Sometimes, sports and fairy tales intersect. Sometimes, the greatest stories rise from the pits of despair.
The 2008 Cardinals lost by 40 points to a backup quarterback in New England, an effort that had Kurt Warner shaking his head in disgust. Yet once that team tasted real shame, they went on a run that didn’t end until the Super Bowl.
The Suns are flirting with their own happy ending.
Something changed dramatically after a brutal loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, when our beloved NBA franchise was eviscerated by the halftime hosts before a national audience. A team that went over six weeks without back-to-back victories has now won four consecutive games.
Could this team conceivably make a run at real glory, emerging as a real threat to the Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs?
It’s a heavy question, and one of many lingering over Planet Orange. This much is certain:
Surrounding Kevin Durant and Devin Booker with high-energy, maximum-effort, defensive-minded role players is bringing out the best in everyone, including the Suns’ superstars. The team is suddenly connected. The vibe and joy have returned. They have undergone a remarkable transformation, from a wholly unlikeable team to an underdog group again rallying the Valley.
This is astonishing. The Suns have found real elevation with two rookies, two players acquired from the lowly Charlotte Hornets and a G League player whose current designation makes him ineligible for the postseason. Meanwhile, Durant and Booker look like they’re back in Paris, when they repped our country like the best tandem in basketball.
EVERY ANGLE OF RYAN DUNN'S POSTER SLAM.
RT IF YOU LOVE OUR ROOKIE. pic.twitter.com/SrxN3bUbUY
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 25, 2025
There are metrics that explain their change of fortune. The Suns have been a very good offensive team since the All-Star break. But now, their team defense is no longer a sorry sieve of indifference. It has improved from pathetic to combative, from soft to thorny. It’s making a huge difference.
But there’s something beyond the numbers. There’s a new spirit and a new chemistry. There’s an entirely new lineup on the court, but it feels like it did at the beginning of the season, when the Suns looked like they were going to win every game they played.
What does this say about Bradley Beal’s impact on the group? Will head coach Mike Budenholzer keep Beal on the sidelines when he’s cleared for a return to action? And how much did Budenholzer err by straying from his two rookies in the first place, when the defensive inadequacies were so obvious?
Will the late surge change the calculus regarding a Durant trade in the offseason? And is Durant willing to stay in a place he never wanted to leave?
Heavy questions, indeed.
For now, it’s enough that the Suns are regaining their dignity and credibility. It’s enough that they’re making basketball fun for all of us once again.
Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta mornings from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports.