2025–26 Phoenix Suns season

The 2025–26 Phoenix Suns season is the 58th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 33rd season at the Mortgage Matchup Center.^[1] This is the first time since the 2021-22 season that the Suns did not play on Christmas Day.

On April 14, 2025, just a day after their disappointing season ended, the Suns fired head coach, Mike Budenholzer after only one year with the team, despite his five-year, $50 million contract.^[2] This decision was made after the team's poor performance. On May 1, the Suns promoted Brian Gregory, formerly the vice president of player programming and veteran college basketball coach, to general manager. James Jones transitioned to a senior advisor role before being appointed as the NBA's Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations on July 9, succeeding Joe Dumars.^[3][4] On June 6, Phoenix hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott as head coach, signing him to a four-year contract.^[5]

On July 6, the Suns completed a record-breaking seven-team trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets and brought in Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea, and future second-round picks in 2026 and 2032 from Houston. On July 16, the Suns and Bradley Beal reached an agreement on a contract buyout, with the team applying the stretch provision to his remaining $90 million guaranteed salary.

One day after the conclusion of the Suns' disappointing season, on April 14, head coach Mike Budenholzer was fired despite having four years and approximately $40 million remaining on his contract. His dismissal mirrored that of his predecessor, Frank Vogel, as the organization cited the team's underperformance as a primary factor, particularly given expectations that the roster was capable of a significantly better record than the 36 wins achieved that season.^[6]

The Suns opted for a more deliberate head coaching search with an emphasis on finding a coach who could better connect with players and guide a developing roster. The team reportedly considered up to 20 candidates during the offseason, including former head coach Mike Brown, New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green, and Cleveland Cavaliers assistants Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott.^[7] The Suns announced on June 6 that Jordan Ott had been named head coach. Ott signed a four-year contract and received endorsements from Suns legends Devin Booker and Steve Nash, the latter of whom previously worked with Ott during their time with the Brooklyn Nets.^[8][9]

On June 11, that former NBA player and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach DeMarre Carroll would become the first assistant to join Jordan Ott's new coaching staff. Carroll was later confirmed to coach the Suns’ 2025 NBA Summer League team.^[10] On July 8, the Suns announced that Washington Wizards assistant coach Brian Randle would return as an assistant coach after previously serving under Monty Williams from 2020 to 2023, including during the team's run to the 2021 NBA Finals. The team also confirmed that Chaisson Allen would remain on the staff.^[11]

Two days later, assistant coaches Brent Barry and James Posey departed the team. Barry joined Amazon Prime Video’s NBA broadcast team, while Posey became an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers.^[12][13] The Suns hired Orlando Magic assistant Jesse Mermuys as offensive coordinator, and former NBA player Mateen Cleaves—Ishbia’s former Michigan State teammate and United Wholesale Mortgage employee—as player development coach. On July 19, Valley Suns head coach John Little was added to Ott’s staff as an assistant coach.^[14] On August 9, former NBA player Mike Muscala joined the Suns’ coaching staff as an assistant coach.^[15] On August 13, the Suns announced that former Charlotte Hornets head coach and front office advisor Steve Clifford had been hired as a coaching advisor.^[16]

In an interview, Suns owner Mat Ishbia revealed that organizational changes to the front office would take place during the offseason, describing them as the most significant adjustments to be made before addressing the head coaching position.^[17] In early April, reports surfaced that the Suns were exploring the possibility of hiring former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers to be their general manager.^[18] However, on May 1, the team announced that Brian Gregory—formerly a college basketball head coach and the Suns’ vice president of player programming—had been promoted to general manager. James Jones, who previously served as general manager and team president, transitioned to a senior advisor role for the remainder of his contract, which expired at the start of free agency, before being appointed as the NBA’s Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations on July 9, succeeding Joe Dumars.^[19][4] Additionally, the Suns promoted director of scouting Oronde Taliaferro to assistant general manager and expanded chief innovation officer Paul Rivers’ responsibilities to include basketball operations.^[20] On September 22, it was announced that Steve Nash would return to the Suns as a senior advisor, with him also slated to join his planned position for Amazon Prime Video's own NBA TV-based program on their streaming service in the process (with him retaining his position with Amazon Prime for this season while doing pre-game work there).^[21] Finally, on October 4, the Suns would hire former Detroit Pistons senior advisor Ed Stefanski to be their new front office advisor to go alongside Steve Nash.^[22]

The Suns entered the draft holding one first-round and one second-round selection, though neither was originally their own.^[23][24] The first-round pick, which became the 29th overall pick, was acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers through a previous trade with the Utah Jazz.^[25] The second-round pick, 52nd overall, was also obtained via trade during the previous season. The Suns acquired it, along with Nick Richards, from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Josh Okogie and three second-round picks. The selection originally belonged to the Denver Nuggets.^[26]

Phoenix's original first-round pick (No. 10 overall) had been dealt to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the trade for Kevin Durant.^[27] The Suns’ own second-round pick (No. 40 overall) was included in the earlier trade with the Washington Wizards for Bradley Beal.^[28] However, on June 22, it was announced that following Durant's impending trade to the Houston Rockets—which became official on July 6 after Jalen Green's rookie extension and later expanded into a record-breaking seven-team deal—the Suns would regain their first-round pick initially lost in the Durant trade. Phoenix was also slated to acquire the final selection of the draft from the Oklahoma City Thunder, in addition to second-round picks in 2025, 2026, and 2032.^[29] The 59th pick, originally held by Houston before being traded to Phoenix, became the final selection of the draft after the New York Knicks forfeited their second-round pick due to a free agency violation.

