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Player Preview: Nick Richards returns in a back-up role

Related Topics: Nick Richards, Josh Okogie

Center, 7’0”, 245 pounds, 27 years old, 5 years of NBA experience

Nick Richards may not be the type of player to excite fans or carry a team to victory, but he’s a valuable talent to have as a backup center in the league. With questions surrounding the health of newly added starting center Mark Williams, Richards provides crucial depth for the Phoenix Suns over the course of an 82-game season. In the long grind toward the playoffs, he can maintain balance between his usual backup role and stepping in as a starter—just as he did with the Charlotte Hornets during the 2023–24 season when Williams was sidelined by injury

After the Suns struggled at the center position early in the 2024–25 season, with Jusuf Nurkic looking a step slow and out of rhythm on the boards, he was moved to the bench as the team searched for answers.