2025 was a weird one. The Phoenix Suns went from utterly disappointing to refreshingly fun. The Arizona Cardinals collapsed upon expectations that this would be the year.
The Arizona Diamondbacks set 2025 up to be one of the best teams in baseball before injuries, a trade deadline selloff and straight-up weird shenanigans derailed things — yet they were still alive until just a couple games were left in the season.
Arizona State football gave us perhaps the best game of the year on the first day of the year. In a loss.
Using the flat numbers of interest in stories for ArizonaSports.com and taking into account the context of the larger storylines, here were the 10 biggest stories of the 2025 calendar year.
Arizona State’s College Football Playoff appearance
The Big 12 pro day is slated for the middle of March in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The year 2025 started off with, arguably, the game of the year in the Arizona sports market, even if it did end up with the Sun Devils falling in double overtime to Texas, 39-31.
ASU’s magical first Big 12 season and bye in the evolving College Football Playoff format set them up against a Texas team that, on paper, had real title aspirations. Arizona State got down 17-3 midway through the second quarter and 24-8 with 10 minutes left in the game before Cam Skattebo’s literal puke-and-rally turned the tide.
He threw for a 42-yard score and rushed for two more to put the Sun Devils ahead 31-24 in the first overtime, finishing the game with 143 rushing yards, 99 receiving yards and 42 passing yards before a fourth-and-13 blitz call in the first overtime allowed Texas to quickly end the game on a single play in double overtime.
Was it enthralling? Yes.
Validating for Kenny Dillingham’s program. Yes.
Painful. Absolutely.
But Sun Devil fans are going to have that memory etched into their brains as the peak of a program revival.
The Kevin Durant era comes to the clunkiest of endings
Kevin Durant #35 of the Phoenix Suns looks on against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Toyota Center on February 12, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
The Kevin Durant era in Phoenix, unfortunately for his legacy, has deep ties to the Bradley Beal era.
Durant found himself on the way out of Phoenix, not because of his own doing, but because the Suns followed his acquisition to begin Mat Ishbia’s ownership tenure with a summer trade to further salary-lock the franchise. And when two seasons of subpar results led to Phoenix needing to hit the eject button, failed traction on any Beal trades led the Suns to go to the more realistic option: Trading Durant.
They did not handle it well. Beal rumors for months faded into a full-blown Durant news cycle around the Feb. 5 trade deadline, and you knew that once Durant was blindsided by that, his time in Phoenix was ticking away quickly.
The star ultimately remained professional to finish out the year with the Suns after he pushed back against a potential deal to rejoin the Golden State Warriors. Then it was into the offseason, where he had all the leverage to pick his own landing spot based on his contractual situation — he chose based on which team wouldn’t be gutted by acquiring his services.
Phoenix removed James Jones as the front office leader, promoted Brian Gregory and ate the results. On June 22, the agreed-upon deal got them Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the No. 10 pick in 2025 (used to select Duke center Khaman Maluach) as the main pieces of a return for Durant.
Josh Sweat deal was a sign that it was go-time for the Cardinals
Cardinals' Josh Sweat (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
This signing in March was supposed to signal that the third year of Monti Ossenfort’s and Jonathan Gannon’s time with the Cardinals was about punching the gas pedal.
The four-year, $76.4 million deal to land the former Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher still looks good in a vacuum
Sweat has matched a career-high 11 sacks heading into the season finale. He has 28 tackles, four forced fumbles and two passes defensed. Pro Football Focus has him at 44 pressures, good for just 32nd in the NFL. His impact beyond pass rushing can be argued about, but he has at least done his job.
His signing was supposed to signal excitement about the ceiling of the 2025 Cardinals. Looking ahead to 2026, it now represents one non-question as many other position groups and coaching jobs are expected to see heavy turnover this offseason.
Mike Budenholzer fired by the Suns
Head coach Mike Budenholzer of the Phoenix Suns watches the action during the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at Footprint Center on December 27, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after just a season on the job, where he led a team that somehow set the bar even lower than one-and-done predecessor Frank Vogel’s 2023-24 version.
