Valley of the Suns
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Phoenix Suns announce training camp schedule, and we couldn’t be more excited

By Adam Maynes

TARRYTOWN, NY - AUGUST 12: DeAndre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns plays with the DJ during the 2018 NBA Rookie Shoot on August 12, 2018 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images)
TARRYTOWN, NY - AUGUST 12: DeAndre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns plays with the DJ during the 2018 NBA Rookie Shoot on August 12, 2018 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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There is an anticipation surrounding the Phoenix Suns this offseason that hasn’t been felt in at least five years, and the announcement of the 2018 Training Camp schedule should make all Suns fans even more giddy.

We already know the first regular season date (October 17, versus the Dallas Mavericks), and the first preseason date (October 1, versus the Sacramento Kings), but we had yet to know when the team would begin their first training camp under new head coach Igor Kokoskov with their new franchise center Deandre Ayton, until now:

The Phoenix Suns will open their 2018 training camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff on September 25, stretching for four days through the 28th.

They then will host an open practice on September 29 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix.

That means, from the date of the camp schedule announcement (Friday, August 28), there are only 31 days until the start of the 2018-19 season – that is until training camp – and we here at the Valley of the Suns couldn’t be more excited.

The NBA has done a great thing by marketing the Summer League, and specifically the tournament held in Las Vegas, giving fans an early glimpse at their team’s newest draftees and other young players well before the start of the season. Both television ratings and attendance of games have grown over the past few years, and the round robin and tournament have grown into quite the spectacle.

That said, the Summer League is only for a week in the middle of July and fans are forced to wait for another two months or so before they can see their full team in action, this time in scrimmages against themselves.

Unlike the MLB, who now announces their schedules earlier and earlier than ever (I used to think that the announcement of the following season’s schedule during the World Series was awfully early, and yet now they’re releasing it in August), the NBA takes their time when releasing their schedules with training camp traditionally being the last piece of the schedule puzzle shared with fans.

And yet training camp is the part of the triad of dates that is both most affordable (the open practice is free to the public), and that gives fans another look at Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Elie Okobo, George King, with a first look at Trevor Ariza, before games against actual opponents truly begin.

Deandre Ayton will win the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year award. dark. Next

While many do not expect the Suns to make a run at the playoffs, they are expected to improve and the hype surrounding a Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant 2.0 developing between Ayton and Devin Booker is enough to make even the most average Suns fan pique their interest in the upcoming season.

So here’s to the end of Summer (Sept. 23) and the start of the 2018-19 Suns training camp just two days later!

We’re a month away, and we here at the Valley of the Suns couldn’t be any more excited!

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