In the first round of the 2025 NBA draft, the Rockets selected South Sudanese center Khaman Maluach from Duke University on behalf of the Suns. Maluach had been named to the 2025 All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman Team after helping Duke reach the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Before his collegiate career, he played professionally for multiple teams in the Basketball Africa League, where he led the league in rebounds in his final season in the league.

Phoenix sent the 29th overall pick, a 2029 first-round pick acquired from the Utah Jazz, and Serbian guard Vasilije Micić to the Charlotte Hornets. In return, the Suns received Mark Williams and reacquired their own 2029 second-round pick.^[30]

In the second round of the draft, Phoenix executed several additional trades involving their second-round selections. The Suns initially held the rights to the 36th, 52nd, and 59th overall picks. The Suns ultimately acquired the 31st and 41st overall selections. With the 31st pick, the Minnesota Timberwolvess selected forward Rasheer Fleming from Saint Joseph's University for the Suns, while the Golden State Warriors used the 41st pick to select Dominican-American guard Koby Brea from the University of Kentucky for Phoenix. Fleming had been named to the 2025 All-Atlantic 10 First Team, while Brea was a two-time Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year in 2022 and 2024 and led the conference in three-point shooting in his final seasons at Dayton and Kentucky.

Ahead of the 2025–26 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns sought to move on from Bradley Beal’s remaining two years under contract and explored trade options involving Kevin Durant as part of a broader effort to restructure the roster following two disappointing seasons from their “superteam” experiment centered around Devin Booker. On June 22, it was announced that a deal involving Durant would become official on July 6. The transaction ultimately materialized as a record-breaking seven-team trade that sent Durant to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the return of the Suns’ own first-round pick, multiple second-round draft selections (including two in the 2025 draft, one in 2026, and a conditional pick in 2032), and Daeqwon Plowden from the Atlanta Hawks, who was later waived following completion of the deal.^[29][31]

The Suns reportedly explored offseason trade scenarios involving Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale, with Nick Richards later mentioned as a possible trade candidate after the 2025 NBA draft, reinforcing speculation that the team was preparing for a major roster overhaul.

The team also faced key contract decisions on Richards, Martin, and Micić, whose 2025–26 season was held as a team option stemming from his 2023–24 deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Prior to the draft, Phoenix exercised Micić's option and subsequently agreed to trade him, along with the 29th overall pick and a 2029 first-round pick acquired from the Jazz to the Hornets in exchange for Mark Williams and the Suns’ own 2029 second-round pick.^[30] Richards’ 2025–26 contract was fully guaranteed by his June 29 deadline, while Martin was waived the following day.^[32] Additionally, Bol Bol, Tyus Jones, Damion Lee, Monté Morris, and Mason Plumlee became unrestricted free agents, while two-way players Collin Gillespie, Jalen Bridges, and TyTy Washington Jr. entered restricted free agency as of June 30.

At the start of the 2025 free agency, the Suns agreed to sign Collin Gillespie to a one-year veteran's minimum contract. Phoenix also reached an agreement with Nigel Hayes-Davis of Fenerbahçe Beko in Turkey's Basketbol Süper Ligi on a one-year deal for his return to the NBA at age 30. On July 3, undrafted forward C. J. Huntley from Appalachian State University signed a two-year two-way contract with the Suns.^[33][34] On July 8, the Suns signed Isaiah Livers to a two-way contract, joining rookies Huntley and Koby Brea.^[35]

On July 16, the Suns waived Bradley Beal and used the stretch provision on his contract, which still had two years remaining, officially ending the 'Big Three' era in Phoenix. The remaining $110.8 million on Beal's deal was stretched over five years, with Beal forfeiting $13.9 million, resulting in approximately $20 million in dead cap space annually. The move allowed Phoenix to fall below both the new second tax apron and the original tax apron.^[36]

On July 23, the Suns reacquired Jordan Goodwin after claiming him off waivers from the Los Angeles Lakers and also signed Jared Butler on a one-year contract, but he was waived after preseason.

