Suns mainstay Devin Booker (26.9 ppg) and new addition Dillon Brooks (21.4 ppg) are sparking Phoenix’s offense.
Five months remain to prove that the consensus preseason forecast for them was correct, that a reset is in the works, that logic and losing streaks will collaborate and that this 2025-26 season will eventually launch a rebuild.
Yes, all of that is certainly possible because the NBA can be unforgiving like that.
But now? Here in the moment?
This feels refreshing for the Phoenix Suns.
“What we got going on right now is a good place,” said Jordan Ott, their first-year coach.
They’re the surprise of opening month after rapidly and unexpectedly gaining a reputation as a hustling, hard-working and unassuming group of players that didn’t get the memo. Or maybe the Suns did, but dismissed it anyway, much like most of their opponents so far.
Following an offseason overhaul that was both necessary and desperate, the Suns have transitioned from a salary-cap clunky roster that dreadfully underachieved to the exact opposite. The payroll is lighter, and so is the mood, as the Suns are rewriting the script and the outlook.
They have a winning record. They’re 2-0 in the Emirates NBA Cup standings, tied in their group with the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and sitting in the playoff mix at the moment.
And oh, look — Monday they’ll host the Rockets (9:30 p.m. ET, Peacock), their trading partner in the major deal that sent Kevin Durant to Houston. His big arrival in Phoenix nearly three years ago launched dreams that were torpedoed when he became part of the purge last summer.
A revamping that has paid off
The timing is delicious, much like the atmosphere inside Mortgage Matchup Center, which is suddenly reawakened by a home team that wasn’t projected to be in this position.
Hardly, actually. The Suns were woozy after all the big offseason changes suggested this team would hit rock bottom in 2025-26.
The front office was upgraded. The coaching staff cleansed. Durant was gone. Bradley Beal, gone. And aside from Devin Booker — who signed a two-year, $145 million contract extension through 2029-30 — these patchwork Suns initially lacked an identity and a purpose other than to serve a bridge toward, hopefully, a better future years from now.
However, and this isn’t totally unusual in the NBA, stuff happens. Sometimes in a team’s favor.
This was evident inside the hyped locker room last Friday, following a last-second victory over Minnesota, when owner Mat Ishbia went player-to-player, offering handshakes and hugs.
Ishbia had that same energy when he elected to slap together a team with three All-Stars in Durant, Beal and Booker once he officially assumed control of the franchise in February of 2023.
"That'll get your heart rate up!"
🎙️ Inside the locker room after Collin's game winner pic.twitter.com/edZ86zxNyI
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 22, 2025
Ishbia had the right intentions — he wanted to win right away, make a splash, be bold and aggressive. But his core was rarely together. Beal had a bad contract, showed declining skills and was constantly betrayed by his body. Durant was high-level productive during his time in Phoenix, but missed 20 games last season.
When the Suns won 36 games, finished 11th in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2020 — and never won a playoff game with their star core — the franchise became ripe for a revamping. And the results from Ishbia’s second swing at the plate are favorable if odd.
• This start is largely without the help of Jalen Green (hamstring), who has played just two games, and lately Grayson Allen (quad). Both are scorers needed to replace the buckets left behind by Durant and Beal.
• Dillon Brooks still serves as a tattoo — getting under people’s skin — and displaying defense (2.1 steals per game) while also scoring a career-best 21.4 points per game.
“He’s still got more in the tank,” said Ott. “This isn’t his first year. He knows exactly what he’s doing. We need that energy.”
• Collin Gillespie is a discovery as this is easily the best stretch for a third-year point guard. He played in only 33 games last season, but is now posting career highs across the board. He’s constantly attacking and showing guts, none more than taking the game-win shot against the Wolves — on a play drawn up specifically for him — when he scored 20 points.
“He’s taken advantage of his opportunity to the fullest,” said Booker. “We’re all rallying around him and he’s just a dog.”
WHOLE CROWD HYPE FOR COLLIN'S GAME WINNER! pic.twitter.com/DVlc14Z1wA
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 22, 2025
• Others, such as Mark Williams, Ryan Dunn and Royce O’Neale, are surfacing with big plays, games or moments that dictate outcomes. The chemistry on this team has developed quickly.
‘A tough, gritty, together, selfless’ attitude
Devin Booker drops 36 points on the Jazz in a Halloween night victory.
As for Booker, he’s supplying his typical pop (26.9 ppg) and once again handling the playmaking duties (7.1 assists per game), even if this isn’t his most natural position or role.
The Suns’ housecleaning sent Durant to the Rockets for Brooks, Green, the No. 10 pick last July (which became Duke center Khaman Maluach) and second-rounders. The Suns previously spent four first-rounders (along with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson) to get Durant from Brooklyn in 2023, so they recouped some of that. Additionally, Green is just 23.
Beal was brought out from his $110 million contract. Acquiring him in 2023 cost Phoenix three first-round swaps with Washington.
Last summer, Ishbia said: “I want to put a team out there on the court that everyone is proud of. It has to have an identity … some grit, some determination, some work ethic, some grind, some joy. We just haven’t had that.”
Perhaps now maybe they do.
The Suns are thriving under Ott, who served as an assistant on the Hawks, Nets, Lakers, and last season, the Cavs. He replaced his mentor, Mike Budenholzer, and is the eighth coach for Booker, now in his 11th season.
Ott was hired by a front office now led by GM Brian Gregory, also a first-timer. Gregory is off to a decent start, although the Maluach pick might prove interesting since he was chosen ahead of Cedric Coward and Derik Queen, both rookie front-runners so far, while Maluach rarely leaves the bench.
The recovery process isn’t over yet, and the Suns must add assets over the next few years if only to ease the steep cost of the last few years.
There’s also a challenge immediately ahead: the schedule has been kind since Halloween as Phoenix has played just three teams (San Antonio, Atlanta and Minnesota) currently with a winning record. The Suns close out November with a road game at OKC and then play the Nuggets, Lakers, Rockets and Wolves — all in a row — after that Thunder game.
The Suns have built a bit of a cushion, and at least from an approach standpoint, Ott doesn’t see the energy changing.
“It’s a tough, gritty, together, selfless (attitude) we have seen from this group since day one,” said Ott.
Still, some issues will ultimately determine whether the Suns are simply enjoying a temporary sweet spot or can sustain this for a reasonable stretch.
Will Brooks’ shooting, solid so far, falter and make him more one-dimensional? When Green returns to the lineup, can he be an efficient shooter? Can Williams, their only functional big man, improve on the screen-and-roll and create more offensive options?
Is this as good as it gets from Gillespie? And is Allen a keeper, or a chip to be used by the trade deadline?
For certain, Phoenix is in a happier place than when last season ended.
Durant (personal reasons) won’t play Monday against the Suns, but perhaps even he would admit this version of the Suns is a pleasant surprise so far.
“I want to be careful about comparing this year to last year because it’s so different,” said Allen. “Last year, we had a great start; our energy was great. It was a fun way to play basketball. But this group, the way we’re playing, we’re relying on each other.
“The activity is extremely high. The energy is extremely high.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
