of Mike Budenholzer’s rotation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Suns-center-Bol-Bol.jpg"><figcaption>Soobum Im-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Suns rumors: The odd reason Bol Bol might have fallen out of Mike Budenholzer’s rotation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-18T16:30:47-07:00">April 18th, 4:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-19T16:01:27-07:00">April 19th, 4:01pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When factoring in the unrelenting injury issues the Philadelphia 76ers endured, it is easy to say that the Phoenix Suns were unequivocally the biggest disappointment in the NBA this season. In addition to colossal embarrassment, that title comes with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-rich-paul-drops-kevin-durant-truth-bomb-potential-trade">expected changes this offseason</a>.</p><p>The organization evaluated the state of things during the second half of the 2024-25 campaign, and the results were likely as inexplicable as they were frightening.</p><p>However, one question that will pop up after the obvious one– how did a Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal-led team perform so poorly?– why did the Suns not give Bol Bol more opportunities to prove himself.</p><p>After receiving a bigger role in February, the 25-year-old center flashed some of the potential that had inspired Shaquille O’Neal to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-shaq-hilariously-claims-bol-bol-better-victor-wembanyama">compare him to Victor Wembanyama</a>. He averaged 12.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 20.9 minutes per game while shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from 3-point range during the month.</p><p>Bol’s role diminished in March, however, and was practically nonexistent in the final two weeks of the season. Phoenix confusingly chose not to get a clearer look at a forthcoming free agent who was showing promise. Fans <a href="https://x.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1913336085461229699" rel="noopener">might now know why</a>.</p><h2><b>Bol Bol might have turned off Suns HC Mike Budenholzer</b></h2><p>“His last day in the rotation was March 12,” senior NBA insider Chris Haynes said on Friday. “The Suns were playing the [Houston] Rockets when Steven Adams and Mason Plumlee got into that altercation, a little scuffle on the ground. Players start to run and pull other players off. Bol, in the background, is shooting layups. He didn’t run to the incident.</p><p>“League sources told me Coach [Mike] Budenholzer was irate when he saw that, when he saw that Bol did not run to the defense of his teammate. Bol, after being in the rotation for over a month, was out of the rotation for the remainder of the season.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sources: On Haynes Briefs show, how Phoenix intends to avoid star-chasing for defensive toughness, how potential coaches can prepare, how next coach could factor into Kevin Durant's future, and why Bol Bol lost his spot in rotation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/haynesbriefs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#haynesbriefs</a></p><p>Full EP: <a href="https://t.co/cdC3fAc7RE">https://t.co/cdC3fAc7RE</a> <a href="https://t.co/eJeUPrgnLl">pic.twitter.com/eJeUPrgnLl</a></p><p>— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1913336085461229699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>There is an unwritten code among athletes that urges them to spring into action when one of their own is embroiled in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-steven-adams-mason-plumlee-ejected-suns-rocketss-wild-scuffle">a heated altercation</a>. Escalating the situation is discouraged, but coaches expect team unity.</p><p>It is one thing to avoid the scrum, but engaging in another activity off to the side could send bad optics to the locker room. Even so, a one-on-one conversation should have sent a strong enough message.</p><p>It is obviously unknown if the now-fired Mike Budenholzer slashed the former NBA lottery pick’s playing time because of his seemingly indifferent reaction, but the timing is interesting.</p><p>It should be noted that the Sudanese-American big man was in the midst of a shooting slump at this point, falling below 35 percent from the floor in three of his last five contests (including versus Houston).</p><h2><b>The hits keep on coming for Suns</b></h2><p>Whatever the reason may be, Bol Bol did not get to enjoy a full-blown breakthrough right before entering the open market.</p><p>And that is particularly a shame, since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-steven-adams-mason-plumlee-ejected-suns-rocketss-wild-scuffle">Kevin Durant extolled</a> the man’s work ethic less than two weeks before the Rockets brawl. The Suns could have gathered more information on the 7-foot-3 talent. Instead, they allowed him to waste away on the bench in what turned out to be a meaningless season.</p><p>You might have to throw yet another L in the column for Phoenix.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns rumors: The odd reason Bol Bol might have fallen out of Mike Budenholzer’s rotation

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-stories-shaq-isnt-the-only-hall-of-famer-who-thinks-bol-bol-stacks-wemby');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shaq isn’t the only Hall of Famer who thinks Bol Bol stacks up with Wemby');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Shaq-isnt-the-only-Hall-of-Famer-who-somehow-thinks-Bol-Bol-stacks-up-with-Wemby.jpg"></figure><h1>Shaq isn’t the only Hall of Famer who thinks Bol Bol stacks up with Wemby</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-10T17:48:41-07:00">March 10th, 5:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-10T17:48:41-07:00">March 10th, 5:48pm</time><address><a href="https://alexasabatte.wordpress.com">Alexa Sabatte</a>Alexa Sabatte is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints and a passionate sports writer dedicated to storytelling in the ever-evolving world of sports media. A graduate of NYU's American Journalism MA program, she has honed her skills at outlets like LAFB, ABC7 Los Angeles, and TMZ Sports, where her SEO expertise and interviews propelled stories to trend nationally.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA Stories</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Shaquille O’Neal is not the only NBA Hall of Famer who believes Bol Bol has the potential to rival Victor Wembanyama. Tim Hardaway <a href="https://x.com/clutchpoints/status/1899152255535689824?s=46" rel="noopener">recently stated</a> on Fan Duel TV, “I think Bol Bol has the same abilities as Victor Wembanyama… I don’t think he has been able to get that right opportunity to go out there and prove himself like a [Wemby].”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I think Bol Bol has the same abilities as Victor Wembanyama… I don't think he has been able to get that right opportunity to go out there and prove himself like a [Wemby]."</p><p>– Tim Hardaway</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/RunItBackFDTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RunItBackFDTV</a>)<a href="https://t.co/iApxoLOonT">pic.twitter.com/iApxoLOonT</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1899152255535689824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>People <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-bol-bol-strong-online-buzz-amid-downward-spiral">have long recognized Bol,</a> a highly skilled 7’2” forward, for his raw talent, but he struggled to find consistent playing time and an ideal role on previous teams. This sentiment echoes what many basketball experts have said about his underutilized potential. Hardaway’s comments suggest that with the right opportunity and system, he could thrive in a way similar to the much-hyped Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs’ phenom.</p><p>The conversation about the two gained even more traction recently after Shaquille O’Neal expressed his belief that Bol stacks up well against the young star. In a segment of Inside the NBA, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-shaq-hilariously-claims-bol-bol-better-victor-wembanyama">Charles Barkley asked O’Neal whether</a> he would choose Bol over Wembanyama.</p><p>Without hesitation, O’Neal answered with a resounding, “Yup, I do.”</p><p>This bold statement caused a mix of disbelief and laughter from his co-hosts, who couldn’t quite grasp O’Neal’s stance. However, the Diesel was unwavering in his opinion. He further explained that the Phoenix Suns currently hold a better record than the Spurs, adding fuel to his argument.</p><p>While the idea of choosing Bol over Wembanyama might seem outlandish to some, it’s not entirely surprising given the circumstances. Wembanyama has already garnered massive attention and has had the chance to show his talent from day one. On the other hand, the former Nugget, faced more challenges with inconsistent minutes and opportunities, before finding a role with the Suns.</p><p>His versatility and impressive skill set have always been apparent. With the right opportunity, he could further prove that Hardaway and O’Neal’s faith in him isn’t misplaced.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shaq isn’t the only Hall of Famer who thinks Bol Bol stacks up with Wemby

