Suns/Thunder is new on paper but not without history

I always find myself wandering through the history of the Phoenix Suns. There is always something tucked away waiting to be found, some random nugget that makes you pause for a second and think, “Huh, I didn’t know that.” At this point I’ve spent enough time digging, writing, and obsessing, including putting together the whole All Time Pyramid project, that I feel comfortable calling myself a Suns historian. It’s not born completely from lived experience, but from pure curiosity and the inability to leave things unexplored. So when a postseason matchup pops up, it is like an open invitation to go back and see what the past has to say.

And now here we are. The Suns are set to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in a best-of-seven first-round series that tips off tomorrow at 12:30pm. On the surface, you would think there is some kind of playoff history between these teams, something to pull from, and/or something to reference.

Advertisement

If we are talking Phoenix versus Oklahoma City, there isn’t.

Since the Thunder relocated from Seattle in 2008, these two franchises have never crossed paths in the postseason. Their timelines never quite lined up. Phoenix was rolling through the late 2000s and playing meaningful basketball while Oklahoma City was still finding its footing. Then the Thunder rose up with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, and the Suns slipped into that long, dark stretch where April basketball became something you watched other teams play.

The last time both organizations were in the postseason at the same time was 2024, and even then, nothing materialized. Phoenix exited early, and the Thunder were off on their own path, facing the Dallas Mavericks. So if you keep it clean and modern, Suns versus Thunder playoff history does not exist. No box scores, no series, no shared moments.

But history has a way of stretching if you let it.

Advertisement

Because the Thunder carry the city of Seattle with them, and if you choose to include that chapter, then suddenly there is a story to tell. The Suns and the SuperSonics met four times in the postseason, a total of 25 playoff games, a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/suns-thunder-paper-not-without-020000427.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-04-19 02:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.