2025–26 Phoenix Suns season

2025–26 Phoenix Suns season
Head coachJordan Ott
General managerBrian Gregory
Owner(s)Mat Ishbia & Justin Ishbia
ArenaPHX Arena
Results
Record0–0

Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionArizona's Family Sports[a]
FuboTV[b]
Kiswe (Suns Live)
RadioKTAR

The 2025–26 Phoenix Suns season will be the 58th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 33rd season at the currently named PHX Arena.[1] On April 14, 2025, one day after the conclusion of their very disappointing last season of play, the Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after only one season with the team despite him signing a five-year contract worth $50 million.[2] Following Budenholzer's firing, team owner Mat Ishbia expressed great disappointment with the results of the past season, but also expressed his word that great change would come during this season with Suns fans being more proud of the team's overall effort when compared to what was on display during the previous two seasons, especially the most recent season played by this time. On May 1, 2025, the Suns named Brian Gregory, a former college basketball coach and previously the team's vice president of player programming that prior season, as their new general manager, with James Jones moved down to a senior advisor role for the rest of his remaining contract that he had, which lasted until July 1 before taking on the NBA's Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations roles that were previously held by Joe Dumars on July 9 in order to try and help and help improve the game's short-term and long-term viability going forward.[3][4] On June 6, 2025, the Suns hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott to be their newest head coach, with him signing a four-year contract instead of the previous five-year deals the previous two head coaches had here.[5] On June 22, the Suns announced a trade involving Kevin Durant would be made official on July 6 as a record-breaking seven team trade with them acquiring not just rising star shooting guard Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, but also gained back their first round pick in the 2025 NBA draft that they previously lost in the initial Kevin Durant trade that got him in Phoenix in the first place (which later became South Sudanese freshman center Khaman Maluach from Duke University) alongside multiple early 2025 second round picks (which became power forward Rasheer Fleming from Saint Joseph's University (who was the first pick to start out the second round) and Dominican-American shooting guard Koby Brea from the University of Kentucky (who was the 41st pick)) and both a 2026 and 2032 second round pick from Houston, as well as Daeqwon Plowden (who later got waived by Phoenix) from the Atlanta Hawks.[6] Finally, on July 16, the Suns officially waived Bradley Beal's final two years from the original deal he signed with the Washington Wizards, effectively moving on from the failed superteam effort and getting under the second-tax apron again. With the changes made to the team throughout their offseason period, Phoenix is entering the season with the hopes of at least having a better season when compared to their previous season they played.

Offseason

Coaching staff changes

One day after the previous season ended for the Suns in a disappointing manner, on April 14, it was announced that Mike Budenholzer was officially fired from the role of head coach with the Suns despite still being owed $40 million left after four years from his original year in a manner similar to the previous head coach Budenholzer replaced, Frank Vogel. The primary reason related to the firing above many others related to the team's general disappointment to where the talent they had on display had them feeling that they were a much better team than the 36 wins that last season indicated they were.[7] Due to the nature of the previous head coaches they fired following Monty Williams' removal, they decided to not only go back to a more steady head coach searching process by stark contrast to the search they had before Mike Budenholzer was hired last season, but also focus more on a head coach that fit the needs of a young, first-time head coach that could connect more with the players on what the team's looking for over hiring a head coach that they felt could have helped get them the NBA Finals championship they were looking to get after last missing out on it in 2021. Head coaching candidates they looked into during the offseason period included former Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown, New Orleans Pelicans head coach (and former Suns assistant coach) Willie Green, Miami Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn, Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Johnnie Bryant and Jordan Ott, Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Sean Sweeney and Jared Dudley (the latter of whom also previously played for the Suns), Houston Rockets assistant coach (and South Sudan Bright Stars head coach) Royal Ivey, current assistant coach David Fizdale, current Brigham Young University head coach (and former Suns assistant coach) Kevin Young, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse, Boston Celtics assistant coach (and former Suns player) Sam Cassell, Washington Wizards assistant coach (and Australia Boomers head coach) Adam Caporn, Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Josh Longstaff, New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego, Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Steve Hetzel, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Dave Bliss, with the team saying they interviewed up to 20 potential candidates for the head coach position. Their second round of coaching interviews, which was announced on May 20, involved David Fizdale, Sean Sweeney, James Borrego, Johnnie Bryant, Jordan Ott, Steve Hetzel, Micah Nori, Dave Bliss, and Chris Quinn all making it through.[8] A third round of interviews was announced a week later, which was slated to have just about everyone outside of James Borrego and Steve Hetzel make it there, despite it initially being claimed to have been a final four in mind at first. The team then finally entered the month of June (more precisely, by June 2) with the decision of either Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Johnnie Bryant or Jordan Ott becoming their new head coach, with a final interview with team owner Mat Ishbia being involved there after previously having interviews with the team through Zoom.[9] After the interviews were concluded, the Suns announced that Jordan Ott would be the new head coach for the Suns on June 4, with Ott signing a four-year deal two days later, as well as gaining approval from both Suns legends Devin Booker and Steve Nash (the latter of whom he worked with as an assistant coach while with the Nets).[10]