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-bol-bol-endorsement-suns-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kevin Durant gives Bol Bol endorsement after Suns win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Suns-news-Kevin-Durant-gives-Bol-Bol-endorsement-after-Phoenix-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Kevin Durant gives Bol Bol endorsement after Suns win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-01T15:59:46-08:00">March 1st, 3:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-01T16:00:28-08:00">March 1st, 4:00pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kevin Durant is a big Bol Bol fan. The Phoenix Suns center has taken his team and the basketball world by storm over the past two weeks.</p><p>Ever since head coach Mike Budneholzer inserted him into the starting lineup, the Suns have reaped the rewards. Funny enough, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-how-bol-bol-inner-confidence-surprising-performance-nuggets">the Suns head coach talked about Bol finding his inner confidence</a>.</p><p>Safe to say, he’s found it. In the 125-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Bol finished with 25 points and a career-high five-made threes. While the player of the game didn’t speak to the media, his teammates were more than happy to do so.</p><p>For instance, Durant spoke to reporters in the locker room about <a href="https://x.com/YoungNBA/status/1895699007277776939" rel="noopener">what makes the center great</a>.</p><p>“I think a lot of younger players can learn from how he approaches the game,” Durant said. “It’s not as glamorized and people don’t think that about Bol because he’s so quiet and unassuming. I’m just blown away at how hard he works, how much he cares, how much he wants to go out there and play well, how great of a teammate he is.</p><p>“I always want to make sure when I’m talking to you guys, I want to highlight that about him because not a lot of people talk about that side of his game.”</p><p>Fortunately for the new starter, it’s not only his teammates noticing. Others around the NBA are noticing. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-shaq-eats-nastiest-bowl-cereal-bol-bol-solid-first-half-vs-grizzlies">Shaquille O’Neal ate the nastiest bowl of cereal after Bol’s dominant half</a>, the Suns center was getting proper love.</p><p>Not to mention, O’Neal talked about Bol being similar to Victor Wembanyama in their skill sets.</p><h2><b>Bol Bol is getting Kevin Durant and the Suns’ attention</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bol-Bol.jpg"><figcaption>© Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The former Oregon basketball star had, and still has promising traits. The size, versatility, and increased scoring output have made him a must-play for a struggling Suns team. Following the game, Budenholzer explained where Bol was <a href="https://x.com/HaydenCilley/status/1895696426124132700" rel="noopener">making an impact on the floor</a>.</p><p>“Right now, I mean everywhere, to be honest with you, but he’s unique,” Budenholzer said. “Whenever he’s played in the games, he’s responded well and he has just a way about him. He kind of just plays basketball.</p><p>“He’s got unique skills, and I think defensively he’s helping us. There’s rim protection; he’s just a lot of good things. It’s been impressive what he’s been able to do.”</p><p>In his last three starts, he’s scored 15+ points. Throughout the season though, it wasn’t always that way. For instance, Bol had 10 DNPs, something that raised many questions. Regardless of any skepticism, he proved that all he needed was an opportunity.</p><p>As a result, he’s thrived in it. In <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/bol-bol-starting-stats" rel="noopener">five games as a starter</a>, Bol is averaging 19.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks, according to StatMuse. It was quite strange when he was named a starter but Budenholzer knew what he was doing.</p><h2><b>Other Suns besides Kevin Durant see Bol Bol’s work ethic</b></h2><p>Much of the success stems from what they do off the court. Luckily for Phoenix, they’ve typically had a history of bringing in high-character and high-energy players.</p><p>While Bol has a stoic demeanor, it <a href="https://basketnews.com/news-192436-gilbert-arenas-predicts-disappointment-for-bol-bol-in-suns-pretty-girl-with-bad-attitude.html" rel="noopener">hasn’t always been pretty</a>. For instance, Gilbert Arenas called him “a pretty girl with a bad attitude.” Character goes a long way in a plethora of teams, and Bol understands that more than anyone.</p><p>He’s been the same person every day, regardless if he knows he will play or he won’t. Budenholzer elaborated more on his characteristics.</p><p>“He comes in with a kind of a good spirit every day,” Budenholzer said. “He’s somebody you want to be around and kept his head up. I think we need to be better on the boards. We need to be better around the rim protecting it. We need to shoot more threes.</p><p>“He’s a guy that has a lot of those skill sets. So, I think he’s been a good addition. He’s been helping us.”</p><p>The Suns will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday in front of their home crowd. Phoenix can continue to ride the hot hand entering the game with Bol. Either way, he’s made his impact and will continue to do so.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kevin Durant gives Bol Bol endorsement after Suns win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-bol-bol-strong-online-buzz-amid-downward-spiral');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bol Bol sparks strong online buzz amid Suns downward spiral');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Suns-news-Bol-Bol-sparks-strong-online-buzz-amid-Phoenixs-downward-spiral.jpg"></figure><h1>Bol Bol sparks strong online buzz amid Suns downward spiral</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-26T08:43:55-08:00">February 26th, 8:43am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-26T08:43:55-08:00">February 26th, 8:43am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite much of the Phoenix Suns’ struggles, once Bol Bol was put in the starting lineup, he’s <a href="https://x.com/statmuse/status/1894596220523303219" rel="noopener">thrived in the role</a>. As a starter, Bol is averaging 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. Luckily, much of the increased play has been a result of one thing. His confidence. For instance, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-how-bol-bol-inner-confidence-surprising-performance-nuggets">Bol’s confidence in his game</a> has unlocked what many people hoped to see.</p><p>Although he’s had some surprising performances, his teammates and coaches aren’t shocked in the slightest. After all, he averaged over 20 points per game with Oregon basketball before being injured. Even Shaquille O’Neal said that Bol is a better player than Victor Wembanyama.</p><p>Subsequently, O’Neal called Bol lazy and said that was why he hadn’t become a good player. However, he’s been putting in the work this season. The Oregon standout has had Kevin Durant, head coach Mike Budenholzer, and Devin Booker consistently talk about his game and the improvements.</p><p>While the Suns are 0-3 with him as a starter, it’s a small sample size. His size at 7’2 and over eight-foot wingspan does wonders. He attempts to block every shot, which can be a downfall at times. Still, his length allows for increased rim protection and rebounding: Two things that Phoenix desperately needs.