Deandre Ayton made his preseason debut for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Phoenix Suns, his former team, on Friday, and it proved to be a night to forget. Ayton wasn’t quite at his best as the Lakers were blown out 103-81 at Acrisure Arena, and he also got mocked by Devin Booker in the first quarter for missing a hook shot.
“Hell nah,” Booker shouted.
Devin Booker screams “HELL NAH” after the Ayton miss. 🤣🤣
(via @ridiculouscage)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 4, 2025
That play sums up why Ayton can be a very frustrating player. He is listed at 260 pounds, but won’t attack Oso Ighodaro, who is at 227 pounds. Ayton is taller than Ighodaro, too, and chose to attempt a hook shot while going away from the basket. You want him to be that aggressive big man, but far too many times, he ends up going down this finesse route instead.
Ayton’s motor has always been questioned, too, and Booker reportedly used to push him to play harder during their time together as teammates on the Suns. That never quite happened, and the team decided to cut ties with the big man, whom they had selected with the first pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, in September 2023.
Ayton was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, and he appeared to have a point to prove when he got to face off against the Suns for the first time. The Blazers lost 120-107 that night, and Booker paid a backhanded compliment to his former teammate postgame when asked about facing off against him.
“It’s fun,” Booker said. “I think our first time in the regular season? I’m happy we came out with the win. He played extra hard tonight. I seen that. My challenge for him is to play like that every night.”
That makes it fairly evident what Booker thought of Ayton. The four-time All-Star was also asked before this preseason game about what the big man can bring to the Lakers, and he didn’t have much to say.
“I mean, I guess we’ll just have to see,” Booker said.
Well, Ayton, who signed a two-year $16.6 million deal this summer, didn’t bring much on his debut here. The 27-year-old had one point (0-2 FG), eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks. He also had four turnovers, and it was just a bad outing. The Lakers reportedly believe that head coach JJ Redick can get the best out of Ayton, and time will tell if he can.
Ayton wasn’t the only Laker to struggle on the night, though. Austin Reaves and RJ Davis went 11-19 from the field in this game, while the rest of the team was 12-55. This was a very disappointing performance, and you’d have liked to see a bit more from the role players in the absence of Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Doncic won’t feature in the next preseason game against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday either, while it’s unclear if James will.
As for the Suns, there was a lot to like about this game. Booker was the standout, finishing with 24 points (8-19 FG), two rebounds, seven assists, and one block on the night. The group played with a lot of effort, and they’ll take on the Brooklyn Nets in Macau next Friday.
