The Phoenix Suns’ season ended abruptly at the hands of the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. But despite the disappointing first-round sweep, the 2025-26 campaign may have been the franchise’s biggest success in years.
A four-game losing streak in the first round of the playoffs doesn’t accurately reflect the Phoenix Suns’ season, and casual fans of the game may jump to the conclusion that ‘we didn’t win a title; therefore, the season was a bust.’
However, ESPN predicted that the Suns would win just 32 games, ranking them 26th in the league and 14th in the Western Conference, ahead of only the Utah Jazz.
The Suns ended the 2024-25 campaign 11th in the West, despite having one of the NBA’s oldest and most expensive teams, with Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant, both of whom left Phoenix.
The blockbuster Kevin Durant trade brought to the valley Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and the No. 10 overall pick in the draft, later used on Khaman Maluach, to transform the league’s oldest roster into one built around young talent.
A Foundation for the Suns’ Future Success
The Suns’ youth and inexperience were viewed as a major weakness heading into the season, prompting many preseason analysts to question whether the team could remain competitive.
Phoenix quickly proved those doubts wrong, becoming one of the NBA’s toughest teams to beat.
Unfortunately, Green’s injuries sidelined him for most of the season, but several other players stepped up. Dillon Brooks, Jordan Goodwin, Royce O’Neil, and, most surprisingly, Colin Gillespie all notched career-best seasons, leaving Phoenix Suns owner Matt Ishbia satisfied with the successful campaign.
“Overall, if I look at this basketball season and the organization in the last 12 months, I’m really proud of what we’ve done and accomplished,” Ishbia said in a post-season press conference. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done and accomplished.”
Suns Discovered Their Identity
Phoenix won 45 games this season, nine more than the previous year and 14 more than ESPN’s preseason prediction. Devin Booker played an All-Star season. Rookies Maluach and Rasheer Fleming showed flashes of greatness throughout the season. Jalen Green showed an upward trend in consistency through his 32 regular-season games. But most importantly, this team found its identity.
“I talked about creating an identity, creating a vision and executing it,” Ishbia said. “That’s a lot of words until you actually do it, and we feel really good about where we are.”
The Phoenix Suns have found a group of young players with a lot of potential. Mark Williams proved to be a great fit in the Suns’ starting lineup, Brooks brought an intensity and toughness to each game that every team in the NBA wants from a leader and Booker proved that he’s still in his prime after being named a 2026 NBA All-Star.
While Phoenix’s season ended without a championship, the Suns gave Ishbia plenty of reasons to believe the team’s future is bright.
“We’re not anywhere near where we’re going, but we’ve taken the first step for Suns basketball of, ‘Hey, we’re going in this direction,’” Ishbia said. “You can see it and feel it and understand it.”
The Suns may have exited the playoffs early, but for the first time in years, Phoenix leaves the season with a clear direction and a reason to believe in its future.
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