</p><h2><b>Bol Bol has plenty of support amid the Suns’ struggles</b></h2><p>The reactions have flown from all across the internet, specifically X (formerly Twitter). Some of the reactions trace back to O’Neal’s comments, with one saying “Don’t let Shaq know” with a crying emoji. Another said, “Bol Bol is shining bright—unstoppable talent on full display.” Also, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-shaq-eats-nastiest-bowl-cereal-bol-bol-solid-first-half-vs-grizzlies">O’Neal ate the nastiest bowl of cereal after Bol’s dominant performance</a>.</p><p>However, no great performance can please everyone. Even though Bol made only one of his two free throws, one fan thought that was <a href="https://x.com/ZimmersProps/status/1894603316220367159" rel="noopener">all they had to see</a>. “Who cares? He went 1 of 2 from the line when it mattered. Scrub.” For the first time, he scored a season-high 23 points.</p><p>When Budenholzer called upon his name, he answered triumphantly. Despite his efforts, it wasn’t enough for the Suns to win. They lost in overtime to the Memphis Grizzlies, 151-148. Even though he was the clear standout in the game, it might not matter to the team.</p><p>Phoenix is fighting for a play-in spot. They sit at 11th in the Western Conference and are four games below .500. Not to mention, they have the toughest remaining schedule in the league. Still, with a performance like this, he could keep getting starting nods thanks to his rebounding and shot-blocking.</p><p>The offense will come along but the Suns might take whatever they can get at this point.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bol Bol sparks strong online buzz amid Suns downward spiral

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-shaq-eats-nastiest-bowl-cereal-bol-bol-solid-first-half-vs-grizzlies');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shaq eats ‘nastiest bowl of cereal’ to celebrate Bol Bol’s solid first half vs Grizzlies');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Suns-news-Shaq-eats-nastiest-bowl-of-cereal-to-celebrate-Bol-Bol-s-solid-first-half-vs-Grizzlies.jpg"></figure><h1>Shaq eats ‘nastiest bowl of cereal’ to celebrate Bol Bol’s solid first half vs Grizzlies</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-11T22:26:24-08:00">February 11th, 10:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-11T22:26:41-08:00">February 11th, 10:26pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Shaquille O’Neal has a fascinating <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-shaq-hilariously-claims-bol-bol-better-victor-wembanyama">fixation with Phoenix Suns center Bol Bol</a>, one that has perplexed many fans over the years. The NBA legend famously, or rather infamously, said that the 2019 second-round draft pick has the same skill set as fellow 7-foot-3 big man Victor Wembanyama. He believes Bol, not the San Antonio Spurs All-Star, deserves to be regarded as the first of his caliber.</p><p>If Bol happens to have a standout showing when O’Neal is working, the TNT analyst invariably makes a big deal of it. Such an opportunity presented itself during the Suns’ 119-112 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. After Bol nearly recorded a double-double in the first half, Shaq <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1889531445036597711" rel="noopener">decided to celebrate the moment</a> during the halftime show.</p><p>“Every time my boy Bol Bol plays, I eat the nastiest bowl of cereal,” O’Neal said on “NBA on TNT,” via ClutchPoints. The four-time champion and three-time Finals MVP concocted a ghastly snack that consisted of Cheerios, Sunchips, Hot Cheetos, M&amp;M’s, milk and Pepsi. Before he could devour this intestinal nightmare, however, O’Neal urged production to cut to the highlights.</p><p>When the camera panned back to him, he was eating seemingly normal-looking cereal out of a much smaller bowl. Sure enough, <a href="https://x.com/NBAonTNT/status/1889531371904770347" rel="noopener">the footage confirmed the obvious</a>— shenanigan-loving Shaq called for a switch. Amid all the trickery and disgust, it is easy to overlook Bol’s impressive play.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Every time my boy Bol Bol plays, I eat the nastiest bowl of cereal."</p><p>Shaq celebrating Bol Bol nearly dropping a double-double in the 1st half 🤣</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAonTNT</a>)<a href="https://t.co/YN9ONfJWBA">pic.twitter.com/YN9ONfJWBA</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1889531445036597711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Bol Bol is producing for the Suns</b></h2><p>The 25-year-old finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and two steals. He is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-how-bol-bol-inner-confidence-surprising-performance-nuggets">rolling with momentum right now</a>, scoring in double-figures while recording at least three swats for the third contest in a row. Is Bol starting to fulfill the promise Shaquille O’Neal has touted for more than a year?</p><p>The Hall of Famer has highlighted the South Sudanese-American athlete’s ability to handle the ball, shoot 3-pointers, block shots and run the floor, all attributes that Wembanyama prominently possesses. O’Neal claims that work ethic is the only reason why there is a massive disparity between the two talents, going as far to call Bol lazy.</p><p>He seemed proud of the former Oregon Ducks player on this night, however. In a game in which the Grizzlies won and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-surpasses-30000-point-milestone-vs-grizzlies">Kevin Durant surpassed 30,000 points</a> for his career, Bol occupied a great amount of O’Neal’s focus.</p><p>With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-grade-suns-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-trade">Jusuf Nurkic now on the Charlotte Hornets</a>, Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer might continue to trust him with a bigger role for the remainder of the season. Bol, who has endured lower-body injuries for much of the campaign, was averaging 4.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in only 16 games going into the Grizzlies matchup.</p><p>Phoenix (26-27) will try to get back to .500 when it visits the Houston Rockets (33-20) on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shaq eats ‘nastiest bowl of cereal’ to celebrate Bol Bol’s solid first half vs Grizzlies

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-how-bol-bol-inner-confidence-surprising-performance-nuggets');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Bol Bol’s ‘inner confidence fueled surprising performance for Suns vs Nuggets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Suns-news-How-Bol-Bols-%E2%80%98inner-confidence-fueled-surprising-performance-vs-Nuggets.jpg"></figure><h1>How Bol Bol’s ‘inner confidence fueled surprising performance for Suns vs Nuggets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-09T11:21:50-08:00">February 9th, 11:21am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-09T11:21:50-08:00">February 9th, 11:21am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On the heels of a back-to-back set, Phoenix Suns center Bol Bol made the most of his opportunity against the Denver Nuggets. He dropped 19 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in 30 minutes, all of which were season-highs. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-mentor-bol-bol-frank-vogel-david-fizdale">Bol has had a career resurgence since being with the Suns</a>.</p><p>Every time he stepped on the floor, the fans went ballistic. They truly went crazy after Bol pulled an All-Star Game move.</p><p>He made a <a href="https://x.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1888417960936767516" rel="noopener">behind-the-back pass</a> that led to a wide-open Damion Lee 3-pointer. Not to mention, the barrage of blocked shots had fans eager for more. Bol’s performance was the result of many factors. Both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal missed the Suns last two games with respective injuries, he stepped up.</p><p>On Friday, he had 12 points and three blocks in 24 minutes off the bench. Even with minimal time in between games, the former Oregon basketball star stood out. These last two games have made head coach Mike Budenholzer re-think <a href="https://x.com/HaydenCilley/status/1888447092626166228" rel="noopener">how he’ll use</a> Bol going forward.</p><p>“I mean it’s interesting, I think obviously he’s been around our group for a while, and I think there’s a lot of confidence from his teammates,” Budenholzer said postgame. “So I think that really helps him, and he has a quiet way about it, but I think there is a lot of inner confidence.