Khaman Maluach won the Suns’ starting center job for the regular season opener on October 21, 2026. Jordan Ott turned to the 10th overall pick from the 2025 draft as the first answer at center while Mark Williams is expected to miss a significant portion of the season after shoulder surgery.
The call came after Maluach and Oso Ighodaro spent training camp and the preseason fighting for the same spot. Ighodaro had played well in three preseason outings, but the rotation still tilted toward Maluach when opening night arrived.
Jordan Ott in the Suns
Ott’s choice gives the Suns a clearer opening-night frontcourt plan, and it does so without waiting on Williams’ recovery to settle the depth chart. Maluach now opens the season as the starter, which is a stronger statement than a camp competition and a more immediate one than a future projection.
The selection also puts structure around a job that was available because Williams was sidelined by shoulder surgery. In practice, that means the Suns begin the season with Maluach handling the most visible minutes at center while the club manages the longer absence elsewhere.
Maluach and Oso Ighodaro
Oso Ighodaro’s new three-year extension arrived just before the regular season tipped off, but it did not change the decision at the top of the lineup. That is the sharp edge of roster construction: contract security and a starting role are not the same thing, and the Suns drew that line before the opener.
For Ighodaro, the result is simpler than a demotion with long-term baggage. He stays in the picture, but Maluach gets the first chance to convert a first-round investment into real minutes while Williams remains out and the center rotation settles around that absence.
Wednesday in Phoenix
Wednesday’s game vs. Phoenix offered the setting for the move, with the Suns’ frontcourt decision already made before tipoff. That leaves one practical question hanging over the position group: how long Williams will be out after shoulder surgery, and how much of the season Maluach will need to hold the job before the rotation shifts again.