Before the start of the 2025 NBA draft and during the 2025 NBA Finals, it was announced on June 11 that former NBA player and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach DeMarre Carroll would be the first assistant coach to join Jordan Ott's new coaching staff (later being confirmed to coach the team's 2025 NBA Summer League squad in Las Vegas, Nevada).[11] On July 8, the Suns announced that Washington Wizards assistant coach Brian Randle would return to the team as an assistant coach after previously being a part of Monty Williams' coaching staff for Phoenix from 2020–2023 (including the Suns' 2021 NBA Finals run), as well as retain Chaisson Allen as a part of their new coaching staff.[12] Two days after that, it was announced that both Suns assistant coaches Brent Barry and James Posey would officially leave the team, with Barry joining Dell Curry and Kevin Harlan as a part of Amazon Prime Video's new NBA coverage team and Posey becoming an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers,[13][14] with the Suns acquiring both Orlando Magic assistant coach (and University of Arizona alumni) Jesse Mermuys and former NBA player (and former teammate of Mat Ishbia during their 2000 championship run at Michigan State University and employee for his United Wholesale Mortgage company) Mateen Cleaves as new replacement assistant coaches for the respective roles of offensive coordinator and player development coach.[15] On July 19, Valley Suns affiliate head coach John Little would join Ott's coaching staff himself as an assistant coach.[16] On August 5, Mike Hopkins would be hired as an assistant coach and head of player development for the New Orleans Pelicans.[17] On August 9, former NBA power forward Mike Muscala would join Ott's coaching staff as an assistant coach.[18] On August 12, the Suns confirmed their newest coaching staff led by Jordan Ott to include Jesse Mermuys, former player DeMarre Carroll, 2021 NBA Finals assistant coach Brian Randle, Chaisson Allen (the sole holdover from last season's coaching staff), Valley Suns head coach John Little, former player Mike Muscala, and Loyola University Chicago's assistant/associate coach Sean Dwyer (who also has ties to Michigan State University) as Ott's assistant coaches alongside Mateen Cleaves being a player development coach as a leadership assistant there.[19] Finally, a day after the initial announcement, it was announced that former Charlotte Hornets head coach (and, at the time, current front office advisor) Steve Clifford would be hired as a last-minute part of the new coaching staff, with Clifford being a coaching advisor for the team.[20]

