Oh boy, is it time for one of those Voita storytime stories? Yeah, it is.
This one is less about Phoenix Suns basketball and more about the relationships forged by its existence. It’s an introspective look at some of the experiences I’ve had along the way, and perhaps a way to make sense of those still to come.
Anxiety is a funny thing. You know it when you feel it, and sometimes it comes out of nowhere. That nervousness, those fits of uneasiness, can be downright paralyzing. I’m fortunate because
one of the ways I’ve learned to navigate anxiety is by using it as fuel, taking that uncomfortable feeling and allowing it to unlock something internally that, in hindsight, has benefited me more times than I can count.
And anxiety was exactly what I felt as I pointed my truck toward the Chupacabra Taproom in Mesa, Arizona, on May 23, 2021.
On that day, as the Phoenix Suns prepared to play their first postseason game in over a decade, I had committed to participating in a live-streamed postgame podcast with members of the Solar Panel podcast. The anxiety churning in my stomach wasn’t solely because I was about to meet Dave King, Espo, and Saul Bookman for the first time. I was also going to have to settle in, watch a playoff game, and immediately transition into recording a show. And doing all of that from a remote location brings its own collection of technical responsibilities, logistical challenges, and plenty of additional reasons to feel anxious. But hey, we were living streaming with the Solar Panel guys!
The Solar Panel was one of the first Phoenix Suns podcasts available for fans to consume. And consume it we did, every Saturday morning at 9 AM starting in 2017. You could tune in and watch Dave King, Espo, and Tim Tompkins go back and forth on a variety of Suns topics. From the ‘Trial of Ryan McDonough’ to the hilariously executed Manscape ad reads, it was a fun community to be part of. You could watch the podcast live on YouTube, interact with the show through the chat, and engage with other fans who shared the same passion.
The show became the foundation for what the Suns JAM Session ultimately became. We wanted to create a live show similar to what they were doing, but we wanted to go live more frequently. During the 2020–21 Phoenix Suns season, we began broadcasting after every game. That frequency, combined with the relationship I’d developed with Dave through writing for Bright Side of the Sun and having our podcast appear on the Bright Side feed, put us in a position where we collectively decided to start doing live postgame podcasts during that memorable playoff run.
Walking into that tiny pub room in Mesa remains a fond memory of mine. To this day, I have no idea why we opted for Chupacabra, considering they only had a couple of televisions. But meeting Dave, Espo, and Saul was an honor. At the same time, we were there to do a job, so there wasn’t much opportunity to sit around in awe of guys I’d been watching for the past few years.
I distinctly remember handing out business cards promoting the Suns JAM Session podcast and seeing the look on Espo’s face. He was either thinking, “Hey man, this guy’s really into this thing,” or, “Hey man, this guy is a nut.” But one thing’s for sure. I think it effectively communicated that I gave a shit and was serious about doing this podcast.
You can go back and watch that episode, and it’s funny how archaic it feels now. We all had to make sure we were muted whenever we weren’t talking because the background noise, combined with sitting next to each other with multiple microphones, made for audio that wasn’t exactly what you’d consider quality.
And when it was all said and done, it wasn’t good audio. But it was fun. So much fun that we continued doing it throughout the entire playoff run, all the way to the final game of the NBA Finals.
That last game of the Finals marked a seminal moment for the Solar Panel podcast. Espo and Saul went on to form the powerhouse that is PHNX that summer, while Dave changed his podcast feed, joined the Basketball Podcast Network, and continued anchoring the program with a rotating cast of guest contributors. Brandon Dueñas became his primary cohost. Jake from the Suns Planet podcast was a regular, as was I. But Dave also brought on a variety of guests, including Kellan Olson, Gerald Bourguet, and Duane Rankin, Keith Smith, Mike Scotto, Eric Pincus, and other. Damn, Dave was a powerhouse in getting guests on.
From August 2021 through December 2022, it was Dave’s show. And on December 3, 2022, the final episode was released. I was honored and humbled that he chose to have me on that final episode.
One thing was clear. Dave wanted to spend more time with his family because, although he didn’t tell us at the time, he knew his time was limited. He’d rather spend his Saturday mornings with the people he loved than with a bunch of us idiots online calling him our Suns Daddy and picking apart the Phoenix Suns.
We lost Dave in January 2024, which is almost three years ago now.
Even thinking about that, and the void he left behind, brings back some of the anxiety I spoke about earlier. Because at the end of the day, what he established here at Bright Side of the Sun and what he created with the Solar Panel is a legacy of excellence, fun, and a genuine bright side to following the Phoenix Suns. It’s a tough one to live up to. He forged relationships that we all share, whether it’s in the comments of an article, during a game thread, or while watching a live podcast and interacting with others in the chat. There’s this little corner of the world that the Phoenix Suns fan base occupies, and it isn’t exactly heavily populated. The views we receive on our articles and YouTube shows, along with the listens our podcasts generate, aren’t setting any records. But behind every one of those numbers is an individual who cares about this team as much as we do and has made what we create a source of information for them.
You probably notice it around here at Bright Side. We promote a variety of ways to consume coverage of this team, and not every format is for everybody. Some people don’t enjoy watching YouTube videos. Others aren’t interested in listening to audio podcasts. The majority of you prefer to read, which is why you’re here reading this right now.
But it’s always been my personal mission to promote talented writers and content creators with different perspectives and unique voices through Bright Side because that’s exactly what Dave did. He gave people opportunities, whether through writing, video, or audio, and brought additional voices into the conversation. That’s why you see me promote the Suns JAM Session podcast, the Suns Planet podcast, the Fanning the Flames podcast, and Brandon’s new project, Locked On Suns Hit. They’re all part of a larger conversation that I want to ensure we continue to strengthen.
There’s something else I learned when I walked into Chupacabra on that warm May afternoon. As I shook hands with the guys from the Solar Panel podcast, I was reminded of something incredibly important about the Phoenix Suns podcasting community. We support each other. We don’t try to tear each other down. We make guest appearances on each other’s shows, promote each other’s projects, and recognize that we’re all contributing to the same conversation. At the end of the day, thanks to the standard Dave King established, we’re inclusive. We make room for different perspectives, different personalities, and different voices. We give everybody an opportunity to be part of the conversation.
With all of that being said, we’re once again going to carry on the legacy of Dave King, this time in a different way. After talking with Espo and Saul over at PHNX, we’ve decided to resurrect the Solar Panel podcast. It’ll be back, complete with a tribute to Dave through the return of the “Stat Me Dave” segment, for those of you who remember it. I’ll be joining the podcast as well, doing something I feel like I’ve done quite a bit since he left us: stepping in for Dave King and trying to live up to the standards he set.
So if you want to hear Espo, Saul, and me get together once a week to talk about the Phoenix Suns, feel free to like and subscribe to the PHNX Suns podcast feed, as the Solar Panel will be a weekly episode under that umbrella. I know that every time I step into the ring with those guys, I’ll feel a little bit of that same anxiety I experienced walking into Chupacabra back in May 2021. And I’m hoping that feeling continues to fuel me, pushing me to contribute meaningful conversations with those guys about the team we all love and care about.
I don’t know if you can ever truly replace somebody like Dave King. And perhaps that’s not the point. The point is to carry forward what he created, to keep opening doors, building relationships, and making this little corner of Suns fandom a place where people feel welcome. Five years ago, I walked into a bar in Mesa, wondering whether I belonged in that room. Now I get to help keep that room open for others. I think Dave would appreciate that.
