How good is Bol Bol? Strengths, weaknesses, contract details and career stats for Suns signing

Scott Rafferty

How good is Bol Bol? Strengths, weaknesses, contract details and career stats for Suns signing image

The Suns continue to make moves.

Following an impressive start to free agency, the Suns agreed to three separate deals over the weekend. Not only did they trade Cameron Payton to the Spurs for a second-round pick and acquire three future second-round picks from the Magic for a pick swap, but they added Bol Bol to their roster.

Our Steph Noh didn't initially have Bol as one of the 50 best players in this free-agent class because he wasn't expected to be a free agent. The Magic decided to waive him before his contract for the 2023-24 season became guaranteed, making him an unrestricted free agent once he cleared waivers.

How big of a deal is the Suns signing Bol? Let's take a closer look.

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How good is Bol Bol?

We haven't seen a whole lot of Bol Bol over the last four seasons.

Since being selected with the No. 44 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Bol has logged a total of 1,505 minutes over 123 regular season games. He played more games in the 2022-23 season (70) than he did in the first three seasons of his career combined (53).

Bol looked like a legitimate Most Improved Player candidate with his play in the early part of last season. He quickly worked his way into the starting lineup and flourished, averaging 12.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on .588/.388/.739 shooting splits over the Magic's first 37 games.

Bol showed how unique of a player he is by doing some truly outrageous things on a nightly basis.

He was blocking shots at one of the highest rates in the league.

He would push the ball himself in transition and tip-toe around defenders with long eurosteps.

He would break down defenders from the perimeter with a smooth handle for a 7-footer.

He was even knocking down 3s at a respectable clip.

Bol wasn't just a catch-and-shoot threat from the perimeter either. During that 37-game stretch, he made almost as many off the dribble (10) as he did spotting up (16).

For his career, Bol is up to 44 made 3s. That's not a lot, of course, but it's already the fourth-most anyone his size has ever made in the NBA, trailing only Kristaps Porzingis (737), Luke Kornet (147) and Arvydas Sabonis (136).

Bol didn't lose his starting job until January. He missed the first five games of the year because he entered the NBA's health and safety protocols. He came off the bench when he returned and struggled in a reduced role.

Bol went from playing 27.5 minutes per game as a starter to 16.3 as a reserve the rest of the year. His defense slipped and he wasn't nearly as efficient of a scorer, especially from 3-point range. After starting the season shooting 26-for-67 (38.8 percent) from the perimeter, he went 4-for-46 (8.7 percent) the rest of the way.

Bol told the Orlando Sentinel's Khobi Price that he didn't think he hit a wall, but he admitted that "fatigue and all that" got to him in his first season playing real minutes.

"It’s my first time really playing all these games, he said. "It’s just something really to get used to. It’s not too crazy.”

Bol isn't expected to start with the Suns, but backup minutes to Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton will be up for grabs. He could be a steal for Phoenix if he can return to the player he was in the first half of the 2022-23 season.

Bol Bol contract details

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that Bol had agreed to a one-year contract with the Suns.

According to Wojnarowski, Bol's contract is guaranteed. Spotrac estimates that his salary for the 2023-24 season is $2.0 million.

Season Bol Bol's salary
2023-24 $2,019,706
2024-25 Unrestricted free agent

Bol Bol career stats

  • 123 games (35 starts)
  • 14.9 minutes per game
  • 6.3 points per game
  • 3.8 rebounds per game
  • 0.7 assists per game
  • 0.8 blocks per game
  • 0.3 steals per game
  • 53.3 percent field goal shooting
  • 29.3 percent 3-point shooting
  • 73.9 percent free throw shooting

Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.