Front office changes

During the same interview where owner Mat Ishbia talked about Mike Budenholzer's failures with coaching the team for the previous season, he also noted that changes involving the structure of the front office would be involved in the offseason as well, with it being the most notable change for them to do first before making their head coach change at hand.[21] Early on in April, it was reported that the Suns were seriously interested in and looking into having former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers working with the team as their new general manager.[22] Despite those reports, however, the Suns announced on May 1 that former college basketball head coach and last season's vice president of player programming for the team, Brian Gregory, would take on the general manager role of the Suns going forward, with the former general manager and team president, James Jones, taking on the role of senior advisor for the team for he remainder of his original contract (which would expire once the free agency period began) before later taking on the NBA's Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations roles that were previously held by Joe Dumars on July 9 for the purpose of helping the product's short-term and long-term viability out for both the players in the league and the general public.[23][4] Not only that, but it was also announced that the team's director of scouting, Oronde Taliaferro, was promoted to the role of the assistant general manager next to Brian Gregory, with the team's chief innovation officer, Paul Rivers, also having additional basketball responsibilities to go with the chief innovation officer role with the team.[24] However, the notion of Michigan State University favoritism and Michigan bias following Mat Ishbia buying the Suns from Robert Sarver was brought into greater conversation due to the hiring of Brian Gregory, who had no prior front office experience either in the NBA or NCAA, and later with Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott, who went to Michigan State University for his master's degree and previously worked for the men's basketball team from 2008 until 2013 before beginning his assistant coach career, exacerbating the notion of Mat Ishbia having a potential bias favoring people that are from the state of Michigan, if not attended Michigan State University.[25][26] Gregory's notion of helping favoring Ishbia's potential favoritism for Michigan or Michigan State players would later be averted during the 2025 NBA draft with the selections the team made during that time, avoiding the selection of Jase Richardson from Michigan State following the return of the tenth pick for that draft in a planned Kevin Durant trade, though former Detroit Pistons and University of Michigan player Isaiah Livers would get one of the team's three open two-way contracts for the season despite being out for all of last season by a serious hip injury and former NBA and Michigan State guard.Mateen Cleaves would later be hired as a player development coach.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club
1 10 Khaman Maluach Center South Sudan South Sudan Duke
1 29 Liam McNeeley Small Forward United States United States Connecticut
2 31 Rasheer Fleming Power Forward United States United States Saint Joseph's
2 41 Koby Brea Shooting Guard United States United States
Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
Kentucky
2 52 Alex Toohey Small Forward Australia Australia Australia Sydney Kings (Australia)

The Suns originally entered this draft period (which would last for two days, similar to the previous year's draft) holding one first-round pick and one second-round pick, though not with the selections at their own areas at hand at that time.[27][28] For the first-round pick, they would acquire it last season by trading with the Utah Jazz, which resulted in them trading their 2031 first-round pick to Utah for the lesser first-round picks between the Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Cleveland Cavaliers in 2025, 2027, and 2029, with the Cavaliers being the team that the Suns got this year's first-round pick from.[29] As for the second-round pick, the Suns would also get it by a trade from last season, though this trade would involve the Charlotte Hornets where in exchange for Josh Okogie and three different second-round picks, the Suns would acquire center Nick Richards and a second-round pick that came from the Denver Nuggets originally.[30] As for the picks they lost this year, the first-round pick of theirs that they originally lost at the time was related to their trade where they first acquired star player Kevin Durant onto their team from the Brooklyn Nets originally before the Nets traded that pick (alongside multiple other selections, including other picks that the Suns had given to the Nets) to Houston before the 2024 NBA draft began,[31] while the second-round pick of theirs that they lost was related to the trade that got them star player Bradley Beal on their squad from the Washington Wizards in the first place.[32] However, it was announced on June 22 that following Kevin Durant's impending trade to the Houston Rockets (which was later made official by July 6 due to stipulations involving Jalen Green's rookie contract extension that was done on Houston's end before eventually expanding into a record-breaking seven team trade that involved other key players (including a two-way contract player from the Atlanta Hawks briefly coming to Phoenix as well) and draft picks being traded as well), the Suns would not only regain the first round selection that they had initially lost in the Kevin Durant trade this year, but also were originally slated to gain the very last selection of the draft that came from the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (alongside an originally planned four other second round picks, two of which would be picks coming in 2026 before it eventually later became both a 2026 and 2032 second-round pick alongside two early 2025 second-round picks by other teams for Phoenix) as well.[6] The 59th pick that was held by Houston before initially being traded to Phoenix became the final selection of the draft due to the New York Knicks being the only team to violate free agency rules earlier on, which forced them to be the only team to lose a second round pick for this draft after the previous three drafts each had two teams losing selections (two times happening to teams in a row in terms of original draft orderings), with one year including the Suns themselves due to free agency violations they made involving center Drew Eubanks.

