It’s been no surprise to hear so much outside chatter about a potentially “toxic” locker room given how the Phoenix Suns have underperformed this season, but when it comes to noise surrounding Kevin Durant’s reputation as a teammate, two-way guard Collin Gillespie tells Arizona Sports it’s just that: noise.
“It’s always crazy to me when when you see stuff on social media about people saying stuff about (Durant) being a (bad) teammate because he’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Gillespie told Burns & Gambo on Wednesday. “I think he’s an advocate for everybody in the locker room. He believes in everybody in that locker room.
“He’s always cheering his teammates on and giving us a ton of confidence, telling us to shoot the ball and be aggressive because that’s only going to help him. It’s going to help him get more open and get him easier looks. So he instills confidence in everybody.”
The 25-year-old said Durant was among his favorite players growing up, so it’s “surreal” to share the court with him in those spots and have the star in his corner.
Gillespie scored all 10 of his points on Tuesday in the fourth quarter, when Durant scored 19 of his 34 on the night to help the Suns complete the largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history.
“I always love how Collin is always poised and he’s a dog, he cares,” Durant told reporters after the comeback win. “He was one of the loudest in the locker room after last game, and he didn’t even contribute a minute to that disaster. … He came out and was pissed off.
“You could tell when he got another opportunity, he was gonna make the most of it and go out there and play his game. … In the (G League) he’s just dominant, but up here, he comes in here and leaves his mark and plays extremely hard. I love playing with him.”
What does Collin Gillespie’s performance mean for the future?
Durant praised coach Mike Budenholzer for inserting Gillespie into the game when he did, calling it a “great adjustment,” adding that he hopes Gillespie gets more playing time in the near future as a reward. He played the final 14:29 and was a +21 in the win.
Gillespie said he’s taking the day-by-day approach and doesn’t know how, if at all, his minutes will change for the Suns’ next game, a Friday road meeting with the Denver Nuggets.
“No matter what situation I’m in, whether I’m playing, whether I’m not, it doesn’t really matter. I’m going to try and do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Gillespie said. “So, yeah, if I’m out there, if I’m not out there, I just want to win, man.”
Having played 13 NBA games this season, Gillespie could feasibly play every remaining regular season game on the two-way contract he’s currently on, but with other two-way players around the league getting converted to standard contracts of late, the former Villanova guard may have planted a flag that he deserves the same.
“It would mean a lot. It’s something that I’ve been working towards for the last two, three years,” he said of the possibility. “Obviously, coming out of college I got hurt, so that whole year was a rehab year. … So it would mean a lot, and it would be a special moment.”
In 10 regular season games with the Valley Suns in the G League this season, Gillespie is averaging 21.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 10.6 assists with two steals per game.