Dear Phoenix Suns Nation,
A year ago, if someone had told you that coming into this season, the Suns would be looking to build off a 45-win season and a playoff appearance, what would you have said?
Your response and perspective may dictate how you feel about this season.
Whether it’s the 2022 New York Giants, who made the NFC divisional round and haven’t returned to the playoffs since, or the Sacramento Kings back in 2023, who were the Western Conference’s third seed and have been at the bottom of the standings
ever since, just because a team has a surprising season doesn’t mean that the following one is just as successful.
But it also doesn’t mean that expectations should be dimmed by the surprise of the previous season. Based on their continuity, offseason acquisitions, and internal development, the Suns should be a better team than they were a season ago, pending health, of course.
The team has brought back an overwhelming majority of its key players in a conference that saw a lot of turnover from a season ago. LeBron James is in the city of brotherly love, Kawhi Leonard is in Canada, and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineups are vastly different from what they were a season ago. With Jalen Green healthy to start the year, unlike a season ago, the team is looking at their season-long starting lineup set to be mostly the same from game 1 to game 82, once they decide whether Khaman Maluach or Oso Ighodaro will be the team’s starting center.
The only new starter on the team? While there are numerous questions about him off the court, he should be a significant upgrade over Royce O’Neale at the starting power forward spot because of Bridges’ ability to create his own shot and experience playing alongside ball-dominant guards. Luke Kennard, who is set to replace Grayson Allen, is coming off the best playoff performances of his career and is one of the NBA’s best three-point shooters. Expect Phoenix to jack up a lot of triples this year.
Collin Gillespie, Dillon Brooks, Jordan Goodwin, and Oso Ighodaro? All back in Suns uniforms, with new contracts. Along with Mark Williams as well, but he should be out for the majority of the season, dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered in the offseason. The extensions and re-signings of key members of the team’s core from a season ago add stability that should provide the team and players more confidence to grow on their strong seasons while in the early or middle primes of their careers.
The Western Conference, however, is deeper than it was a season ago. Even if the Suns are a better team than they were a year ago, it might not translate to more wins.
The top eight in the Western Conference all made moves to stay competitive, but the teams in the bottom half of the standings have either made moves or are getting players back from injury that should make them more formidable.
The anti-tanking rules, along with the 2026 draft class projected to be one of the most star-studded in recent memory, have raised the floor of many of the conference’s worst teams from last season. The incentives to bottom out and lose as much as possible are gone, and teams in the conference have responded.
The Utah Jazz, who selected Kansas’ Darryn Peterson second overall in the draft and traded for former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. back in February, are expected to take a leap this year despite losing young center Walker Kessler to the Lakers in free agency. The Memphis Grizzlies, albeit a young team, are expected to make some noise after taking who many executives believe is the most NBA-ready prospect in Cam Boozer. And the Dallas Mavericks, who were without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving for the entirety of the 2025-26 season, should be vastly improved from last year with Cooper Flagg a year older and the team another season removed from the disastrous Luke Dončić trade.
The Suns might be better than they were a season ago. They might not have the drop-offs that the Kings and Giants mean, and it might mean that they’re out of the playoffs again, let alone the play-in tournament. But if you can remember just 365 days ago when the idea of the Suns playing in the playoffs sounded as likely as the Cowboys in the Super Bowl, then maybe it’ll be easier to deal with whatever the 2026-2027 season has in store.
No matter good or bad, like every season, it’ll be an entertaining one. It’s NBA basketball.
Sincerely,
Holden Sherman