On June 25, the first night of the draft, the Houston Rockets (in agreement with prior trade talks involving Kevin Durant) would select South Sudanese freshman center Khaman Maluach from Duke University for the Phoenix Suns. Maluach would be named a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference's All-Freshman Team in 2025 for his work as a teammate on a Duke squad that would reach the final four of the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, with the South Sudanese center also previously playing professionally for multiple African teams in the Basketball Africa League as well (to the point of even leading the league in rebounds for his final season there before going to Duke). Around the time Maluach was announced to be the Rockets' selection for the Suns, Phoenix was also announced to have traded the 29th pick they first held in the draft (which became freshman small forward Liam McNeeley from the University of Connecticut) alongside the 2029 first round pick that they got from the Utah Jazz and Serbian point guard Vasilije Micić (effectively trading Micić back to the team that first traded him to Phoenix months prior in February 2025 before he later got traded to the Milwaukee Bucks and subsequently got waived by them) for center Mark Williams and the return of Phoenix's own 2029 second-round pick they had first traded to Charlotte, with the trade later being made official on June 30.[33] On the second night of the draft, the Suns made multiple trades involving the initial second round selection(s) they were slated to have at the time of the first announcements made that day (which became Australian small forward Alex Toohey from the Sydney Kings in Australia's National Basketball League as the 52th pick and senior shooting guard Jahmai Mashack from the University of Tennessee as the 59th and final pick respectively) alongside the 36th pick of the draft (which the Suns briefly acquired at the time before being swapped around to eventually land with the Los Angeles Lakers, with the selection being junior small forward Adou Thiero from the University of Arkansas for the Lakers) being sent out in order to acquire the 31st and 41st picks of the draft as well. With the 31st pick starting the second round of this draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves would select junior power forward Rasheer Fleming from Saint Joseph's University for the Suns, while the 41st pick had the Golden State Warriors select super senior Dominican-American shooting guard Koby Brea from the University of Kentucky (previously the University of Dayton) for Phoenix. Fleming would be named an All-Atlantic 10 First Team member in 2025 for his production with Saint Joseph's, while Brea was named a two-time Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year winner in 2022 and 2024 for Dayton before being a two-time leader in three-point shooting for his final years he played out in both Dayton and Kentucky. After the draft ended, the Suns also agreed to pick up Appalachian State University's super senior power forward C. J. Huntley for a two-way contract.[34][35] Once the trade involving Kevin Durant was made official, Maluach and Flemeng signed standard rookie contracts, while Brea signed a two-way contract himself, similar to that of undrafted rookie C. J. Huntley.

Trades and Free agency

Before the start of the season, the Suns sought to get themselves off of Bradley Beal's remaining two years of his contract by any means necessary within the NBA's limits, as well as looked at the interest value in what they could get out of Kevin Durant in an effort to reorganize the team after two failed seasons in a failed superteam effort of sorts with Devin Booker being around from the very start of it all. On June 22, it was announced that a deal with Kevin Durant would be made official on July 6 (which later became a record-breaking seven team trade) with them sending Durant to the Houston Rockets in exchange for rising star shooting guard Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the return of their own first-round pick that they had initially lost (which was South Sudanese center Khaman Maluach from Duke University) in order to acquire Kevin Durant in the first place a few seasons ago, and multiple second-round draft picks (including two selections from other teams for this year's draft, one pick from Houston by someone else in 2026, and one pick from either Houston or the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2032) from Houston and two-way contract guard/forward Daeqwon Plowden from the Atlanta Hawks (who was later waived from the team after the trade was made official).[6] However, in addition to Durant's trade that was announced before the 2025 NBA draft began and Bradley Beal ultimately being waived from earlier on, both Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale have also been brought up into consideration for trade talks during the offseason period as well (with Nick Richards later being mentioned as well following the conclusion of the draft), which further added on to the notion of Phoenix looking to revamp their roster for this season. Outside of those trade efforts, the Suns also had free agency decisions on what to do with the non-guaranteed contracts of former Charlotte Hornets players Nick Richards, Cody Martin, and Vasilije Micić (the last of whom had this current season being held as a team option by the Suns at the time instead of as a non-guaranteed deal due to the original deal he signed back when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2023–24 season) before the 2025 NBA draft began; Micić would not only end up having his team option be picked up, but he would also be agreed to be involved in a trade alongside Phoenix's 29th pick in the draft (which became freshman small forward Liam McNeeley from the University of Connecticut) and the 2029 first round pick they acquired from the Utah Jazz all going (back) to the Hornets for center Mark Williams and the Suns' own 2029 second round pick coming (back) to Phoenix, which was first announced during the first round of the 2025 NBA draft before being made official on June 30.[33] The Micić trade done on the first night of the draft combined with the intended selection of South Sudanese center Khaman Maluach left new questions on the status of Richards (after previously being considered a 100% guaranteed contract extension for the team) and Martin staying on the Suns before June 30, but Richards would end up getting his upcoming season fully guaranteed by his deadline on June 29, while Martin got his final year waived by Phoenix a day after that.[36] Not only that, but they're also seeing the likes of Bol Bol, Tyus Jones, Damion Lee, Monté Morris, and Mason Plumlee all become unrestricted free agents, with two-way contracts Collin Gillespie, Jalen Bridges, and TyTy Washington Jr. all being restricted free agents for the Suns once free agency begins on June 30.

