Back in his rookie season, I remember watching as Deandre Ayton was moved nearly to tears from his frustration over his own poor performance in some random mid-season matchup. Suns VP of Communications Julie Fie had to talk him up, help him get through the media’s (relatively harmless) questioning, and leave the arena for the night without breaking down. It killed Ayton that he had played so poorly, that the Suns had lost, and that he had looked like a boy among men on the court.
Whether it was Steven Adams, Hassan Whiteside, Jonas Valanciunas, whoever, Ayton frequently looked overmatched physically by the opponent in his first NBA season.