During the previous season, it was announced that the Suns and Brooklyn Nets would play two of their preseason games at the Venetian Arena in Macau, with the Suns being named the home team in those games.^[37] These games would represent a return to the Chinese mainland area for the NBA itself for the first time since the 2019 preseason period back when the Nets played against the Los Angeles Lakers before China boycotted the NBA for a few seasons due to comments that Daryl Morey (the Houston Rockets' general manager at the time) made involving the nation regarding the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests at the time.^[38][39] In addition to that, in early June 2025, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that their first preseason game would be at the Acrisure Arena against the Suns on October 3.^[40] The Suns' final preseason game, which would also be against the Lakers, though it'd be on October 14 at the Mortgage Matchup Center for three home preseason games to close out the preseason, would officially be announced on July 30, 2025.

Before the NBA announced the regular season schedule for every team in the league, it was confirmed on August 13 that the Suns would start out this season at home on October 22 against the Sacramento Kings.^[41]

On July 9, it was announced that the Suns would return to Group A once again for the 2025 NBA Cup, only this time, they'd be competing against the defending NBA Finals champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz instead. This season, the Suns would defeat Utah and Sacramento with major ease, as well as provide an improbable last-minute comeback against the Timberwolves, but they ultimately would lose their last game in the group matches against the Thunder in a surprisingly close match. Unfortunately for the Suns, they would not only face off against the Thunder again in the quarterfinal round of the NBA Cup after qualifying for the actual tournament part of the NBA Cup for the second time in three seasons, but also do it without star shooting guard Devin Booker playing in that match this time around due to an unfortunately timed injury at hand when Oklahoma City was also getting healthier. That would later result in not only the worst loss in NBA Cup history, but also the worst loss in franchise history.

• Entering this season, Devin Booker would become the fourth player in franchise history to stay with the Phoenix Suns for at least eleven years, joining the likes of Walter Davis, Kevin Johnson, and Alvan Adams as the only other Suns players to stay with the team for that same amount of time. Booker would make his regular season debut on October 22, 2025, with 31 points scored in a comeback 120–116 win over the Sacramento Kings season.

• On February 2, 2026, Dillon Brooks would earn his first ever Player of the Week Award for his performances throughout the week of January 25–February 1, 2026 to get the Suns a 3–1 record when star shooting guard Devin Booker was serously injured.^[42] Despite the Suns ending the week with a bad loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooks would be the primary player leading the Suns to three key victories throughout the week with averages of 28.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game alongside an interestingly higher three-point shooting percentage (54.5%) than overall field goal shooting percentage (53.5%) during that time.
• Also on February 2, rookie head coach Jordan Ott would earn his first ever Coach of the Month honors for helping lead the Suns to an 11–5 January, which included a 7–1 home record and was tied for the most wins in the month of January this season.^[43] With this honor, Ott not only becomes the eighth Suns head coach to win Coach of the Month honors, but also joins former Suns players Paul Westphal and Jeff Hornacek as the only other head coaches to win the honor while in their inaugural head coaching seasons.^[44]

• On February 1, Devin Booker was announced to have earned his fifth All-Star Team selection as a reserve member for what would be considered the Stars team in what was considered the equivalent of Team U.S.A. Vs. World Team version of the All-Star Game this year.^[45][46] With his fifth All-Star appearance in the last seven seasons, he now joins Walter Davis, Steve Nash, and Amar'e Stoudemire as the only Suns players to have at least five All-Star selections while with the franchise.
• On February 4, Mat Ishbia, a co-owner of the Phoenix Suns, would be named a competitor for the NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game, playing for Team Anthony, which has Anthony Anderson as the head coach (alongside player development coach Chris Brickley and shooting coach Lethal Shooter as assistant coaches) and former NBA player Jason Williams, Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, Andre De Grasse, Badshah, Mustard, Simu Liu, Adrien Nunez, Taylor Frankie Paul, Dude Perfect member Cody Jones, and Nicolas Vansteenberghe as his fellow teammates for the event.^[47]
• On February 8, Devin Booker was announced to his fourth Three-Point Contest after previously participating in the event in 2016, 2018, and 2020 (winning it all beforehand in 2018 with a then-record-high 28 points scored) despite him being at his lowest shooting percentage from the three-point line entering the event yet.^[48]

• On November 6, 2025, Jalen Green would have the highest number of three-pointers made in a Suns debut game with six three-pointers made in a 115–102 beatdown against the Los Angeles Clippers at home.^[49] Not only that, but the 29 points he scored that night would be the second-most points scored for a Phoenix debut behind Charles Barkley's debut game against the Clippers where he scored 35 points on November 7, 1992, nearly 33 years ago.
• Four days after Jalen Green's debut, on November 10, Grayson Allen would score a new record-high 10 three-pointers made (breaking a long-standing tie that included Grayson Allen himself and six other now-former Suns players tying an overall NBA season-high for threes made at the time) for a new career-high 42 points scored in a blowout 121–98 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.^[50][51]
• On January 2, 2026, the Suns would have their most efficient shooting night for two-point field goals with them making 41/56 of those shots in particular for a 73.2% field goal shooting percentage for that specific area. The high shooting percentage for two-point field goals would help with the Suns getting a 129–102 blowout win over the Sacramento Kings at home to start the new year out on their end.^[52]