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As we sat here a little more than a year ago, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were still on the roster, but the Suns had just finished 11th in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs entirely. We all knew something had to change. The philosophy needed to change. The culture needed to change. The direction of the franchise needed to change.
Mat Ishbia gave us exactly that.
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He moved on from James Jones and Mike Budenholzer, replacing them with Brian Gregory and Jordan Ott. What followed was an offseason filled with corporate buzzwords we could only hope would eventually turn into action. Thankfully, they did.
The 2025-26 Phoenix Suns will be remembered as one of the most enjoyable teams this fan base has watched in years. It wasn’t because they won a championship or dominated the league. It was the style in which they played, the tenacity with which they executed the game plan, and their ability to exceed expectations.
Yes, they stumbled at the finish line. But they also gave us confidence in the direction the franchise was headed. After all, Suns owner Mat Ishbia told us he wanted this organization to resemble the Pittsburgh Steelers, a franchise built around players who compete a certain way and make you proud to watch them wear the uniform.
“You can talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Ishbia said last summer. “You kind of know what they mean when you talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Or even my old team, Michigan State basketball. You kind of know what you’re going to get when you talk about Michigan State basketball. What is Phoenix Suns basketball? That’s on me. That’s a change that’s coming, and it will be undeniable.”
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For the first time in a long time, it felt like the Suns were beginning to look the part.
The acquisition of Miles Bridges, only a year later, runs counter to much of that philosophy, at least from a reputational standpoint. Bridges carries the baggage of his domestic violence case, and when we talk about the culture we want the Phoenix Suns to build, and the reasons we want to feel proud of this team, bringing in a player with that kind of history naturally…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sbn-reacts-suns-found-power-230000125.html
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Publish date : 2026-07-03 23:00:00
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