Highlight: Bledsoe Finds Chriss for Alley-Oop

Earlier this week on Arizona Sports radio, Doug & Wolf asked Suns Head Coach Earl Watson to name the most improved player of the preseason.

“Man, from start to finish, you have to say Marquese Chriss,” Watson said.

Through five exhibition games, the No. 8 overall pick from June has averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. And he’s done so with a comfortability and physicality beyond his age (19 years old).

Chriss’ early performances have now started to pick up national attention. Fox Sports recently published its preseason power rankings for NBA rookies, and the Suns forward earned the No. 2 spot on the list.

Only Joel Embiid, the now-healthy No. 3 overall pick from 2014, ranked higher.

“The Suns have three rookies who all need minutes to develop, but Chriss has been the one to make the most of his opportunity so far,” writer Brett Pollakoff wrote. “Chriss is second among rookies in scoring with an average of 13.6 points per game, but the athletic big man also leads all rookies in rebounds per game (6.2) and is finding ways to contribute on the defensive end as well.”

Chriss also earned attention from NBA general managers, who voted him fifth on the list of biggest steals at where rookies were drafted. Chriss received votes for predicting the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year as well.