First-year Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott received eclectic praise throughout the 2025-26 season for the impact he had on morphing Phoenix back into a playoff team.
An anonymous NBA player poll conducted by The Athletic (subscription required) shows that players around the league took notice.
Players vote Jordan Ott among ‘most impressive’ NBA coaches
In the anonymous poll, players were asked “which current coach, aside from your own, do you find most impressive?”
With 6.8% of respondents choosing him, Ott cracked the top five of NBA coaches who players around the league praised for their work this past season. Joe Mazulla, Mark Daigneault, J.B. Bickerstaff and Erik Spoelstra comprised the top four, respectively, with Mazulla receiving the biggest percentage of votes at 17.8%.
The “aside from your own (coach)” stipulation is key, showing that guys like Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie and other Suns players weren’t simply voting for the new head man they themselves praised throughout a winning season.
If players outside of the Suns organization are finding Ott’s exploits from the sidelines impressive, that bodes well for Phoenix’s front office being able to attract talent in free agency.
That’s especially important given the Suns traded away most of their draft capital in recent years to acquire Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and, most recently, center Mark Williams (who will now become a restricted free agent).
The Suns, barring a trade, are not going to be able to build through the draft process unless they find elite talent in Round 2 like the Denver Nuggets did with Nikola Jokic or Golden State nabbing Draymond Green after the first round.
Recent mock drafts have the Suns taking Arizona Wildcats point guard Jaden Bradley with the No. 47 selection this year.
Players tabbing Ott among the league's "most impressive" coaches shouldn't be much of a surprise. During his first year at the helm after being hired by Suns owner Mat Ishbia, Ott's Suns finished 10th in the league with a 113.9 defensive rating.
That marked a huge improvement over the season prior under former head coach Mike Budenholzer, whose Suns team with KD finished 28th in the NBA in that category by allowing 119.3 points per 100 possessions.
And while the Suns did experience an offensive dropoff without Durant, while also treading water as trade acquisition Jalen Green missed most of the season with a hamstring injury, their offensive rating of 115.4 ranked No. 16 in the NBA. Their offensive rating of 116.2 the season prior ranked 10th in the league by comparison.
Ott received some Coach of the Year buzz throughout his first season in The Valley, but if Ott's coaching acumen can attract free agents to pair with face of the franchise Devin Booker moving forward, that will be the bigger prize for both Ott and the Suns organization as a whole.
Ishbia has made clear he intends to move forward building around Book as the franchise cornerstone. If the Suns can do that by convincing free agents to get on board, there's a chance they can get back to contending for the Western Conference crown before Booker exits his prime years.
Time, obviously, will tell. But players around the league acknowledging Ott's standing as one of the league's more impressive coaches is a good place to start.
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