The Phoenix Suns are coming off an unexpectedly successful season.
After missing the playoffs with a 36-46 record in the 2024-25 campaign and shipping superstar forward Kevin Durant out to the Houston Rockets in the off-season, expectations in Phoenix were low entering this year.
Instead, the Suns improved to a 45-37 record and made the playoffs after advancing through the Play-In tournament.
The Suns were swept by the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. And after processing that disappointment, Suns owner Mat Ishbia gave an emphatic vote of approval to the team as constructed, stamping out any rumours that the team may trade veteran superstar Devin Booker.
“Devin Booker’s going to lead us to a championship here in Phoenix,” Ishbia said at his end-of-season availability on Thursday. “We’re going to build the team around him, he’s going to get better, just like I’m going to get better and everyone around the organization is going to get better.
“Devin Booker is who we want here, he’s great for the city, great for the community,” Ishbia continued. “I’ll ride into a fire with Devin Booker, and I’ll do it proudly.”
The 29-year-old Booker has spent his entire 11-year career with the Suns since he was selected with the 13th-overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
In 64 games this year, Booker averaged 26.1 points and 6.0 assists per game, and was named an all-star for the fifth time in his career.
Booker will be a free agent in the 2030 off-season after signing a two-year, $132 million extension to his current four-year deal last July.
“We exceeded everybody else’s expectation, but not ours,” Booker said after the Suns were eliminated on Monday.
The Suns struggled with injuries throughout the campaign, as only two players stayed healthy enough to make more than 60 starts (Booker, 64 and Royce O’Neal, 67). The constant lineup shuffling due to injuries to key players caused frustration throughout the year.
“I just wish we could get 50 games healthy together before coming into this to learn in the fire and learn from mistakes,” Booker said Monday. “But we kind of had to learn on the fly.”
First-year head coach Jordan Ott impressed in taking this team to the playoffs. Ishbia’s conviction in speaking about the team on Thursday indicates he will get a second try to take the team further next year.
“I do think there’s a sense of pride with this group,” Ott said in the media room on Monday. “We hear often with the city and the fans, I think that’s what hurts because this group, it ends. That team, it ends. And they should be proud of what they did this year.”
