When Deandre Ayton heard his name called first by the Phoenix Suns at the 2018 NBA Draft, he instantly inherited a great deal of responsibility.After winning the Pac-12 Player of the Year award by averaging 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game at the University of Arizona, Ayton has been compared to NBA star Joel Embiid and is expected to make a huge impact right away based on his diverse skill set.But, like every rookie, there are some major questions that will need to be answered. What will his learning curve look like? How will he fit in alongside Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, TJ Warren and company? Will he even start right away?Nonetheless, since the Suns won just 21 games last season and have arguably been the worst NBA franchise over the past three seasons, Ayton represents the future in Phoenix. That future is a lot brighter with him in the picture.On Friday, Ayton will make his NBA debut in the Vegas Summer League.Therefore, all eyes will be on him. But, that doesn’t seem to bother him at all. In fact, like Embiid, he likes performing under the spotlight.“It’s cool,” Ayton said after a recent Suns practice, per Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. “I just gotta live up to the hype.”

Ayton admitted that he noticed a huge difference in the level of play while practicing with his new teammates.

“Now I’m playing against some competition,” he said. “We’re scratching each other, fighting each other. Now I know how the NBA works. It’s a grown man’s game, for sure. It fits me because I’m throwing it right back at them.”

Overall, adjusting to the NBA life might take a little bit of time for Ayton, who is still getting used to the idea of multiple practices in one day.

“Two practices a day, I’ve never had that,” he said. “The body gets fatigued. Recovery is very important. I know that. You have to take care of yourself because you go hard every day.”

It will be fascinating to see if Ayton will be able to dominate against his Summer League opponents on Friday and throughout the schedule.

Although the Summer League competition doesn’t resemble regular-season rosters and instead features first, second and third year players (most of the time), it’s relatively easy to expect that Ayton wants to make a statement in his first NBA outing.