The third firing of a head coach in three offseasons under Ishbia’s ownership was both needed and highly concerning because of the trend.
In 2022-23, months after Ishbia officially took over the team and immediately swung a trade for Durant, the Suns fell in a six-game conference semifinals series to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. Head coach Monty Williams was fired.
A Bradley Beal trade and Vogel hiring later, a first-round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves followed a 49-win regular season. Vogel was out the door.
Budenholzer’s 36 wins were not only the steep dropoff but an indictment of the Jones-led front office, which spent handsomely in the luxury tax to land poor results.
But yeah, the basketball product didn’t match the quickly changing pace of the rest of the NBA, nor the ability to match up against different styles.
And the effort? It was, frankly, sad.
Arizona ties in the NFL Draft are strong
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan celebrates after scoring against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Products from Arizona’s university system were well represented in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Skattebo didn’t take long to become one of the faces of a new-look New York Giants squad that also drafted quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first round. Skattebo, a fourth-round pick, piled up 410 yards and five touchdowns in eight games before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
Arizona Wildcats receiver Tetairoa McMillan was drafted eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers after finishing a record-setting college career. He didn’t take long to make an impact and has 929 receiving yards and seven touchdowns with a game to go.
Former Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (second round), kicker Tyler Loop (sixth round) and running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (seventh round) were also drafted.
Savaiinaea has played every snap of every game at left guard for the Miami Dolphins, while Loop has gone 29 of 32 (91%) on his field-goal attempts for the Baltimore Ravens.
Croskey-Merritt, who played just a single game at Arizona due to eligibility issues, has accounted for 776 rushing yards for the Washington Commanders.
Suns promote Brian Gregory from within, hire Jordan Ott
Phoenix Suns head coach, Jordan Ott attends the WNBA game between the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty at PHX Arena on August 30, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury defeated the Liberty 80-63. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
It did not look great that the Suns’ big shakeup of the front office was internally hiring Gregory.
Gregory was the vice president of player programming in 2024-25, and he had a year more of consultant work in the Suns’ front office with a lengthy college coaching background before that. He was a Michigan State assistant for much of his college tenure, and because of Ishbia’s strong ties there, it seemed something of a closed-minded move for Phoenix.
Ishbia additionally announced he was going to become more involved. That was his way of taking some accountability, but it was viewed publicly as a red flag, because he had already been deeply involved in key decisions, like getting the Durant deal with Brooklyn to the finish line.
Both the owner and GM promised to fix the obvious problems by building a gritty culture where effort was a non-negotiable.
Together, the new front office hired first-time head coach Jordan Ott after a meticulous, lengthy search (he, too, has Michigan State ties). Ott’s steady but stern “I’ve earned the right to be here” when asked about those Spartan ties projected a confidence about him.
Here’s where we are as 2026 nears, six months later: The Suns find themselves surprisingly in the heart of the playoff mix.
Ishbia, Gregory and Ott have gotten buy-in and fulfilled their promise to create a team fans could be proud of. Ishbia and Gregory may have accepted a sunk-cost return in the Durant trade to Houston, but getting back an enforcer like Dillon Brooks looks brilliant for this reset before we see if Jalen Green can take another step and if Maluach develops into a talented starting center.
Ott has optimized almost every rotation player, from Brooks to Devin Booker to Oso Ighodaro.
Now it’s on to resetting expectations and seeing how far they can go in the new year.
Corbin Burnes’ injury was symbolic of the Diamondbacks’ crummy health luck
Corbin Burnes #39 of the Arizona Diamondbacks (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The agreed-upon Corbin Burnes signing hit Dec. 30, 2024 — technically out of the 2025 calendar year.
But it set up 2025 for MLB watchers to exude confidence that the Diamondbacks might be the team to challenge the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Alas, Burnes’ elbow injury and need for Tommy John surgery in early June symbolized the D-backs’ poor injury luck. The ace, who held a 2.66 ERA and 1.17 WHIP after 11 starts, was joined on the injured list by backend relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, plus outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and first baseman prospect Tyler Locklear. Their long-term recoveries will leak into the 2026 season.
