With the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns selected hometown product Deandre Ayton. Ayton was a high school phenom in Phoenix at Hillcrest Prep and starred in Tucson for one year at the University of Arizona. The 7-foot center possessed the size to compete with anyone at the NBA level and the outside jump-shot to fit as a big man in the modern NBA.

Ayton has performed at a high level in eyes of some fans around the valley, living up to the expectations of a number one overall pick. In the eyes of others, many of the weaknesses in Ayton’s game from college have translated to the next level.

When Igor Kokoskov was named head coach this summer, many expected the Suns front office to select Slovenian guard Luka Doncic at the top of the draft as it would only make sense to draft the player that on paper solved the Suns point guard need and would be fit better in the Kokoskov system. The Suns front office instead went with who they thought was the best player in the draft.

How has Ayton fared thus far in the Kokoskov system? Let’s take a look at some of the common actions Kokoskov has ran for his rookie big this season.

‘Pistol 5’

Kokoskov runs many different actions out of his ‘Pistol/21’ series. This is a set designed to get Ayton a post touch, hopefully with a smaller guard switched onto him. Kokoskov ran it to get Ayton his first basket in regular season action – that is the second clip in this video that shows some clips of the set ran at the beginning of the season.

The key for this set to work is getting Ayton switched onto a smaller guard as they did against the Dallas Mavericks. In the rest of the video, the Suns were not able to get switched Ayton switched onto a guard, and you can see the difference.

As Ayton continues to develop his post-game, this is a set Ayton will have better results in regardless of if he gets the switch or not. In addition, Ayton presence on the floor out of this set opens up other options out the set. In this clip, Mikal Bridges gets open off the down-screen.

Ayton may not always get the ball and make a play, but his presence is certainly felt when he is on the court.

Looking at Ayton’s player grades so far this season, he grades out as a B+ for the play-making category. This is a pretty good grade for a rookie center still trying to figures things out. Moving forward in his career, I would expect the play-making to continue.

‘Elbow 5’

This is a set Kokoskov ran for Slovenia to get big man Anthony Randolph involved in the offense. Here is a clip I put together this summer to illustrate the set. After the initial pass, the guard cuts over the weak side corner and they go into flex action with a cross-screen into a down-screen.

Late in a game earlier this season, Kokoskov ran this set to get Ayton a post-touch. Ayton does a great job sealing Gallinari in the post and gets to his right hand hook.

Other than just the scoring, Ayton has shown the ability to find the open man if the double comes. This time he is able to find Melton under the basket for the easy layup.

The play-making from Ayton is going to show as the season progresses. One area of improvement from Ayton in this set would be the ability to knock down the elbow jumper. In this clip, Jawun Evans is playing for the first time and is a bit lost on how to run the set, which breaks up the timing.

Ayton has to settle for the elbow jumper in this situation. His mechanics are great, and he showed the ability to consistently knock this down at the college level. I think the jumper is going to translate to the NBA level, and it already has for the most part.

‘Horns 45 – High Low”

Kokoskov runs different actions out Horns and out of his “45” series. This is a high-low action Kokoskov has been running out for Ayton. In this clip, Ayton does a great job sealing his defender in the post.

The key for Ayton in this set is properly sealing the defender and getting good position before the pass comes. This clip from the same game illustrates how important that is going to be for Ayton moving forward, he is automatic if he can get position within his comfort zone.

These are just three of the common actions Kokoskov has designed specifically for Ayton. Kokoskov has many secondary options in other sets that flow into different opportunities for Ayton within the offense.

As the season goes on, I will break down more of those actions that allow Ayton to get to his spots.