</p><p>“It’s been good for him to get the opportunity, be ready for the opportunity, and take advantage of the opportunity,” Budenholzer continued. “Bol’s certainly been impressive and I think earned it. We have to seriously consider how we can keep him in games and see how he can impact games.”</p><p>The second-year Phoenix center has been in and out of the rotation. Although he’s had a variety of DNPs and sporadic playing time, he’s taken advantage when given an opportunity and has provided a spark. He’s also been a fan-favorite for more than simply his skill.</p><h2><b>Bol Bol’s confidence has made Suns think more about playing him</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bol-Bol-shooting.jpg"><figcaption>© Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Even though Budenholzer has been set with his eight-nine man rotation, Bol is slowly but surely inserting his name into the conversation. His inner confidence shined on Saturday. In addition to that behind-the-back pass, he took a variety of shots, as well as using his ball handling skills.</p><p>Also, his off-ball play made an impression. He excelled on pick-and-pop scenarios throughout Saturday’s game. Point guard Tyus Jones saw Bol stand out in those areas. Jones explained that the center <a href="https://x.com/HaydenCilley/status/1888451119061627051" rel="noopener">has been yearning</a> for this moment.</p><p>“Be ready when his name is called for an opportunity,” Jones said. “He affects the game in so many different ways. He’s so unique. He uses his length extremely well. He can shoot the 3, grab offensive rebounds, blocks, being active on defense. So, he just affects the game in so many different ways. I’m just proud of him for staying ready for when his opportunity came.”</p><h2><b>Will Suns reward Bol Bol’s performance?</b></h2><p>Although Durant, Beal, and Grayson Allen take up significant minutes, two solid performances are making the team look at all options. At 7-foot-2, he presents a unique skill set, as Jones mentioned. The shot-blocking, length, and versatility make him a legitimate rotation piece.</p><p>While there are still some struggles, he brings a different energy than what’s accustomed. Budenholzer again explained how not just Bol, but the deep bench players are capitalizing on the moment.</p><p>“A lot of guys got an opportunity tonight,” Budenholzer said. “We felt like we needed the whole roster. Damion Lee and Bol, taking advantage. Especially last night, it was really good, now it’s can you do it again and he did it again tonight, so, really proud of how he’s playing, how he’s impacting the game.”</p><p>Will Bol receive extended playing time? After previous <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-bol-bol-gets-encouraging-hint-from-frank-vogel-about-playing-time">Suns head coach Frank Vogel gave an encouraging hint at Bol having more minutes</a> last season, it could happen. Still, no one knows. But the Suns center unlocking his inner confidence has pondered the question, that might be answered sooner rather than later.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Bol Bol’s ‘inner confidence fueled surprising performance for Suns vs Nuggets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-bol-bol-game-changing-review-nba-icon-ralph-sampson');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bol Bol draws game-changing review from NBA icon Ralph Sampson');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_0718.jpeg"></figure><h1>Bol Bol draws game-changing review from NBA icon Ralph Sampson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-14T19:16:02-07:00">September 14th, 7:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-14T19:16:02-07:00">September 14th, 7:16pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Since Victor Wembanyama arrived in the NBA, there’s been an increase in awareness towards long, lanky 7-foot players with versatile skill-sets. Phoenix Suns center Bol Bol <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-shaq-hilariously-claims-bol-bol-better-victor-wembanyama">possesses a similar frame to</a> Wembanyama, and former NBA star Ralph Sampson <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2024/09/13/phoenix-suns-ralph-sampson-says-todays-players-wouldnt-survive-in-his-nba-era/75212177007/" rel="noopener">recently dropped high praise</a> for him as per Dana Scott of the Arizona Republic.</p><p>“Bol Bol is an elite talent. I played with Bol Bol’s father Manute, and he didn’t have the same talent that his son has. He can change the game if he wants to, but he’s gotta want to get it done and you’ve gotta have that grit,” Sampson said. “He can’t just settle for the 3, and Wembanyama can’t just settle for the 3 when the game’s on the line. You gotta find your niche and you gotta make it to the basket, you gotta score. And that’s what the learning development of the game should be. It’s gonna take some years to do that, but if they can do it and put the work in, they’ll be really good.”</p><p>Today’s generation of NBA fans may not know it since they were not old enough to witness it, but Ralph Sampson was also in a similar mold. He was a long, athletic 7-foot player who could do almost anything on the court.</p><h2><b>Bol Bol’s development with the Suns<br></b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_0719.jpeg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-Imagn Imagesd</figcaption></figure><p>Bol Bol is entering his second season with the Suns. He was signed as a free agent in the 2023 offseason to a one-year contract. He re-signed with the Suns on another one-year deal this offseason.</p><p>He didn’t figure all that prominently in the Suns rotation last season, but he showed glimpses of the player he could be if received regular playing time.</p><p>In 43 games, all off the bench, he averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds with splits of 61.6 percent shooting from the field, 42.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 78.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His field goal percentage was a career-high.</p><p>He had been coming off the best season of his career when the Suns signed in 2023. He had just appeared in a career best 70 games with the Orlando Magic including 33 starts. He had put up a career-high 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.2 blocked shots in a little over 21 minutes per game.</p><p>Coming into the 2024-25 season, the Suns signed Mason Plumlee as their backup center. But Bol can play a little forward as well. It remains to be seen whether or not his role will expand at all under new head coach Mike Budenholzer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bol Bol draws game-changing review from NBA icon Ralph Sampson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-bol-bols-nsfw-callout-refs-caught-hot-mic-foul-victor-wembanyama');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bol Bol’s NSFW callout of refs caught on hot mic after foul vs. Victor Wembanyama');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Suns-news-Bol-Bol_s-NSFW-callout-of-refs-caught-on-hot-mic-after-foul-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Bol Bol’s NSFW callout of refs caught on hot mic after foul vs. Victor Wembanyama</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-24T08:04:34-07:00">March 24th, 8:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-24T08:04:34-07:00">March 24th, 8:04am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns cruised to an easy victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, picking up a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-vs-spurs-prediction-odds-pick-how-to-watch-3-23-2024">131-106 win</a> to earn their fourth victory over the past five games. While Devin Booker led the way with 32 points, Bol Bol caught a lot of attention for his strong play against rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama, and for an NSFW comment he made towards the refs after he disagreed with a foul called for Wemby.</p><p>Bol has emerged as a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-mentor-bol-bol-frank-vogel-david-fizdale">key piece</a> off the bench for the Suns, and he chipped in with 13 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes of action for Phoenix against San Antonio. His most notable play of the game, though, might have been his quick comment that was picked up on a hot mic in which he <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1771701176821494165" rel="noopener">hilariously called the refs</a> out for favoring Wembanyama with their calls for him.