At the start of free agency, on June 30, Collin Gillespie would agree to sign a one-year deal worth the veteran's minimum due to Phoenix's financial standings against the second-tax apron at the time free agency began (which was later made official on July 2), thus getting a proper promotion for the team after previously signing a two-way contract last season (with the intention of promoting him to a standard contract earlier the previous season being available up until the Suns were eliminated from contention to participate in the 2025 NBA play-in tournament), as well as agreed to sign forward Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko out in Turkey's Basketbol Süper Ligi for his return to the NBA at 30 years old on a one-year deal (which was made official on July 10), while Tyus Jones would agree to sign a one-year deal with the Orlando Magic (which became official on the July 6 free agency moratorium period) and Mason Plumlee would agree to sign a one-year deal to return to the Charlotte Hornets (which was made official on July 13). Two days later, on July 2, Jalen Bridges would agree to sign a training camp deal with the Boston Celtics.[37] A day after that, power forward C. J. Huntley would officially sign a two-year two-way contract with the Suns after going undrafted from Appalachian State University in the 2025 NBA draft.[38][39] On July 6, the Suns' trade involving superstar power forward Kevin Durant going to the Houston Rockets would be made official as a record-breaking seven team trade that also saw the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Minnesota Timberwolves get involved also (mostly for second round selection and cash swapping purposes), with the Suns also acquiring a second two-way contract player in guard/forward Daeqwon Plowden from the Hawks joining the Suns' original haul they got from Houston (and later other teams) as well, though Plowden got waived from the team later on following the trade's completion.[40] On July 8, the Suns would officially sign former Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Livers to the final available two-way contract after previously giving out deals to rookies C. J. Huntley and Koby Brea.[41] A day after that, Devin Booker would agree to a two-year contract extension worth $145 million that would begin during the 2028–29 season and end by the 2029–30 season; Booker's salary extension would allow him to surpass NBA Finals MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the two years it would happen, with his new current deal starting this season now technically being a five-year deal worth $316 million.[42]

On July 16, they would also waive-and-stretch Bradley Beal's two years from his original contract that was considered untradable due to the remaining years being worth $110.8 million (despite the team's best abilities to do so thanks to the no-trade clause the Washington Wizards first gave to him), thus officially getting out of not just the newly-created second-tax apron that was meant to punish overtly-spending teams like Phoenix was, but also the original (first-)tax apron as well (though at the price of having over $20 million being held as dead money for the team for the next five years since Beal gave up $13.9 million while the Suns stretched the remaining $96.9 million throughout a five year period, starting with this season);[43] Beal would later sign a two-year deal worth the mid-level exception with the Los Angeles Clippers following his waive-and-stretch situation. On July 23, the Suns not only reacquired Jordan Goodwin onto the team by acquiring him off of waivers from the Los Angeles Lakers from the deal he originally had with the Lakers, but also signed Jared Butler from the Philadelphia 76ers on a one-year deal as well, though Jordan and Jared would compete for a regular roster spot against each other instead of take the final two roster spots at hand. On July 26, TyTy Washington Jr. would also agree to join the Los Angeles Clippers himself, albeit on a one-year deal.

