Positivity will be a rare commodity as the Phoenix Suns shuffle into the 2025-26 season, and it begins with the lists. We are less than a month away from tip-off, which means we are entering the annual ritual of rankings. The best players. The best teams. The best situations. A tidal wave of lists is about to crash across the NBA landscape, and for Phoenix, those waves will not carry much sunshine.
However it is sliced, the Suns will find themselves climbing toward the top of lists that no fan wants
to see.
It is a sharp change from the last two years. Back then, Mat Ishbia and James Jones built a roster with a swollen payroll that placed Phoenix front and center. The expectations were monumental, the lists were filled with the Suns, and the outcome is now a bitter memory.
Today, the franchise finds itself in a different phase. Rebuilding and retooling are no longer optional; they are the reality. A youth movement has begun, born from necessity rather than choice, since the team holds little control over its future draft capital. Development becomes the focus, with the hope that three or four years from now the young core blossoms, and Devin Booker remains a force. Add Jalen Green into that picture, a player who, in that same timeframe, will be entering his prime, and the vision of a brighter tomorrow begins to take shape.
But visions are one thing, and ESPN is another.
Power rankings fuel the conversation, and ESPN has published its latest Future Power Rankings, an exercise in projecting the three-year outlooks for all thirty teams. At the top stands the Oklahoma City Thunder, a franchise crowned champion, armed with draft picks, and managed with precision. ESPN measures players, money, draft assets, market, and management. The Thunder sit comfortably at the summit in players, draft, and management.
And then there are the Suns. Where do they land? How does this franchise measure up? If your instinct says rock bottom, you would be right. ESPN Insider Bobby Marks put it in writing.
It was only three years ago when Phoenix ranked third in the FPR and had a solid foundation of young players and future draft assets. That foundation no longer exists, thanks largely to the Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal trades. Both players are no longer on the roster, and though Phoenix isn’t in financial purgatory and still has All-Star Devin Booker, its path back to relevancy is unclear. The Suns have no tradable firsts in the next seven years and have $23 million in dead money on their books in the next five years. One positive is that Phoenix has shifted away from building around multiple high-priced veterans to trading for former first-round picks Jalen Green, Mark Williams and selecting Khaman Maluach in June’s draft.
As far as rankings go, where do the Suns land?
Players: 26th
That one gives me pause. When I scan some of the other rosters in this league, I see less talent than what Phoenix has in place. Make no mistake, there is talent here. Devin Booker is an All-Star caliber player, Jalen Green has upside waiting to pop, Dillon Brooks is a building block you can win with, Mark Williams is a quality center, and the youth movement can surprise teams on any given night.
Money: 22nd
That is a leap forward compared to last year, when Phoenix carried the most expensive roster in NBA history. It is never ideal to pay players who no longer wear your jersey, but the Suns have maneuverability now. What they do with that flexibility over the next three years will determine everything, but hope exists in this category.
Draft: 30th
This is the wound that will not heal, because the Suns have forfeited control of their draft picks for seven years. The future in this area is barren. So I see why Marks has Phoenix ranked 30th here. Because no team is in a worse draft capital situation than Ishbia and the Suns. Yeah, we might not care about an 8th grader right now, but having outs creates opportunity. Opportunity the Suns simply don’t have.
Market: 6th
The size of the Valley and the hunger of its fan base continue to push Phoenix high in this category. The city is ready, the loyalty is not in question. Phoenix continues to grow (per Wikipedia, the city is up 4.04% since 2020). Yeah, it’s an influx of transplants who bring with them their own loyalties. But if the product is good enough, we can get them to change their ways. If the product is good enough…
Management: 28th
This one is easier to understand. A general manager who has never managed, a head coach who has never coached from the first chair, and a vision that has yet to be proven. Only Sacramento and New Orleans rank lower.
So here we are, at the bottom of another list. Dead last. No list is good to be on when you find yourself buried at the bottom. Did ESPN get it wrong? I believe they did. Sacramento and New Orleans are in worse shape. And maybe it is the optimist in me speaking, but I think the Suns will outperform these projections. None of that matters until the games are played, until the wins and losses tell the story.
More lists are coming, and more of them will bury Phoenix in negativity. I will be here to break them down and give the same closing thought each time: We will see.