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“D*ckriding bro, I get it.”</p><p>Bol Bol after fouling Victor Wembanyama 😂</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/S3glxBtSXO">pic.twitter.com/S3glxBtSXO</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1771701176821494165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Bol Bol held his own when defending Victor Wembanyama for the Suns</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Bol-Bol-of-the-Suns.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Wembanyama certainly does use his lanky frame to get a friendly whistle from refs, and Bol wasn’t having it early on in the second quarter of this game. However, when Bol was on the floor, he did a good job of keeping Wembanyama quiet, and that was a big reason why the Suns were able to effortlessly coast to a victory in this one.</p><p>Bol didn’t allow Wembanyama to score during his time defending him, and overall, it was a quiet night for the talented Frenchman (13 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 5/7 FGM) after he put together some big performances over the past few days. If Bol can be this effective off the bench against opposing big men every night for Phoenix, they can become an even scarier team with the playoffs drawing near.</p><p>While he’s not playing as much on a nightly basis as he was for the Orlando Magic last season, Bol has carved out a nice role with Phoenix, and he’s only getting better as the season goes on. Bol’s per game numbers won’t jump off the page (5.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.4 APG, 62 FG%, 39.5 3P%), but he’s continuing to get more comfortable in the flow of the team’s offense as a perimeter shooter, and anything he can add on defense is a big plus for Phoenix.</p><p>Shutting down a lackluster Spurs team isn’t the biggest accomplishment in the world, though, even when considering Wembanyama’s sensational talent. There will be bigger matchups in the future where the stakes are higher, and it will be up to Bol to deliver for the Suns in the way he has been over the past month. He may not want to hurl NSFW comments towards the refs like he did in this game, but as long as he does everything else he did in this game, Phoenix will be in a good spot moving forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bol Bol’s NSFW callout of refs caught on hot mic after foul vs. Victor Wembanyama

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-kevin-durant-mentor-bol-bol-frank-vogel-david-fizdale');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Bol Bol with massive resurgence in first year with Phoenix, Kevin Durant');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/bol.webp"></figure><h1>Suns’ Bol Bol with massive resurgence in first year with Phoenix, Kevin Durant</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-26T08:03:42-08:00">February 26th, 8:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-26T08:03:42-08:00">February 26th, 8:03am</time><address><a>Trevor Booth</a>Trevor Booth is a beat writer covering the Phoenix Suns, in addition to working as an associate editor. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports journalism from Arizona State University in 2021. Booth is passionate about his faith, video games, sports with friends and making the most of his time with his girlfriend when he's not working.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Do you Bolieve? Phoenix Suns do.</p><p>Bol, whose father, Manute Bol, is one of the tallest players in history, has a rare if not unique skill. Bol Bol, who the Suns signed this offseason following a cut from the Orlando Magic, is a tweener because he is listed at 7-foot-3 but can dribble, handle and shoot like a point.</p><p>“He’s not a five,” Suns center Jusuf Nurkic <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-injury-update-bradley-beal-lakers-lebron-james-anthony-davis-jusuf-nurkic" rel="noopener">joked</a>.</p><p>Bol himself said at media day he is unsure if he is a guard or a big.</p><p>“I’d say both,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I see this is a meme now. <a href="https://t.co/UHmKItbJoB">pic.twitter.com/UHmKItbJoB</a></p><p>— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrevorMBooth/status/1709578158130032981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>To this point, Bol has proven he can perform, regardless of where he is slotted by position. A former five-star prospect, Bol is looking like a capable role player for the Suns with just under two months remaining until the playoffs start.</p><p>Here’s a look from ClutchPoints at his progress.</p><h2>Bol analysis</h2><p>Bol is one of the more exciting players on the Suns because of his ball-handling. According to 247Sports, Bol <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/bol-bol-82110/high-school-209301/" rel="noopener">was projected</a> to be a top-3 pick before his lone collegiate year at Oregon, which has generated NBA talents Payton Pritchard and Dillon Brooks, among others.</p><p>That has not panned out. Bol suffered a foot injury with the Ducks and fell to the second round in 2019.</p><p>ClutchPoints’ Trevor Booth <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-bol-bol-signing-nba-free-agency-kevin-durant-devin-booker" rel="noopener">wrote</a> the following about Bol.</p><p>“Do not be fooled: Bol has above-average ability on his frame that is close to rare for a player at his size. But the Suns have not found a diamond in the rough that could resemble the ability of Victor Wembanyama, unless Bol fully unlocks everything he is capable of doing while staying healthy.</p><p>He can shoot from the outside but he has not been good at it. Bol shot 25 percent and 26.5 percent from 3-point range in the last two seasons. Granted, some of this could be since the (Orlando) Magic did not use him well as a power forward. But this is supposed to be a part of his game that separates him and makes him a more unique talent, and that has not been something he can rely on.</p><p>Bol is also a tweener. He has the size and capability of fulfilling a role as a shot-blocker, but he played as a forward, wing and ball-handler in high school and early parts of college that may confuse him in terms of who he thinks he is. Coaches have to dial in that Bol has to fill a certain role, and Vogel seems like the type of coach who will do that.”</p><p>Bol’s development is something we previewed. Vogel has developed Indiana Pacers big Roy Hibbert and also grew Anthony Davis into a perennial rim protector and 1-5 defender.</p><p>“Bol has a chance to compete with the Suns, who have a great staff and culture in place. Phoenix president of basketball operations and general manager James Jones must see something in Bol the Suns could perhaps work with. He does have talent and can be fine-tuned into something valuable if he shows work ethic.”</p><h2>Growth</h2><p>Earlier this season, we <a href="https://twitter.com/TrevorMBooth/status/1713288568221958612" rel="noopener">posted</a> a video of Suns assistant David Fizdale next to Bol. There is tremendous reason to believe Fizdale, who was a two-time NBA champion with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, has been a huge part of Bol’s development.</p><p>“We all love [Bol[, but Fiz has an affinity for him,” Vogel says.</p><p>On the floor, Bol has played best in lineups next to Kevin Durant, an idol of his. Sunday’s game against the Lakers and James included Bol next to Suns starting center Jusuf Nurkic, giving the Suns some rare offensive talent and versatility with long arms on defense.</p><p>“He’s been more than I expected,” Durant said following the Suns’ win over the Lakers. “His intangibles, his work ethic, his IQ, all the stuff that I didn’t really think about when it comes to Bol.</p><p>“That’s the foundation of his game.”</p><p>Bol has been able to find opportunities to shoot from three while being a threat to attack from the perimeter. He had a dunk over the Lakers’ Rui Hachimura that excited the Footprint Center crowd.</p><p>Bol had his best game with Nurkic out Friday against the Houston Rockets, scoring 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting including 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 14 rebounds. He also recorded one block and one steal.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bol Bol vs the Rockets!