Roster

Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 8 Grayson Allen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1995-10-08 Duke
G 1 Devin Booker 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1996-10-30 Kentucky
G 14 Koby Brea (TW) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2002-11-06 Kentucky
G/F 3 Dillon Brooks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1996-01-22 Oregon
G 25 Jared Butler 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 2000-08-25 Baylor
F 0 Ryan Dunn 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 2003-01-07 Virginia
F 20 Rasheer Fleming 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 2004-07-10 Saint Joseph's
G 12 Collin Gillespie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-06-25 Villanova
G 23 Jordan Goodwin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1998-10-23 Saint Louis
G 4 Jalen Green 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2002-02-09 Prolific Prep (CA)
F 21 Nigel Hayes-Davis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 254 lb (115 kg) 1994-12-16 Wisconsin
F 22 C. J. Huntley (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-01-06 Appalachian State
F 11 Oso Ighodaro 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 2002-07-14 Marquette
F 18 Isaiah Livers (TW) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1998-07-28 Michigan
C 10 Khaman Maluach 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 2006-09-14 Duke
F 00 Royce O'Neale 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 226 lb (103 kg) 1993-06-05 Baylor
C 2 Nick Richards 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1997-11-29 Kentucky
C 15 Mark Williams 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 2001-12-16 Duke
Head coach
Assistant(s)

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Updated: August 12, 2025

Game log

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.[44] 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 2019–20 Hong Kong protests at the time.[45][46] 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.[47] The Suns' final preseason game, which would also be against the Lakers, though it'd be on October 14 to close out the preseason, would officially be announced on July 30, 2025.

2025 preseason game log
Total: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
Preseason: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 October 3 @ L.A. Lakers Acrisure Arena
2 October 10 Brooklyn Macau Venetian Arena
3 October 12 Brooklyn Macau Venetian Arena
4 October 14 L.A. Lakers PHX Arena
2025–26 preseason schedule

Regular season

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.[48]

2025–26 game log
Total: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
October: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 October 22 Sacramento PHX Arena
October 31 Utah PHX Arena
November: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
November 21 Minnesota PHX Arena
November 26 @ Sacramento Golden 1 Center
November 28 @ Oklahoma City Paycom Center
December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
April: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
2025–26 season schedule

NBA Cup

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.

West Group A

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Qualification
1 Oklahoma City Thunder 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 Minnesota Timberwolves 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
3 Sacramento Kings 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Utah Jazz 0 0 0 0 0 0
First game(s) will be played: October 31, 2025. Source: NBA

Awards, honors, and records

  • 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.

Week/Month

All-Star

Records

Team records

Milestones

Team milestones

Transactions

Trades

June 30, 2025[49] To Phoenix Suns
United States Mark Williams
2029 second-round pick (from Phoenix via Charlotte)
To Charlotte Hornets
Serbia Vasilije Micić
Draft rights to Liam McNeeley (No. 29)
2029 first-round pick (from Cleveland, Minnesota, or Utah via Phoenix)[I]
July 6, 2025[50][51][52][53] Seven–team trade
To Houston Rockets
United States Kevin Durant (from Phoenix)
Switzerland Clint Capela (sign-and-trade deal from Atlanta)
To Atlanta Hawks
United States David Roddy (from Houston)
Rights to swap 2031 second-round pick with Houston
$85,300 (from Houston)
To Golden State Warriors
Draft rights to Alex Toohey (No. 52) [from Phoenix]
Draft rights to Jahmai Mashack (No. 59) [from Houston]
To Minnesota Timberwolves
Draft rights to Rocco Zikarsky (No. 45) [from L.A. Lakers]
2026 second-round pick (from Denver or Golden State via Phoenix)[II]
Most favorable 2032 second-round pick between Houston and Phoenix[III]
$3,250,000 (from L.A. Lakers)
To Los Angeles Lakers
Draft rights to Adou Thiero (No. 36) [from Brooklyn]
To Brooklyn Nets
2026 second-round pick (from Boston, Indiana, the L.A. Clippers, or Miami via Houston)[IV]
2030 second-round pick (from Boston via Houston)
To Phoenix Suns
United States Jalen Green (from Houston)
Canada Dillon Brooks (from Houston)
United States Daeqwon Plowden (two-way contract from Atlanta)
Draft rights to Khaman Maluach (No. 10) [from Houston]
Draft rights to Rasheer Fleming (No. 31) [from Minnesota]
Draft rights to Koby Brea (No. 41) [from Golden State]
2026 second-round pick (from Dallas, Oklahoma City, or Philadelphia via Houson)[V]
Least favorable 2032 second-round pick between Houston and Minnesota[III]

