PHOENIX — Ryan Dunn's rookie development has been tracked more closely than turkey in the oven.
His blistering start felt like an appetizer of what was to come. His subsequent struggles feel like leftovers gone cold.
But on this Thanksgiving weekend, one thing is true: Phoenix already feels like family for Dunn.
Dunn's family themselves can confirm.
"It is an answered prayer because before the draft that was my prayer," his mom, Donna, said.
Donna and the rest of the support system are in Arizona for the holidays.
They were so excited to see their son and brother, they arrived while Ryan was still on the road.
"It was always about the fit," said Ed Dunn, Ryan's dad. "There's a lot of people going into the draft, they want to be drafted high, they want to be drafted a certain number, but it's really more about the fit, and I think this was a perfect fit for him."
Ed said he has felt this way for two years. In fact, his son being drafted by the Suns was a full circle moment.
Ryan had trained with renowned Phoenix-based shooting coach Phil Beckner.
He spent two summers in the Arizona heat. There was one workout in particular where Dunn caught fire.
"We were at Camelback High School. The dude just starts making like every single shot," Beckner told 12News over the phone. "I'm like, 'That's a freaking pro guy. He is shooting that like he's already in the league.' We all just had goosebumps, it was crazy."
The goosebumps almost became cold sweats a few months later and a few weeks before the draft.
Ryan had returned to Phoenix to work with Beckner and in front of NBA teams. A night out in Scottsdale with his older brother Justin almost undid everything.
Justin, an MLB pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, recalls the situation.
"Global Ambassador just opened up, supposedly it's really cool, let's go check it out," he said. "I didn't make a reservation, we just walked up. They told us there was bar seating only. I noticed these four guys were kind of staring at Ryan. And he's like, 'Oh those are the dudes who ran my workout.' And I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, they're just gonna think you go out and drink and are a partier.' So next thing you know, I see Ryan spin around and he goes, 'What's up Bossman.' And I'm like, 'Who is that?' And he says, 'Oh that's Mike Budenholzer.' And I say, 'You did not just call the head coach of the Phoenix Suns Bossman before you got drafted.' He said, 'Yeah I don't know it just came out." I left and I'm thinking, 'I had him sitting at the bar, he called Bud Bossman, we're not coming back here.'"
Yet Dunn's destiny was always in the desert.
"There's a video of coach Bud talking about that night. And he's like, 'I saw you that night and that was the night I knew you were our guy.'"
For Dunn, this belief feels like family.
"The confidence really is borne from the guys he's playing with now, the organization believing in him to draft him and give him this opportunity," Ed Dunn said.
For Dunn's parents, they know their son has found his city.
"It felt like home - a place that he could call home," Donna said.
