Nick Richards achieves a feat never before seen in a Suns debut

The Phoenix Suns they were part of the next set of dominoes to fall in the NBA trade season the acquisition of Nick Richards in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets. The Suns needed frontcourt help and Richards certainly fits the bill. In fact, Nick Richards’ Suns debut was brilliant in the sense that he accomplished a feat never before seen in NBA history.

When Nick Richards made his debut for the Suns on Saturday against the Detroit Pistons, he became the first player in NBA history to finish with this particular stat line in the team’s debut, according to StatMuse.

Richards finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 7 of 8 from the field. He was the first player to finish with at least 20 points and ten rebounds while shooting 85+ percent from the field and also had no turnovers in his debut with the new team.

He also finished with one assist and one steal. He shot 7 of 9 from the free throw line.

With the Suns running an inconsistent center game, acquiring a big man like Richards can help reignite their season, especially with this level of production.

Richards came off the bench in his Suns debut and played 29 minutes. By comparison, Mason Plumlee, who started at center, played just 13 minutes.

With this recent trade, one of the best big men available on the trade market is now off the board. The The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the other teams reportedly pursuing Richards in trade. Richards had a very productive start to the season while Mark Williams was injured to increase his trade value.

He appeared in 21 games for the Hornets, including nine starts, averaging about 21 minutes per game. He averaged 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 67.8 percent from the free throw line.

Richards was originally selected with the 42nd overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Hornets via a trade day with the New Orleans Pelicans. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Hornets before this week’s trade.

With the win, the Suns are now 21-20 and in 10th place in the Western Conference standings. They have now won two consecutive games.

David Iapkowitz is a basketball reporter for ClutchPoints, covering men’s and women’s NBA, WNBA and NCAA basketball news. The Los Angeles native has op-eds with Basketball Insiders, SB Nation and The Next Hoops.