All of that set the Diamondbacks up to whiff on the preseason expectations.
But that storyline was hardly the weirdest part of their season.
D-backs trade deadline sell-off led to a failed rally
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Eugenio Suarez (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The Diamondbacks were 51-59 on Aug. 1, just after a trade season that saw them ship off the hot-hitting Eugenio Suarez, first baseman Josh Naylor, starting pitcher Merrill Kelly and pitchers Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery.
They made a 29-18 push over the next month-plus to reach 80-77 on Sept. 23 thanks to Geraldo Perdomo’s first career walk-off, which happened to come against the Dodgers.
But Arizona lost five straight to end the season and missed the playoffs. So the season ended with these line items:
– Their best stretch came after trading four of their best players across position groups.
– Their best starting pitcher still on the roster by the end of the year, Ryne Nelson, had begun the year as a reliever. Five players earned starting roles ahead of him coming out of spring (Kelly could be in this conversation since he had a better WHIP and ERA than Nelson … and is back on the team after it re-signed him as a free agent).
– Arizona’s best player was Perdomo, who was so good that he received some NL MVP voting love despite being on a team with Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll, neither of whom had poor seasons by any means.
– Marte’s house was robbed during the All-Star break, and he missed time coming out of it. It was revealed he had a habit of asking for days off, and that ruffled feathers inside the organization. Marte ultimately apologized but has since been mentioned as one of MLB’s most talented trade candidates.
– The D-backs lost games in which they scored 10 runs in a single inning; had a player, Suarez, hit four home runs in an 8-7 loss to the Braves; and after scoring 12 runs, a 14-12 defeat against the 43-119 Colorado Rockies.
Loss to Titans on a Demercado fumble was the beginning of the end for the Cardinals, and likely Kyler Murray
Cardinals' Emari Demercado (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
On Oct. 5, the Cardinals fell 22-21 to a previously 0-4 Tennessee Titans.
Arizona led 21-6 early in the fourth quarter when running back Emari Demercado burst for what could have been a 72-yard touchdown and 28-6 lead. He instead dropped the ball before it crossed the goal line. The Titans scored 16 points, all of the two teams’ combined second-half scoring, from there.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray called it the worst loss of his career, and little did we know that game would be his last in uniform this season.
Murray’s foot issue lingered, while backup Jacoby Brissett’s close-but-not-quite play pushed criticism Murray’s way while he was hurt. Now, Arizona enters the offseason with it looking like it could be the end of Murray’s time in town.
But while he might be the easy scapegoat with not enough success in seven seasons, the issues go deeper.
The Cardinals’ depth has not held up — to be fair, the injury volume for them has been league-leading.
Brissett functionally has looked the part of a potential 2026 starting quarterback if Murray is searching for a fresh start, but he is 1-10 as a starter with the Cardinals (20-44 in his career). The talent around him isn’t enough.
Gannon’s and Ossenfort’s jobs are potentially on the line, and the types of questions about where Arizona goes from here are diverse.
Sam Leavitt’s departure was not a Kenny Dillingham foreshadowing
ASU's Sam Leavitt, Kenny Dillingham (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
While ASU didn’t repeat and win the Big 12 after 2024, head coach Kenny Dillingham validated that last season wasn’t a fluke. The Sun Devils won eight regular-season games after losing Skattebo to the NFL and with quarterback Sam Leavitt missing much of the season due to injury.
Heavier roster turnover is going to come in 2026, but the most surprising was the midseason hints that Leavitt, whose season was shut down due to a leg injury, could leave.
Leavitt informed the ASU staff that he will enter the portal, and while Dillingham could only express thanks for the service and confidence that he’ll have a pretty good quarterback in 2026, the coach’s own return became a storyline.
After fending off minor mentions to take more appealing college football jobs, the sudden opening at Michigan and the Wolverines’ serious interest led to worry until Arizona State amended Dillingham’s contract.
He will be back at his alma mater for another year, where he’ll have to do some serious roster building ahead of next season.