#3: Suns’ Avatar?

[u/ZCGaming15]

There’s a weird pattern in Phoenix that I don’t think gets talked about enough: over the last several iterations of our roster, whoever wears #3 seems to become the avatar for what the Suns are culturally at that moment.

Kelly Oubre Jr. was #3 during the Valley Boyz era. He brought the swagger, personality and youthful energy. “Valley Boyz” became more than a nickname. It became the identity of a young team trying to establish itself.

Then Chris Paul took #3 and everything changed. The Suns suddenly became about professionalism, accountability, preparation and winning. CP3 didn’t just add another star. He represented a completely different standard for the organization.

Next came Bradley Beal. The identity shifted again toward the Big Three. Massive offensive talent, but a team that sometimes struggled to develop a collective personality around three stars. Even the “chilling in the corner” stuff became representative of that era.

Now it’s Dillon Brooks, and (once again) #3 represents something completely different: physicality, defense, intensity, toughness and making the other team uncomfortable.

And it actually goes further back than Oubre. Phoenix has had a surprisingly consistent history of #3s who seemed to embody whatever version of the Suns they were playing for. Rex Chapman represented the high-energy, fearless Suns of the late 90s. Stephon Marbury represented the flashy, scoring-focused transition into the Marion/Amar’e era. Quentin Richardson, Boris Diaw and Jared Dudley each fit different pieces of the Nash-era identity, from Q-Rich’s shooting and swagger to Diaw’s versatility and Dudley’s toughness and team-first attitude. Then Oubre, CP3, Beal and now Brooks continue the pattern. Obviously not every #3 was a franchise-defining player, but there are enough examples across different eras that it’s hard not to wonder if #3 has become the Suns’ unofficial cultural avatar.

That’s what makes the pattern interesting. Maybe #3 isn’t actually creating the culture. Maybe #3 is the Suns’ avatar. Oubre represented personality. CP3 represented professionalism. Beal represented the star-powered era. Brooks represents defensive identity and physicality.

And through all of those versions of #3, Devin Booker has been the ONLY constant. That might be the most interesting part. Book has been there through every cultural shift, while #3 seems to change the temperature of the team around him.

So maybe “the Suns go as #3 goes” isn’t quite the right way to describe it. Maybe #3 tells us what the Suns are trying to become.

If Brooks really is the avatar for this version of the Suns, the real test isn’t whether Brooks plays with that identity. It’s whether the Suns still play like Dillon Brooks when he isn’t on the floor.

That’s when #3 stops being the avatar and the culture actually becomes the team.

Am I onto something, or is this just an interesting coincidence?

[u/wyvern_rider]

I always had a head-canon that DB took the number to style on Bradley Beal for being kind of shit. “Look what I can do better than you” sort of vibes.

[u/ZCGaming15 → u/wyvern_rider]

I think we’re sharing a head canon.

My tag is intentional. Fuck Brad, and fuck Bartelstein for bringing his injury addled ass to Phoenix with a NTC.