Phoenix Suns, Mat Ishbia
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Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia looks on during the second quarter of the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns at State Farm Arena on January 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Phoenix Suns governor Mat Ishbia kept receipts. His team was widely expected to be lottery-bound at the start of the 2025-26 season, with oddsmakers setting their over-under for wins at 30.5 games and most basketball pundits projecting them to finish in the bottom half of the Western Conference.
Entering the All-Star break, the Suns (32-23) are just 1.0 game behind the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers (32-21) for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot.
Ishbia called out The Ringer’s Bill Simmons for not believing in his Suns.
“32 wins for the Suns and all before the All-Star break… think that puts us above your season prediction/bet of under 31.5 wins @BillSimmons! [eyes emoji] You guys usually have great content and good stuff… thanks for all you do,” Ishbia wrote on X.
“But also keep your eye on the Suns, like I told you… we have a different culture and team in PHX these days. We still have a long way to go but we are working hard to get there. Go Suns!”
Mat Ishbia
32 wins for the Suns and all before the All-Star break… think that puts us above your season prediction/bet of under 31.5 wins @BillSimmons! 👀 You guys usually have great content and good stuff… thanks for all you do. But also keep your eye on the Suns, like I told you… we
Phoenix Suns Turnaround
This year’s Suns are just five wins away from surpassing last year’s 36-46 squad, which featured Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal on the wings alongside Devin Booker. Despite all that offensive firepower, the Suns couldn’t establish a consistent rhythm, finishing 14th in offensive rating and failing to qualify for the play-in. Even worse, their 27th-ranked defense made them a soft and vulnerable team lacking toughness.
All that changed this offseason with the Suns trading for Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams, two defensive-minded players, and entrusting young players like Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin with bigger roles. Furthermore, their head-coaching change from Mike Budenholzer to Jordan Ott has also paid off instantly.
Bill Simmons Responds
In his response to Ishbia, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons referenced last year’s Budenholzer-led Suns that finished 36-46 after being projected to win nearly 50 games.
“For the record — I picked the Suns to win 50+ games last season and never heard a peep from you when you went 36-46. So I was wrong twice,” Simmons wrote.
The Suns (32-23) suffered a 136-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-13), the reigning NBA champions, in their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday. They will return to action Feb. 19 in against the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns could potentially win 50 games and still not make the playoffs, a testament to the might of the West. Regardless of how their season ends, Ishbia and the Suns have a lot to celebrate as they enter the 2026-27 season, having established a new culture, for which Dillon Brooks has received the lion’s share of the credit.
“I’ve been around some guys that only bring it out during games,” head coach Jordan Ott said of Brooks earlier this year, via NBA.com. “But he brings it out every day in practice, and I think he’s dragged a couple people with him. Some guys that I probably wouldn’t assume practice that intense every single day. He raises everyone’s level.”