Koa Peat puts draft frustration in past, ready to work for Suns

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Koa Peat sat around family and friends back home and watched player after player after player have their name called before him in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on June 23.

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“It was tough, obviously, as a competitor, you're seeing other guys, you know, you think you're better than getting drafted ahead of you,” Peat said during his introductory press conference Friday, June 26, at the team’s practice facility.

University of Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd felt Peat should’ve been a “Top 10” pick, if not a lottery selection, if winning drove draft decisions.

No worries.

“For me, I think the fit and situation is better than the pick,” Peat said. “The picks are out the window now. You're going into the Summer League, and those picks don't even matter. First pick, second pick, third pick, they don't matter. You got to compete against those guys every day.”

Peat wound up with the Phoenix Suns, his hometown team, fulfilling a childhood dream.

“Just super excited for this opportunity,” Peat said.

“Super excited to be a Sun. Being from Arizona, it’s always been a dream of mine to play for the Phoenix Suns, and to be here now, to get drafted by the Suns, you know, super blessed and fortunate for the opportunity.”

Peat won four consecutive state championships at Gilbert Perry and led Arizona to the 2026 Final Four in his one-and-done season. He was the West Region's Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament.

The physical, aggressive and intense 6-7, 245-pound forward averaged 14.1 points on 52.8% shooting (35% from 3), 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Wildcats.

Now, he’s with the Suns looking to be part of what they hope is an NBA championship team.

“I'm going to work hard,” Peat added. “Some of the guys have already texted me after I got drafted. So that just makes it even easier. They're already welcoming like a family. I'm just super excited to get to work.”

How Suns landed Peat on draft night

The Suns went into the draft with the 47th overall selection in the second round, but traded into the first round and acquired Peat.

The New York Knicks moved Sergio De Larrea, the 25th overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks for Peat.

The Mavs drafted Peat with the 30th and final pick in the first round. The Knicks traded Peat to the Suns for three second-round selections, one being the 47th pick in the 2026 draft and cash.

The other two second-round picks are in 2029 and 2033.

The Suns open NBA Summer League play July 10 against the Portland Trail Blazers at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

“We’re thankful for the Suns choosing him in the first round,” Lloyd said on a Zoom media call the morning of June 26 with his family sitting in the front row.

“Koa is somebody who, you know who, to me, you know, his value is a lot higher than actually the number he got picked at, but you know, that happened ... but Koa to end up in a situation where the team that really, really wanted him.”

The situation will be a good fit, Lloyd said.

"They say, in the draft, it's more important about the situation you end up than the actual number you got picked at,” Lloyd said. “I think Koa ended up in a situation where the Suns are rebuilding, and it looks like they’re rebuilding fast. They want to do it with tough, you know, hard-working blue-collar kind of guys, you know. Koa fits that billing.”

'Trying to dunk on people'

Lloyd believes Peat’s shooting greatly factored in him falling to the late first round in the draft.

“I've talked to a lot of people about that and Koa had made big progress on that this year,” Lloyd said. “Sometimes you get in this draft process and maybe you feel like you have to show things that aren't your strength and prove to people that you can do certain things and maybe that’s not the case.”

ESPN NBA analyst Richard Jefferson mentioned the pre-draft workout being an issue for Peat during ABC’s draft coverage June 24.

The next day, Brian Gregory acknowledged the “shooting piece” as he put it, but sees Peat helping address an offensive issue the Suns had last season.

“The ability to get to the rim,” Gregory said. “That is becoming so critical in the NBA right now. Do you have players that are strong enough, big enough that can get to the basket and create downhill situations?

"The one thing that separates him from anybody else that's 6-8 and 245 pounds and has a dad and brother that played in the NFL so he's not afraid to knock you on your butt, is his ability to make quality plays off that dribble as well. Not just get to the basket. Not just have his head down. He's got an unbelievable feel for the game.”

That’s who Peat has been from Day 1.

"Ever since (I was) a young kid, I've always been trying to get to the rim,” Peat said. “My parents have always told me not to settle when I get on the court. Trying to get to the rim, draw fouls and get other teams in foul trouble and try to go in there and dunk on people."

Overall skills excite Suns

NBA teams didn’t value Peat’s game enough as evidenced by him falling to the final pick in the first round, but the Suns see the same things Lloyd did in evaluating him.

“At the end of the day, I've talked to Phoenix about Koa as a player and they value Koa for all the things he does,” Lloyd said.

“… I'm glad the Suns saw those things in him. Those are the things we saw, and then the shooting is stuff that I've seen Koa work really hard at and I think when Koa kind of gets with their people and gets with their plan and stays really consistent that over the long period of time in this idea a two-year process and no one can be afraid of that.”

Peat attempted just 20 shots from 3 at Arizona, making seven. He did most of his damage in the paint, but his perimeter shooting is a work in progress.

“During that two-year process where Koa is working on shooting, he does so many other things well, you don't want him just to focus on the shooting,” Lloyd said.

'From Day 1'

Arizona won a school record 36 games with Peat being a major reason.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Koa is going to be a guy that's going to be a quick study and he's going to be able to come in and impact their organization in a positive way from Day 1,” Lloyd added.

Lloyd later expanded on how he believes Peat impacting winning.

“Koa has got incredible versatility,” the Arizona coach said. “He’s incredibly skilled and I know a lot of times people attach shooting to skill in too heavy of a manner because there's so many other things to the game that skilled players do.

"Handle the ball. Pass for his size. Great IQ on the defensive end.

“I'm sure that's only going to get better as he gets exposed to more things and figures out what the Suns game plan is,” said Lloyd about Peat’s defense.

Peat has the size, versatility and confidence to guard multiple positions.

“I take pride on the defensive end, being able to guard one through five,” Peat said. “I move my feet, blocking shots, and just trying to be a pest on defense. That’s something I take pride in.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Koa Peat puts draft frustration in past, ready to work for Suns

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