The Phoenix Suns enter the 2025-26 regular season in a much different place than when we last saw them play. Kevin Durant is long gone from The Valley – and Netflix is currently giving us another look at that ugly split – while Bradley Beal also headed to Los Angeles after being bought out.
Not that all this is necessarily bad. Through four preseason games, the Suns have played with more heart and effort than we’ve seen for much of the regular season, with guys like Dillon Brooks and Collin Gillespie personifying this new commitment to effort. Then there’s Jordan Goodwin and Jared Butler, who have given this franchise the kind of problem it desperately needed.
ESPN believes Suns can make the play-in this season.
Despite many pundits predicting the Suns will be one of the three worst teams in the Western Conference this season – as they struggle to break the 30-win mark – ESPN is not one of those doubters. Kevin Pelton ran its annual simulation of the season – and while there’s talk that the Suns will stumble out of the gate to a 10-16 start, things will only get better from there.
By the end of the season, the team will have covered 42-40 miles – miles better than most others’ predictions – on their way to finishing ninth and making the play-in tournament. While the preseason is no indication of how an entire season will go, there is reason to be confident that Pelton has done this well.
ESPN’s season simulation shows the Kings defeated the T-Wolves in the Play-Ins to face the first-seeded Warriors… https://t.co/6ewpksh53d pic.twitter.com/EsSFmDup4x
— Kings Uni tracker (@SacKings_Unis) October 14, 2025
They’re already playing — and playing well — without two of their five starters in Jalen Green and Mark Williams, while players like Grayson Allen and rookie Khaman Maluach are off to a good start. But this roster has experienced players like Brooks and Booker who don’t want to lose a single game.
Yes, there are three rookies and a couple of sophomores in Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, but the mix of veterans, youngsters and guys playing for their futures in Goodwin, Butler and Gillespie is just now right. The franchise also has no reason to tank, as their own first-round picks were long ago traded for players like Durant and Beal.
Then don’t be surprised if this group is playful and competes for a play-in spot all season long. Booker has a big campaign coming up while Durant was in town, while Green already has All-Star potential at just 23 years old. Center Maluach represents perhaps the biggest variance of all – and if he improves ahead of schedule – better days will soon return to Phoenix.
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