25-under-25: Jalen Suggs is the NBA's biggest try-hard

Forcing Trae Young to give up his dribble is no easy challenge. But Jalen Suggs certainly makes it look that way, mirroring him up the court, building a horizontal wall with his body at the logo, making Young turn his back and bobble the ball.

Then Suggs is there to jump the desperation bailout pass and take it the other way for a layup, battling through halfhearted contact from Young and completing this statement of physical dominance.

We all understand, intuitively, that effort and intensity are powerful basketball attributes, even if we don't have a way to measure them. But it is often assumed, incorrectly, that they are magical abilities available to any player who chooses to reach out and grab them. To be fair, there is a meaningful difference between Joel Embiid going through the motions and Joel Embiid looking to make a statement in a national television game, but that's not really what we're talking about.

Every player has their own internal throttle, cycling their engine up and down depending on the circumstances of the game. But the players who use effort and intensity as tools go beyond that. For them, it's a well-honed and practiced skill, like shooting or post-up footwork. It's not just about playing hard. It's about knowing how to play hard and the ways in which consistent effort can help you see plays that aren't available to others and believe in your ability to manifest them.

That's Jalen Suggs.

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You can not outwork Jalen Suggs

Suggs has always played all out. But across his first two seasons, he was healthy enough to play in just 101 games, combined. And regardless of effort level, it was hard to keep him on the floor when he was shooting under 40 percent from the field, under 30 percent from the 3-point line and didn't really display the playmaking chops to be a full-time point guard. He was the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and, two years in, looked like he was on the brink of washing out.

But it all came together last season — appearing in 75 games, averaging 12.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals in under 30 minutes per game, shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. He made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, in large part because he stayed healthy and finally found his footing on offense, allowing him to actually stay on the court.

The Magic made a leap because of their defense and their defense was one of the best in the NBA, in large part because of Suggs' work at the point of attack. He was relentless, hounding ball-handlers the way every retired-player-turned-podcast-host delusionally believes they used to, back in the good ol' days. Among regular rotation players, he was in the top 10 in essentially every per-minute measure we have for hustle — deflections, loose balls recovered, steals. And his approach was transformative for Orlando, setting the tone for their entire defense.

For most players whose NBA contributions are defined by effort and intensity, it can seem like a compensation strategy. A way to make up for a lack of skill or size or speed. But that's not the case with Suggs. He's not some scrubby role player leveling up by pressing 90 feet from the basket and battling through every screen.

He's become a reliable spot-up shooter, even if defenses haven't fully adjusted yet. He's a capable secondary creator who has really learned how to finish effectively around the basket. The contours of his offensive skill set may make him a complementary piece to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner but he's every bit as important to the Magic's success and his two-way impact is just as significant.

You can't outwork Jalen Suggs. You won't outwork Jalen Suggs. And it's not just because he cares more than your favorite player on your favorite team. It's because he's had the pedal mashed every minute he's ever been on a basketball court, he's comfortable at this speed, he lives for these moments, and he knows exactly how to keep the Magic flying down the road to success.

Jalen Suggs ranked No. 25 on FanSided's 2024-25 25-under-25, ranking the best young players in the NBA. Check out the rest of the list here.