</p><p>25 Points (season high) <br>14 Rebounds (season high) <br>65% Shooting <br>2 Threes <br>In just 26 Minutes<a href="https://t.co/PvvKO7ogp6">pic.twitter.com/PvvKO7ogp6</a></p><p>— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1761424757155643762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“He was great, there’s no other way to put it,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said after the 114-110 loss to the Rockets.</p><p>Bol was reportedly “gassed,” so the Suns will have to find out when and where to play him on the court.</p><h2>Expectation</h2><p>Bol’s development is important for the Suns, who will have less continuity than most teams they will face in the NBA playoffs.</p><p>Phoenix will likely rely on its starting five, which includes guard Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Eric Gordon and Bol in the playoffs. Recent buyout market piece and longtime coveted player Thad Young could also be in the mix as well as Drew Eubanks, who is the closest the Suns have to a true backup center to Nurkic.</p><p>If Bol can continue to develop within the Suns’ rotations, especially next to Durant and guard Devin Booker, he could be an integral part of their pursuit of a title.</p><h2>Reflection, growth</h2><p>Bol cannot be any more impressive than he’s been. He’s even made a mark on his role model, Durant, who to most is a top-10 player of all time.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="in">Kevin Durant mentoring young Bol Bol. <a href="https://t.co/uk5ihZ8Y4h">pic.twitter.com/uk5ihZ8Y4h</a></p><p>— Joyful Jester (@JoyfulJester1) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoyfulJester1/status/1761865208044085594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I just love everything about Bol and you can tell that everybody loves Bol,” Durant said previously.</p><p>Bol is yet to play in the postseason, so it’s likely the moment will be something he has to warm himself up to.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Bol Bol with massive resurgence in first year with Phoenix, Kevin Durant

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-shaq-hilariously-claims-bol-bol-better-victor-wembanyama');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shaq hilariously claims that Suns’ Bol Bol is better than Victor Wembanyama');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Suns_news_Shaq_hilariously_claims_that_Bol_Bol_is_better_than_Victor_Wembanyama_copy.webp"></figure><h1>Shaq hilariously claims that Suns’ Bol Bol is better than Victor Wembanyama</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-09T15:50:43-08:00">February 9th, 3:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-09T15:53:26-08:00">February 9th, 3:53pm</time><address><a>Brian Buyawe</a>Brian Buyawe is a sports aficionado with a passion for basketball, football and Formula One. His hobbies include running, reading and playing in recreational leagues. Back when he was a kid, Brian stumbled upon an old Larry Bird documentary among his family's collection of movies, which made him a lifelong Celtics fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In an age where big men acquiring guard skills becomes more common, the NBA has seen its fair share of unicorns in recent years — seven-foot giants who can comfortably bring the ball down and create their own shots with moves akin to that of a ball-handler. Just take a look at Victor Wembanyama for example. Standing at 7’4 with a wingspan of approximately eight feet, Wembanyama’s skill with the basketball is unusual for someone of his stature. While the San Antonio Spurs big man continues to rack up the numbers, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal made it clear that he would still choose another similar player over the rookie: Bol Bol of the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>In a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3XIB7KevPs" rel="noopener">segment of Inside the NBA</a>, Charles Barkley asked O’Neal if he would take Bol over Wembanyama, which prompted the Diesel to give a simple response.</p><p>“Yup, I do.”</p><p>This led to disbelief and lighthearted laughter from O’Neal’s co-hosts. Still, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-shaquille-oneal-claims-bol-bol-is-a-little-better-but-lazy-compared-to-victor-wembanyama" rel="noopener">Shaq would stand by</a> his stance, adding that the Suns have a better record than the Spurs.</p><p>“Bol Bol’s better because the team’s got a better record,” O’Neal said. (via Bleacher Report and TNT)</p><h2>Bol Bol’s career so far</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/bolbol.webp"></figure><p>Looking at Bol’s game, his skillset seems comparable to Wembanyama’s. Still, one big concern surrounding the former Oregon Duck lies in his ability to stay healthy. Bol is now in his fifth season but has only seen action in a total of 138 career games. Plagued by multiple foot injuries throughout his career, the 7-foot-3 big man’s health remains a big question mark.</p><p>Additionally, he’s still seen by coaches as a developing prospect, which explains the lack of playing time. In his first three seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Bol hardly saw the floor. When suited up for the Orlando Magic last year, however, Bol was given a break. Appearing in 70 games, Bol averaged 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Magic.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-bol-bol-gets-encouraging-hint-from-frank-vogel-about-playing-time" rel="noopener">This season, Bol</a> has only seen action in 15 outings, which can be attributed to both injuries and a lack of playing time due to Phoenix’s competitive roster. Still, the big man was granted minutes in three of the Suns’ most recent outings, which could be a positive sign moving forward. Overall, Bol Bol is just 24 years old, meaning the big man still has room to grow and bring out his full potential in the near future.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shaq hilariously claims that Suns’ Bol Bol is better than Victor Wembanyama

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/spurs-news-shaquille-oneal-claims-bol-bol-is-a-little-better-but-lazy-compared-to-victor-wembanyama');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs: Shaquille O’Neal claims Bol Bol is a ‘little better’ but ‘lazy as f**k’ compared to Victor Wembanyama');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Spurs-Shaquille-ONeal-claims-Bol-Bol-is-a-little-better-but-lazy-as-fk-compared-to-Victor-Wembanyama.webp"></figure><h1>Spurs: Shaquille O’Neal claims Bol Bol is a ‘little better’ but ‘lazy as f**k’ compared to Victor Wembanyama</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-24T20:32:07-08:00">January 24th, 8:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-24T20:32:07-08:00">January 24th, 8:32pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Two months ago, Shaquille O’Neal made waves on social media when he compared San Antonio Spurs rookie and generational prospect Victor Wembanyama to Bol Bol. Both players were blessed with freakish physical dimensions, but fans <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-bol-bol-love-with-wild-victor-wembanyama-take" rel="noopener">could not comprehend</a> how Shaq would want to make this comparison especially when Bol has bounced around in the league — with the Phoenix Suns even picking him up on a minimum contract after the Orlando Magic waived him in the offseason.</p><p>But O’Neal <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-controversial-victor-wembanyama-bol-bol-spurs-comments" rel="noopener">isn’t someone who backs down</a> from his earlier takes even though he’s the face of the “I wasn’t familiar with your game” meme. In fact, the Big Aristotle continued to defend his earlier Bol/Wembanyama take, <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1750281236637987009" rel="noopener">basically echoing</a> Otto Octavius’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXXfjAZkDXI" rel="noopener">unflattering review</a> of Peter Parker in the critically-acclaimed Spider-Man 2.</p><p>“Bol Bol is lazy as f**k. Bol Bol can do everything Wemby can do and even a little better: dribble behind the back, shoot the three, nice handle, the floater game. He’s just lazy,” O’Neal said on The Big Podcast presented by Playmaker.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Bol Bol can do everything Wemby can do and even a little better: dribble behind the back, shoot the three, nice handle, the floater game. He's just lazy."</p><p>Shaq comparing Bol Bol to Victor Wembanyama 🧐</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/bigpodwithshaq?