We did it. We are here. The Phoenix Suns tip off the 2026–27 season tonight in Portland, and it’s been quite some time since we last watched Phoenix Suns basketball that actually counted. You’d have to go back 177 days, to when the Suns lost Game 4 of their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And now here we are. A new season, new hope, and hopefully a new outcome: a championship. It’s something that has never happened in Phoenix, and as season number 59 tips off, this might not
be a team with legitimate championship aspirations. But that doesn’t mean we won’t watch, consume, analyze, form opinions about, and care deeply about every step of the journey.
Sports have a funny way of reeling us in. Maybe it’s by birthright, geographical allegiance, or perhaps you simply liked the colors. Whatever brought you here, we’ve once again arrived at the beginning of another journey, hoping that somehow, someway, this one ends differently than every season that came before it.
And to prepare for that journey, we have one final question to ask our Bright Side roundtable.
What record do you predict the Suns will finish with, and where will that land them in the Western Conference standings?
I ultimately see the Phoenix Suns finishing as the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a 47–35 record. That’s two games better than last season, and I think that improvement is entirely justifiable.
The starting unit is better than what existed a year ago. Royce O’Neale is out of the rotation, and Miles Bridges has replaced him. That’s a net positive. Mark Williams will be injured for the majority of the season, but Phoenix has a pair of young bigs who can provide different looks and options behind him, so I’m not necessarily concerned about the starting unit.
The second unit? I think there are plenty of firecrackers there, and they’re going to play with the intensity that Phoenix Suns basketball has become known for. The Suns have more depth than they did a year ago, thanks to continued development and the continuity that comes with keeping much of the roster together.
And one of the biggest reasons I believe this team will win more games than it did last season? Health. So many people like to point to the final 30 games of last season, when the Suns went 14–16, as evidence of why expectations should be tempered. But so few acknowledge how unbelievably injured Phoenix was during that stretch. Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and Mark Williams all missed significant time. Is it any wonder the team couldn’t squeeze out a couple more victories?
Of course, we’re once again banking on health playing in our favor, and that will ultimately have a significant impact on what this team can accomplish. But even with Williams hampered for much of the season, I believe Phoenix has enough talent, depth, and continuity to compete. With a sixth-seed finish, the Suns would have the opportunity to face the third seed in the opening round of the playoffs.
Want an early-season prediction? That third seed will be the Houston Rockets. And the Suns will win that series. drops mic
What did the rest of our writing team have to say about their predictions? Here you go.
Brandon Duenas: 48-34 – 6th seed in the West, just avoiding the play-in. I think this team is better than just a three-win improvement, but at the same time, the element of surprise is gone with this team, and the West can be a gauntlet. As long as they take care of business against teams they are supposed to beat, they should be in decent shape. The ceiling is closer to 54 wins if everything clicks and they are healthy, but I am going be more cautiously optimistic and say they exceed their Vegas O/U win total by 9 games or so (depending on where you get your numbers).
Holden Sherman: 44-38, 7th in the West.
Bruce Veliz: 47-35, 8th in the West.
Tom Mildenberger: Coming into the preseason, I’ve been at 42 games for the Suns. After seeing the bench, I just think there are going to be grind-out wins because of the effort and impact shooting of the second unit, so I think I’m going to raise my predicted win total. While I’m still sketchy on the Suns’ potential to win a playoff series, I do very much think they will escape the play-in tournament. Last season, that would have taken 50, so that’s where I’m going to land. 50 wins for the Suns, but the Spurs and Rockets finish in front of OKC, so we match up with the Thunder again.
Mark Bowser: With my belief in Ott above, the year-two continuity of the roster, Bridges out to prove he belongs on a good team, roster depth, and the Western Conference’s questionable depth, this will prove to be another step in the right direction. No play-in, land the 6 seed, 46-36, and an upset in round one of the playoffs.
CJ Navage: Paaaaaaiiiiinnnnn to quote the infamous Clubber Lang. I’m an optimist, but fans should set the bar low and be pleasantly surprised if the Suns do better than lowered expectations. A blow has already been struck with the loss of Mark Williams, who knows what else the season will bring? I suppose a positive attitude would be to think Ishbia will do what it takes during the season, no matter the cost, which has largely been true so far in his ownership tenure. Buy a player? Fire a coach? Trade? Ok. It’s a business.
Kevin Hunpherys: The Suns are going to finish with a 48-34 record and finish sixth in the Western Conference this season.
Now it is your turn to make your predictions!
