The Arizona Republic concludes its three-part series on the Phoenix Suns with a look at how many games they’ll win this upcoming 2026-27 season. We also asked readers to vote in our polls on the topic.
W-L prediction: 45 to 50 wins
The Suns are coming off a 45-win season in which they returned to the playoffs after missing out in 2024-25 with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. They were one of the NBA’s best teams as far as winning the possession game last season, forcing turnovers and offensive rebounds under first-year head coach Jordan Ott, but struggled with defensive rebounding and closing games.
This season, much will depend on health, starting with Jalen Green, who only played 32 games in his first season with Phoenix. The Suns want a larger sample size to
measure his impact on winning.
Phoenix gained athleticism by trading for Miles Bridges and they are younger. But the Suns lost shooting by dealing Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale to Charlotte for Bridges. Booker can help in that area, but he only shot 33% from distance last season.
Can Dillon Brooks have another career year? Re-signing Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Williams was huge. Adding Luke Kennard helps offset trading Allen and O'Neale. Kennard led the NBA in 3-point shooting for a third time in his career last season, but which young player will crack the rotation between 7-footer Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat? Huge third years for Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, who played every game last season.
VOTE: Phoenix Suns win total for 2026-27 season. #Suns
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) August 4, 2026
Fan predictions
In Suns Insider Duane Rankin’s X poll, 40.8% of the voters predict the Suns will win between 45-50 games while 30% have them winning between 40-45 games.
“I really feel that they should’ve got another point guy because Booker cannot take care of that,” Vance Harvey wrote AZ Central in an email. “He didn’t do anything in the playoffs. Hopefully we can stay healthy. I’m looking at 45 to 49 wins. Anything short of that, it’s a failure.”
The Republic poll separately generated similar results – 41.11% of the voters foresee Phoenix winning between 45-50 games and 28.33% have the Suns winning 40 to 45 games.
“Said it once, I will say it again: 60+ wins, take the (Pacific Division) and (Booker and Green) All-Stars.” – @SteveVo37346093.
Green has yet to make an All-Star team while Booker is a five-time All-Star.
Sixty wins is a very lofty prediction. Booker will need to play at an NBA MVP level. He’s changing his number to No. 15 in paying homage to his father, Melvin Booker, after wearing No. 1 his first 11 NBA seasons.
Brooks, Green and Bridges must find offensive balance. That may require one to stand at the 3-point line and look to space the floor. It’ll be interesting to see how much off-ball movement with backdoor cuts and off-ball screening will be involved, particularly to take advantage of the athleticism Green and Bridges present.
A portion of the team's fan base has taken issue with the Bridges trade because of his off-the-court history. Bridges was involved in a domestic violence incident with the mother of his children, for which the NBA served him with a 30-game suspension without pay in April 2023 while he was playing for the Charlotte Hornets.
"If the Suns win more games this season with Miles Bridges on the court, and not in jail, more people will buy Suns game tickets or watch Suns broadcast games than before Bridges arrived," wrote Jim Monachino of Buckeye in an e-mail to The Republic. "They will stop caring. Period. After all, many US citizens are willing to ignore, or still vote for, politicians that commit violent crimes, lie, steal, cheat or who want to eliminate our current culture, government and economic system."
Gillespie will face a heightened defensive challenge after setting a franchise record for made 3s in a single season at 232. Maluach could very well emerge as a backup center. Will Ott look to find a way to get him some minutes early in the season just to see who he can impact the game with his activity, shot blocking, lob finishes and 3-point shot?
He still needs to improve his strength, but Maluach showed considerable growth in Summer League from his rookie season.
Where Suns stack up in West
NBA.com writer John Schuhmann has the Suns seventh in his Western Conference offseason power rankings.
Here’s his top 10.
- 1. San Antonio Spurs.
- 2. Oklahoma City Thunder.
- 3. Denver Nuggets.
- 4. Los Angeles Lakers.
- 5. Houston Rockets.
- 6. Minnesota Timberwolves.
- 7. Phoenix Suns.
- 8. Utah Jazz.
- 9. Portland Trail Blazers.
- 10. Golden State Warriors.
The Spurs and Thunder are a clear 1-2 as San Antonio eliminated Oklahoma City, the then defending NBA champions, in the conference finals.
Hard to argue with Denver being third since the Nuggets have the NBA’s best player in three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Teams four through 10, that’s a different conversation.
The Lakers moving forward without LeBron James is monumental, but this is truly Luka Doncic’s team now.
As for the Rockets, Fred VanVleet returning from a season-ending injury may unlock a roster that still has Kevin Durant playing at a high level.
The T-Wolves are the league’s wild card with LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards.
The Suns are probably in the right spot at seventh, but 50 wins could land them in the top six to avoid the play-in.
The Republic asked fans on X for their take on the power rankings.
“Honestly his looks really good. Best I've seen so far. I would have only minor quibbles, but this could easily be how it turns out.” – @SunderousDunks.
“I think we’re above the Lakers and Timberwolves, but could be bias. Guess we’ll see.” – @D1inDMs.
“Suns could be a play-in team again, but they can also crack the top 6.” – @PhoenixSuns400.
“Suns better than Wolves (absolute no bench), Lakers (no defense), Rockets (locker room💀). Suns could be the top four seed.” – @static1243.
“I have them 8th below the Blazers. I think they will still be a playoff team if healthy. Getting at top 6 seed will be tough if the teams above them are healthy.” – @Ian_Zwerling.
“Sounds about right. Play-in team, fringe playoff team. The West is stacked.” – @TrimethiconAZ.
“Why are the Lakers top 4? Luka is injury prone and who else is there.” – @sweetfacemami21
Utah is intriguing with second overall pick Darryn Peterson, Stephen Curry keeps Golden State in the mix, but Portland may be onto something.
Damian Lillard is back, Ja Morant has arrived and Deni Avdija is coming off an All-Star year. If new head coach Micah Nori can figure it out, the Blazers could surprise.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com 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: Keys for Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns to have 50-win season