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bigpodwithshaq</a>)<a href="https://t.co/EUOf512ITa">pic.twitter.com/EUOf512ITa</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1750281236637987009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Shaquille O’Neal added that he is not saying that the Suns big man is better than the Spurs rookie. The Hall of Famer merely contended that Victor Wembanyama is not the first player in league history to have a guard’s skillset in a 7’3+ frame and that he wants his contemporaries to pipe down on the overly exaggerated Wembanyama hype.</p><p>However, calling Bol Bol “lazy” may be a reductionist way of seeing things. Perhaps the Suns big man does have work ethic issues, which led to his slide during the 2019 NBA Draft, but it’s more than likely that he just doesn’t have the “it” factor. It seems like the game goes way too fast for Bol, as he tends to lag behind in terms of defensive rotations and defensive movements. This makes him the quintessential highlight reel player whose flashy moments lead some to believe that he has a much bigger impact on the game than he actually does.</p><p>Even though Victor Wembanyama is just 20 years old, he is already a better two-way player than Bol has ever been. Perhaps Shaquille O’Neal’s latest (harsh) clarification of his previous statements would finally put to bed the incongruent comparisons between the Spurs franchise cornerstone and the Suns bench warmer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Spurs: Shaquille O’Neal claims Bol Bol is a ‘little better’ but ‘lazy as f**k’ compared to Victor Wembanyama

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-bol-bol-injury-update-foot-sprain');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Bol Bol gets hopeful foot injury update amid extended absence');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/bolbol.webp"></figure><h1>Suns’ Bol Bol gets hopeful foot injury update amid extended absence</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-19T12:53:12-08:00">January 19th, 12:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-19T12:53:12-08:00">January 19th, 12:53pm</time><address><a>Trevor Booth</a>Trevor Booth is a beat writer covering the Phoenix Suns, in addition to working as an associate editor. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports journalism from Arizona State University in 2021. Booth is passionate about his faith, video games, sports with friends and making the most of his time with his girlfriend when he's not working.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Phoenix Suns <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-bol-bol-gets-encouraging-hint-from-frank-vogel-about-playing-time" rel="noopener">center Bol Bol</a> will not travel with the team for its game Friday in New Orleans against the Pelicans.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bol Bol (foot) OUT, won't travel with team to New Orleans for Friday's game, but Frank Vogel still doesn't think it's a "long-term" injury. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Suns</a></p><p>— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1748072062269133288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Bol, who signed on a minimum deal with Phoenix after he was cut by the Orlando Magic, has appeared in 12 games this season. He <a href="https://twitter.com/GabeGuerrero03/status/1745656325848097014" rel="noopener">started to become</a> a bench piece the Suns found a rhythm with before his injury.</p><p>Suns coach Frank Vogel said he does not expect Bol, who has a right foot sprain, to be out long-term.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-controversial-victor-wembanyama-bol-bol-spurs-comments" rel="noopener">Bol is the son</a> of NBA legend Manute Bol. Manute was 7-foot-6 and is known for his defense.</p><p>Bol Bol has said he can play guard since he has good ball-handling skills. However, he is 7-foot-3 and has been playing center for the Suns.</p><p>Bol Bol in four games this month averaged 8.8 points on 77.8 percent shooting including 75 percent from the 3-point line. He also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per contest.</p><p>The Suns have championship expectations in 2023-24. Phoenix is coached by Vogel, who won the 2020 championship with LeBron James and the LA Lakers, and has three of the best pure scorers in the NBA: Kevin Durant; Bradley Beal; and Devin Booker.</p><p>Durant to some is a top-3 player still and is having a great season, averaging 28.9 points — which is fifth-most in the NBA — 6.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists. He is shooting the third-best 3-point percentage at 47.1, which is behind only the Milwaukee Bucks’ Malik Beasley and the Suns’ Grayson Allen, who is interested in staying in Phoenix amid rumors of a trade.</p><p>The Suns are 8-3 in their last 11. Phoenix is eighth in the West with a 22-18 record.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Bol Bol gets hopeful foot injury update amid extended absence

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-bol-bol-gets-encouraging-hint-from-frank-vogel-about-playing-time');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Bol Bol gets encouraging Frank Vogel hint about playing time');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Suns-Bol-Bol-gets-encouraging-Frank-Vogel-hint-about-playing-time.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Bol Bol gets encouraging Frank Vogel hint about playing time</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-30T05:58:45-08:00">November 30th, 5:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-30T05:58:45-08:00">November 30th, 5:58am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime -- so he writes about it instead as a form of therapy. (It hasn't worked though. Someday maybe it will -- especially when he's been working for ClutchPoints since August 2022.)</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There was a bit of a hullabaloo this past offseason when the Orlando Magic waived Bol Bol due to a roster crunch; Bol, after all, was able to rack up impressive stats in his stint as a starter for the Magic early on in the 2022-23 season, and at only 24 years old, there may very well be untapped potential left in the 7’3 big man. Thus, there was a bit of excitement when the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-bol-bol-shock-world-breakout-2023-24-nba-season" rel="noopener">Suns took a flier on him</a> this past offseason, as the veteran Suns team could, perhaps, unlock a different level from him.</p><p>However, Bol, much like he was for the majority of the 2022-23 season, has fallen way out of the Suns’ rotation, picking up nothing but garbage time minutes behind Jusuf Nurkic, Drew Eubanks, and Chimezie Metu. However, it seems like Frank Vogel is going to <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1730079815942758559" rel="noopener">take a look soon</a> at the 24-year old center, if his words in the aftermath of the Suns’ 112-105 defeat to the Toronto Raptors is any indication.</p><p>“Bol Bol is going to get a chance for us. There are guys ahead of him in the rotation right now — Chimezie came in and gave us really good minutes, these guys were playing well. But we’re not forgetting about Bol Bol, he’s gonna get his opportunity,” Vogel said in his postgame presser, per Duane Rankin of AZCentral.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Bol Bol is going to get a chance for us."</p><p>Frank Vogel on Bol Bol, who has only played in three games this season for the Phoenix Suns for a total of seven minutes, the fewest on the team. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Suns</a> <a href="https://t.co/6hcxaW3LFG">pic.twitter.com/6hcxaW3LFG</a></p><p>— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1730079815942758559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>At the moment, it’s not like the performances of Drew Eubanks and Chimezie Metu as the Suns’ primary backup options behind Jusuf Nurkic warrant a seismic change in their rotation. But they didn’t sign Bol this past offseason just for him to rot on the bench, which is what he has done so far in tallying the fewest minutes of anyone on the team.</p><p>In spurts, he could perhaps swing games with his length on the interior, warping the way the court looks for the opposition (by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-controversial-victor-wembanyama-bol-bol-spurs-comments" rel="noopener">utilizing his amazing length</a>) for a good few minutes before his flaws, namely his slow processing of the game, poor strength when guarding in the paint, and overall offensive disjointedness, get exposed. And who knows, perhaps the 24-year old big man has improved by leaps and bounds while learning from the likes of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Bol Bol gets encouraging Frank Vogel hint about playing time

