Welcome to our Phoenix Suns Season in Review series, where we revisit every player who suited up during the 2025–26 campaign through the lens of expectation, reality, and what it ultimately meant.
Player Snapshot
- Position: SG
- Age: 23
- Contract Status: Two-Way, RFA this offseason
- SunsRank (Preseason): 15
- SunsRank (Postseason): 17
*SunsRank is based on Bright Side writers’ ranking.
Season in One Sentence
There weren’t huge expectations, but we could have hoped for a bit more production based on the tools he had, and in the end, the overall outcome was still solid.
By the Numbers
Let’s look at some Valley Suns numbers, seeing as he spent most of the season in the G League.
The Expectation
Before the start of the season, Koby Brea was seen as one of the best shooters in this 2025 draft class, if not the best. (43.4% from three on 730 NCAA career attempts). Despite some weaknesses in creation and defense, he was projected to be a piece capable of bringing treys and spacing off the bench — a coherent addition for the team when you look at his qualities and the system implemented by Jordan Ott this season.
In short, people thought Brea could be a player capable of bringing some competition to Phoenix’s backcourt.
The Reality
Reality is often very different from previews. Sure, he confirmed his shooting talents, but unfortunately, his playing time was very low this season: only 12 appearances for a total of 84 minutes played (28th lowest among the 103 rookies), mainly due to very tough competition and a rotation that settled quickly.
For his first season, he mostly showed himself in the G‑League; the NBA step is maybe still a bit high for him. He’s only 23 years old (which is young for a specialized shooter), but the talent is there. He just needs to trust the process. I’m sure he can get closer to players like Sam Merrill or Sam Hauser, not next year, but maybe later in his career.
What It Means
With hindsight, Koby Brea had almost no impact on Phoenix’s results this season (except for the last game against OKC), and that’s normal: low appearances, low impact. However, he did manage to take the few opportunities given by finishing at least 11 of his 12 games with a shot attempt (generally from three).
I think next year he will keep his small contract and his important role in the G‑League, with maybe a few more appearances above 10 minutes and an evolution in his game: +38% shooting with more volume, a more important role as a connector, and an evolution in his defensive approach (more confident, smarter). He will always remain a shooter and off‑ball finisher, but with, I hope, a bigger impact on both Suns teams.
Defining Moment
Of course, his standout performance was against OKC in the last game of the season: 20 points and a nice 6/9 from three. A game where we saw his whole outside palette: catch‑and‑shoot, pull‑up threes, off‑screen threes, deep threes, and more generally shots taken in rhythm.
Grade: C
Why this C grade? Simply because it’s average, his season isn’t positive because we could have and maybe expected more (not better), but his season isn’t negative either because you can feel the effort, the work and the desire to do well in each of his outings. What do you think?
