The last time he was in Charlotte, Deandre Ayton was already looking forward to returning to the Queen City for his first All-Star weekend as an NBA player.

“That’s going to be so much fun,” Ayton said before the Suns played the Hornets last month. “I have never experienced the All-Star weekend like that. I’ve only seen the game, from nosebleed seats. ... Seeing some of the star athletes in this league and celebrities that’s going to be out there, it’s going to be a good experience. I’m ready.”

Plus, Ayton will have another opportunity to finally collect the $1,000 he won off of fellow rookie Luka Doncic in ping-pong back before the draft, when the two reunite as teammates in Friday’s Rising Stars Challenge.

Ayton (Bahamas) and Doncic (Slovenia) headline the World Team along with Ben Simmons, who’ll also make his first NBA All-Star appearance Sunday.

“He’s got to pay his dues,” Ayton said with a laugh.

Devin Booker will be in Charlotte as well to defend his 3-point contest title, but he’s hoping his Suns teammate gets more out of the experience than star gazing.

“It’s always a new experience, especially the first time around,” Booker said. “For me going into Toronto my first All-Star weekend. Just looking around and wanting to be a part of this weekend for the rest of my career no matter in which way. Obviously, Sunday’s the goal. It’s an amazing experience. Hope he takes it all in, learns from it, gets motivated by it to be back every year.”

Ayton was also in Toronto — as a camper for Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Global Camp — that weekend. He also witnessed Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon's epic duel in the dunk contest, which Lavine won.

"That was crazy," Ayton said. "That was insane."

Three years later, Ayton will serve as a coach at the camp along with first time NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), Nikola Vučević (Orlando Magic; Montenegro) and Bogdan Bogdanović (Sacramento Kings; Serbia), who is Ayton’s teammate on the World team.

After Ayton’s weekend of fun, he’ll return to the Suns looking to do more than help them win more games. Not that the No. 1 overall pick out of Arizona hasn’t done his far share so far this season.

He's averaging 16.5 points with 10.5 rebounds per game and shooting 58.7 percent from the field in 52 games. Ayton has already logged 30 double-doubles going into Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.

However, the rookie 7-footer has hinted all season he has more to show as a player.

“First half (of the season), you can’t show it all, but I’m working, though,” Ayton said.

His defense can always get better and needs to improve, but two new layers Ayton might display after the All-Star break are scoring off the dribble and shooting the 3.

When getting the ball 15 to 17 feet from the basket, Ayton has either handed off the ball, passed it or faced up to shoot the jumper over the defender

At Toronto last month, Ayton did something else.

While being guarded by Serge Ibaka, Ayton faked the hand-off to TJ Warren and started dribbling right toward the paint. He then crossed over to his left into the lane and scored on a short jumper over Ibaka.

Now, the move wasn’t very fluid. It was rather choppy.

Not sure he called bank either, but putting the ball on the floor is something Ayton is capable of doing.

“That was a message sent,” Ayton said. “I think we were down a lot. Just take over the game like that. I’ve been wanting to work on something like that.”

As for shooting the 3, Ayton's attempted only four. Hasn’t made one, but his last two attempts have come since he returned from missing six games because of a left ankle sprain, which he suffered in his last visit to Charlotte as he tried to avoid falling on Warren in the lane.

The day before his return against Atlanta earlier this month, Ayton was launching threes after practice. He’s been doing that all season, but Ayton made a point to let everyone know he’s been practicing it.

“You see me working on that 3 so you already know what’s good,” Ayton said.

When asked when the 3-ball become a part of his game, Ayton said: “A magician never tells his tricks. That’s all I know.”

Ayton has since attempted a three against Houston and at Utah.

While he might utilize the dribble drive and 3-point shot more after the All-Star break, the Suns could use more shots from the field and free-throw attempts from him.

Phoenix is only 3-16 when Ayton has scored at least 20, but one of those wins came recently against Denver, which has the second-best record in the Western Conference behind the defending NBA champion Golden State.

The other two came in back-to-back road wins against New York and Boston, which is fifth in the Eastern Conference. He attempted 18 shots against the Nuggets and 14 each versus the Knicks and Celtics.

You can’t score unless you shoot.

“Every team needs an aggressive big man,” Suns guard Troy Daniels said. “We need Deandre to be aggressive. We run plays for him to score. I always tell him on the bench, even Book, ‘When we get the ball to you, just be aggressive.’”

Ayton has shot a season-high 20 times twice with the latest coming last week's 10-point loss to the Warriors. He scored 23 points with 12 coming in the first quarter, mostly on DeMarcus Cousins, which helped lead the Suns to a 17-point lead without Booker.

Back in December, Ayton went 16-of-20 in a four-point defeat against the Nuggets where he went for a season-high 33. When Ayton’s aggressive, it changes how teams defend the Suns and creates opportunities for others, but it’s not all on him.

His teammates have to find him more.

Because Ayton lacks aggressiveness at times, Igor Kokoskov should probably run even more plays for him.

Big men often rely on others to get them the ball, but Ayton can demand it by being active. As Kokoskov has said when talking about Ayton, the ball finds energy.

“He has to be involved in every part of the game,” Kokoskov said.

Then once he has it, Ayton has to attack the defense.

“Don’t settle for the jump shot,” Daniels said. “He loves shooting the jump shot. That’s his bread and butter, but sometimes you got to get in there and get physical and send a message to the other team and the bigs that we’re coming after them. We need him to be a lot more aggressive than he has been in the past.”

A more aggressive Ayton can lead to more trips to the line as he's a 77.4 percent free throw shooter.

Ayton’s averaging just 2.6 attempts a game, which is too low for someone of his talent and athletic ability.

In contrast, Joel Embiid is 10.2 attempts, which is second in the league to James Harden at 11.6

Embiid is in his third NBA season, but as a rookie, he averaged 7.9 free-throw attempts.

Ayton went 6-of-8 from the line Phoenix’s preseason opener against Sacramento.

That appeared to be a sign of things to come, but Ayton has only gotten to the line eight times twice, with both coming against the Warriors.

Ayton likes to shoot the jumper or the jump hook, but Ayton tends to draw fouls when getting on the offensive glass, which also benefits the Suns.

How his game progresses the rest of the season remains to be seen, but when Ayton’s aggressive, the Suns are a different team.

“It makes us so much tougher to guard,” Suns reserve big Richaun Holmes said. “I don’t think he even realizes how hard it is to stop him down there. When he’s aggressive, it gives our team another gear and another way to score the ball.”

If Ayton can consistently play with aggressiveness and energy, that’ll be another added layer to his game that’ll benefit himself and the Suns.

“I want him to touch the ball everywhere on the court,” Kokoskov said.

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