^ I: The 2029 first-round pick that the Phoenix Suns originally got from the Utah Jazz before trading it to the Charlotte Hornets would become the lesser available selection of first-round picks between the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Jazz themselves due to the previously mentioned trades involving Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert that were done by Utah in 2022. However, Minnesota's first round pick is considered Top-5 protected, meaning if it somehow goes inside of the Top-5 during that year, its protections can go into another year for the Jazz instead, leaving it as a choice of the lesser pick between Cleveland and Utah by that point in time instead.[54]
^ II: The 2026 second-round pick that originally would be going to Phoenix before sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the seven-team mega-trade would either be the lesser 2026 NBA draft selection previously held by the Denver Nuggets due to a previous trade the Suns made with Charlotte earlier in the year back in their previous season of play or by the Golden State Warriors through multiple trades on their end.
^ III: The 2032 second-round pick that would be sent to Minnesota will be the selection that's considered the higher selection between Houston and Phoenix, while the Suns would keep the lesser of the second-round picks between the Rockets and Timberwolves. As such, if the Suns have a worse record by 2032 than Houston, the trade would effectively be the Suns getting the worst selection between the Timberwolves and Rockets, while Houston sends out the Suns' second-round pick that year out to Minnesota alongside the Timberwolves keeping the remaining second-round pick of the three teams instead. However, if the Rockets hold a better record than the Suns by 2032, then Houston would send Phoenix's second-round pick either right back to the Suns or out to the Timberwolves (depending on which team between them had the better overall record by that year), while Minnesota would have both of the remaining second-round picks between the three teams instead.
^ IV: Due to another trade the Brooklyn Nets made with the Memphis Grizzlies (thus making the transaction more complex to cover efficiently due to the amount of previous trades involved before this one (including a previous deal involving the Suns, funnily enough)), the Nets will receive either the Los Angeles Clippers' own 2026 second-round pick without any stipulations involved with it or one of the second-round picks that was originally held by either the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, or Miami Heat, depending on which option is the least favorable amongst the four teams for this season of play.
^ V: Due to multiple trades that involved the Houston Rockets before the massive deal that the Suns made, the Rockets will give Phoenix the middle-valued draft pick in the 2026 NBA draft (with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder getting the most valuable of the upcoming selections and the San Antonio Spurs getting the least valuable of the upcoming selections by a different trade involving them) between the Dallas Mavericks, the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Free agency

Re-signed

Player Signed Date Ref.
Collin Gillespie Signed 1-year deal worth $2,378,870 July 2, 2025 [55]
Devin Booker Signed 2-year contract extension worth $145 Million July 9, 2025 [56]

Additions

Player Signed Former team(s) Ref.
C. J. Huntley Signed 2-year two-way contract worth around $1,272,870[57] Appalachian State Mountaineers [38][39]
Isaiah Livers Signed two-way contract worth $636,435[57] Detroit Pistons / Washington Wizards [41]
Nigel Hayes-Davis Signed 1-year deal worth $2,048,494 Turkey Fenerbahçe Beko [58][59]
Jordan Goodwin Signed 1-year partially guaranteed deal worth $2,349,578 Los Angeles Lakers
Jared Butler Signed 1-year non-guaranteed deal worth $2,461,463 Philadelphia 76ers

Subtractions

Player Reason New team(s) Ref.
Vasilije Micić Traded Charlotte Hornets / Milwaukee Bucks / Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. [33]
Cody Martin Waived [60]
Kevin Durant Traded Houston Rockets [6]
Daeqwon Plowden Waived two-way contract Sacramento Kings / Stockton Kings [52]
Tyus Jones Unrestricted free agent Orlando Magic
Mason Plumlee Unrestricted free agent Charlotte Hornets
Bradley Beal Waived Los Angeles Clippers
TyTy Washington Jr. Restricted free agent Los Angeles Clippers
Jalen Bridges Restricted free agent Boston Celtics
Bol Bol Unrestricted free agent
Damion Lee Unrestricted free agent
Monté Morris Unrestricted free agent

Notes

References

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