Ott becomes the Phoenix Suns' fourth head coach in four years after they missed the 2025 NBA Playoffs with the highest payroll in the league.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 18: Summer League head coach Jordan Ott of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half of a 2024 NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 18, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 93-89.
After missing the playoffs with the highest payroll in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns hired Jordan Ott as head coach in replacement of Mike Budenholzer. The team has now had four different coaches in the past four seasons.
In his introductory press conference, Ott addressed the challenge of leading a team that has underperformed in recent years. Phoenix also has a looming decision to make on Kevin Durant, who, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, is expected to be traded sometime soon.
“We’re all aware of what we sign up for when we’re an NBA basketball coach,” Ott said on Tuesday. “I’m not here to look back, what’s happened, I’m focused to move this thing forward. That’s my sole energy.”
Ott was a former assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, helping lead them to their best record in more than 15 years. He previously spent time on the coaching staffs of the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, and was a video coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks.
Suns Recent Coaching History
The Suns made their third-ever NBA Finals appearance in 2021 under head coach Monty Williams, with a team that looks vastly different from their currently constructed roster. Over the next two seasons under Williams, with a huge change of player personnel, Phoenix lost in the second round in both the 2022 and 2023 playoffs.
Phoenix fired Williams in the summer of 2023 and replaced him with former Lakers coach Frank Vogel. Under Vogel, the Suns had a 49-33 regular season record, but the Minnesota Timberwolves swept them in the first round of that year’s playoffs.
This past season, Phoenix hired Budenholzer to lead the NBA’s largest payroll in league history. The team finished 10th in the West, missed the playoffs for the first time in four years, and faced internal controversy and persistent trade rumors.
This is where Ott comes in. A first-time head coach leading a team that has been on one of the steepest downhill slides in recent years. He has no previous head coaching experience, despite following three predecessors who have a combined three decades of experience in the position.
Phoenix’s first-year general manager, Brian Gregory, reiterated the team’s confidence in the hire and their belief that Ott was the fix to their recent struggles.
“At the end of it, no question, clear choice, Jordan Ott stood out in every single stage of the process,” Gregory said during the press conference. “What we’re bringing in today is a hungry assistant coach, who is now a head coach and spent 12 years in the NBA preparing for this day.”
Ott Addressed Michigan State Rumors
Before rising to the professional ranks, Ott was a video coordinator for Michigan State’s basketball team, years in which he earned his master’s degree. While owner Mat Ishbia and GM Gregory both also have ties to the university, Ott shot down any rumors that his hiring had anything to do with his alma mater.
“I’ve earned the right to be here,” Ott said. “I’ve spent 20 years of working as hard as I possibly can to be here in this spot…Great coaches, great players to allow me to grow, put me in tough spots to see if I can get better. So I know I’ve earned this opportunity.”
During Ott’s 12 total seasons in the NBA, his teams have made the postseason in 10 of those years. He was also a key piece in the Cavaliers’ 64 regular season wins with a league-leading 121.0 offensive rating.