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-controversial-victor-wembanyama-bol-bol-spurs-comments');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shaquille O’Neal doubles down on controversial Victor Wembanyama-Bol Bol Spurs comments');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/spurs-news-shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-controversial-victor-wembanyama-bol-bol-comments.jpg"></figure><h1>Shaquille O’Neal doubles down on controversial Victor Wembanyama-Bol Bol Spurs comments</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-22T16:42:05-08:00">November 22nd, 4:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-22T16:42:05-08:00">November 22nd, 4:42pm</time><address><a>Nick Meyer</a>Nick Meyer is a sports writer for ClutchPoints based in the Metro Detroit area. He has covered everything from Major League Baseball to the NFL, UFC, and College Football.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Antonio Spurs are just 3-11 on the young NBA season, which has tempered the hype surrounding first overall pick Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 star center known as ‘Wemby.’</p><p>Wembanyama received a surprising comparison to Phoenix Suns center Bol Bol from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal a few weeks, back, which caused Charles Barkley <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-bol-bol-love-with-wild-victor-wembanyama-take" rel="noopener">to lose his mind</a>. The Spurs jersey debut of Wembanyama led to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-debut-jersey-sells-6-times-estimate" rel="noopener">sellout of historical proportions</a> that few fans could have ever expected.</p><p>On Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, it was revealed that O’Neal has doubled down on his controversial comparison of Wembanyama, the 2023 number one overall draft pick, and Bol, who has been a backup throughout most of his NBA career.</p><p>O’Neal shared the following comments with Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2023/11/22/shaquille-oneal-stands-firm-on-victor-wembanyama-bol-bol-statement" rel="noopener">doubling down</a> on his Bol Bol comparison when asked if he had any plans of changing his mind about it.</p><p>“No, I’m not because if you listen to what I said, I said you guys are acting like Wemby is the first 7-foot-5 player that dribble coast to coast, put it between his legs and shot a three [pointer],” O’Neal said. “[Wembanyama] is not. Bol Bol is the first. I never compared the two. I just said you guys act like you’ve never seen it before, but you have. You’ve seen Bol Bol do it.”</p><p>On November 2, Wembanyama became the first player since O’Neal to compile 85 points, 35 rebounds, and 10 blocks in his first five games.</p><p>The Spurs big man is currently averaging 18.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/5104157/victor-wembanyama" rel="noopener">just over 42%</a> from the field.</p><p>The Hornets led the Wizards by two early on in the second quarter on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shaquille O’Neal doubles down on controversial Victor Wembanyama-Bol Bol Spurs comments

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-bol-bol-love-with-wild-victor-wembanyama-take');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns: Shaquille O’Neal doubles down on Bol Bol love with wild Victor Wembanyama take');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/suns-news-shaquille-oneal-doubles-down-on-bol-bol-love-with-wild-victor-wembanyama-take.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns: Shaquille O’Neal doubles down on Bol Bol love with wild Victor Wembanyama take</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-01T06:19:11-07:00">November 1st, 6:19am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-01T06:20:37-07:00">November 1st, 6:20am</time><address><a>Sonny Giuliano</a>Sonny Giuliano has been covering the NFL, College Football, NBA and College Basketball for well over a decade, but he's never claimed to be an expert ... just a sports fan who cares WAY too much. Follow Sonny on Twitter (or X, whatever Elon's calling it) @SonnyCG for his sports and pop culture takes</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal has a pretty unique relationship with big men, and by unique, I mean <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-shaq-reignites-dwight-howard-beef-latest-savage-jab" rel="noopener">mostly combative and strangely competitive</a>. But curiously enough, one center who has earned the support and admiration of The Big Aristotle is Bol Bol, the 7’2″ son of 7’7″ NBA legend Manute Bol. In his first four seasons in the NBA, Bol Bol has averaged 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and less than one block per game, which are the kind of numbers that ordinarily would cause Shaq to have an on-air conniption and start ranting about BBQ chicken. Instead, last night, Shaq <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1719559456508240075" rel="noopener">doubled down on his love</a> for Bol Bol, this time at the expense of Spurs rookie superstar/<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-halloween-costume">horror movie enthusiast</a> Victor Wembanyama.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shaq compared Wemby to Bol Bol and Chuck lost it 👀 <a href="https://t.co/VIQfj8i61r">pic.twitter.com/VIQfj8i61r</a></p><p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1719559456508240075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Now, Shaq’s fascination with Bol, who is currently a seldom-used back-up in his first season with the Phoenix Suns, is actually quite easily explainable. Shaq’s understandable bias comes from his time as the former AAU coach of Bol Bol, and the fact that Bol and Shaq’s son Shareef are friends. We learned about this back in 2019, when The Big Shaqtus made headlines when he claimed that he would choose to build his franchise around Bol Bol rather than Zion Williamson.</p><p>“I don’t even think I go with Zion,” O’Neal said in a pre-draft interview when he was asked which incoming prospect he would choose to build a team around, per Scott Gleeson <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/draft/2019/06/21/nba-draft-zion-williamson-bol-bol-shaq/1524029001/" rel="noopener">of USA Today</a>. “Believe it or not, I’d go with Bol Bol. Him and Shareef are friends and I’ve seen the potential what this kid can do. For example, when I was his coach in AAU, we never lost. He’s got it all. He’s (7-2), can shoot, dribble, can pass. Nobody really knows it because he was always hurt.”</p><p>Strangely enough, the one area where Bol Bol has <i>actually</i> proven to be superior to Zion Williamson is in terms of health. Now granted, Bol Bol has played sparingly off the bench compared to Zion who has played starter’s minutes, but Bol Bol has actually played in more games (124) than Zion has (117), which is more of an indictment of Zion Williamson than it is a celebration of Bol Bol’s durability.</p><p>But Shaq gets at something important here. Bol Bol represents something that in 2019, we still hadn’t seen much of. Sure, Kristaps Porzingis had come along already and been touted as the original unicorn, and Thon Maker too had made the rounds as the next seven-footer who possessed a guard’s skillset on the perimeter. Bol was next in line, and because he was the son of a former NBA player who has the second-highest blocks per game average in NBA history, it was easy to see the potential upside. But nobody, I repeat, <i>nobody </i>besides Shaq would think to make the Bol Bol-Victor Wembanyama comparison in 2023.</p><p>So hey, I applaud Diesel for sticking to his very big guns. Maybe Bol Bol figures it out and puts together a long, semi-successful career as a rotation big. That appears to be the upside for Bol at this point in time, which would end up being one of the worst case scenario outcomes for Wemby.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.8	2.9	0.6	0.7	0.3

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.8	2.9	0.6	0.7	0.3

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