Phoenix Suns: Is This Chris Paul’s Best Team Ever?

The Phoenix Suns own an extensive basketball history, as does point guard Chris Paul. Playing at the NBA level for a whopping 16 years now, he knows his way around the league, having run with several different teams and beside countless superstar players.

But last year, he finally reached the NBA Finals, a goal which he infamously missed out on time after time throughout his career. Although Paul failed to walk away from it with a Larry O’Brien trophy in hand, the Suns team which helped catapult him there still earned nation-wide praise for its competitiveness and poise under head coach Monty Williams.

Still looking to rebound from the loss though, the Suns spent their most recent offseason retooling their team, improving it by notable standards. They first brought over sharpshooter Landry Shamet from the Brooklyn Nets, but then also added high-flyer JaVale McGee and Elfrid Payton.

Surely with more talent, this incoming team looks ready to make a greater claim to the NBA’s throne this season. But does that make it better than last year’s Western Conference winning squad, and beyond that, better than every other team which Paul formerly played for?

Will the 2021-22 Phoenix Suns be Chris Paul’s Best Team Ever?

With so many seasons at Paul’s back, cutting through the less impressive teams he played for comes as the first task in answering this question.

To pull out the weeds, let’s narrow it down to the 2007-08 New Orleans Hornets, the 2013-14 Los Angeles Clippers, the 2014-15 Los Angeles Clippers, the 2017-18 Houston Rockets, and of course the 2020-21 Phoenix Suns. These teams posted the five highest winning percentages across Paul’s career, and achieved the most playoff success.

From that point on, this breakdown includes both general skill, as well as head-to-head favor.

The 2021-22 Phoenix Suns vs the 2007-08 New Orleans Hornets

People forget that CP3 actually enjoyed some fruitful days down on the bayou. During the 2007-08 season, the New Orleans Hornets went 56-22, even earning the Western Conference’s second seed.

The Hornets consequently made their way to the postseason, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs after a gruesome seven game series. They averaged a +5.3 point per game differential for the season, shot 46.6 percent from the field, as well as 38.9 percent from deep.

Paul clearly lead the way, averaging 21.1 points per game, but David West, Peja Stojakovic, and Tyson Chandler helped behind him, collectively averaging 49.3 points per game.

We know not what stats or wins this year’s Suns team might attain, but based of last year’s and their additions this season, they still seem like the better group. The 2020-21 Suns averaged a slightly better point per game differential at +5.8 points, and shot much better from the field at 49.0 percent.

The Hornets barely put up better 3-point shooting numbers, just by 1.1 percent. However, you can bet the addition of sharpshooter Landry Shamet will push them over that mark this coming year.

Even with this Hornets team also looking better set up on the glass with prime West and Chandler, last year’s Suns team still averaged more rebounds per game. Adding JaVale McGee only improves that as well. Controlling the glass, averaging more points, and under greater efficiency surely makes this year’s Suns the better group.

The 2021-22 Phoenix Suns vs the 2013-14 Los Angeles Clippers

The “Lob City” Los Angeles Clippers put on one of the best shows in NBA history. They finished with a 57-25 record, losing out to Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder after a second round, six game bout.

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As the highest ranked offensive team during that season, the Clippers shot 47.4 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from range, and put up a +6.9 point per game differential. Blake Griffin terrorized teams with 24.1 points per game, and Paul followed behind him with 19.1 points per game.

But even after those guys, this team ran incredibly deep. At the shooting guard spot, J.J. Redick averaged 15.1 points per game and Jamal Crawford added 18.6 points off the bench. The Clippers also saw double-digit scoring come from Darren Collison and prime DeAndre Jordan.

This offseason, the Suns added 37.9 points per game with their additions, while parting ways with players who averaged a collective 19.9 points per game. This improvement likely pushes Phoenix’s +5.8 point per game differential up closer to that of the Clippers. But still, this Los Angeles squad strikes as the better group when coming back to their depth.

With this year’s Suns set to field the undersized Jae Crowder at power forward, prime Griffin likely eats him for breakfast. Devin Booker contrarily enjoys a field day with Redick defending him, while other starters Deandre Ayton/Mikal Bridges and DeAndre Jordan/Matt Barnes cancel each other out.

From that point on though, the Clippers wield a strong advantage. Unless both Cameron Payne and Cameron Johnson improve their scoring outputs by a collective 12.0 points per game this coming year, than LA ends up with a strong edge off the bench.

In all honesty, this team should have made it to the NBA Finals, so it comes a no insult to declare them as a more talented team than the 2021-22 Suns.

The 2021-22 Phoenix Suns vs the 2014-15 Los Angeles Clippers

A year later, the Clippers still put up a fantastic 56-26 record, but once again prematurely fell off the postseason stage, this time to to James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

This Clippers team very distinctly reflects the one prior, but its biggest difference came with regard to 3-point shooting. Improving their willingness to let it fly, this team took 26.9 triples per game, rather than 24.0 from the year prior. Other than that though, this team’s point differential, shooting percentages, and rebounds per game all changed by less than a single point from the year before.

With this team essentially looking exactly the same, but now more reliant on the triple, the Suns gain favor as a team built to defend that very shot, and eventually emerge as the better team.

Almost like setting a trap for the Clippers, Phoenix’s astute wing defenders can allow this group to continue launching up shots from deep—and forcing them to miss, as it remains what they do best. Last season, the Suns clocked in as a top five team in lowest opponent 3-point percentage, and as a top 10 team in fewest opponent 3-pointers made per game.

But this coming year, they will only improve. As young players, Mikal Bridges Cameron Johnson likely become much better defenders under another year Jae Crowder’s tutelage.

Last year’s Clipper team only slightly outshines this year’s Suns team, but with a huge change in its offensive tendencies that play into Phoenix’s strengths—if the Suns were to beat either Clipper team, it has to be this one.

The 2021-22 Phoenix Suns vs the 2017-18 Houston Rockets

This Houston Rockets team nearly accomplished the unthinkable: taking down the prime Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately though, Paul injured his hamstring during the series’s sixth game, contributing greatly to the team’s demise following a seven game series.

Still, this group went 65-17, putting up the only winning percentage better than Phoenix’s from last year. They also built up the best scoring differential across this list with +8.5 points per contest for the season.

Paul also played with his greatest teammate during this campaign, MVP James Harden, who averaged 30.4 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game. Paul himself added 18.6 points per contest, and Eric Gordon came on with 18.0 per game.

These Rockets also carried some sneaky depth by way of Gerald Green, Trevor Ariza, and Clint Capela, who collectively averaged 37.7 points per game. But even with such offensive skill, this group still stacked up incredibly well at floor’s the other end, allowing the sixth fewest opponent points per game that season.

Although these Rockets also play into Phoenix’s defensive strengths by averaging a wild 42.3 triples per game, they possess greater floor spacing than the 2014-15 Clippers, with eight players shooting above 35.0 percent from range. This makes these Rockets a totally different type of 3-point shooting team to defend…and one that this year’s Suns would more likely become overwhelmed with strictly due to its historic greatness.

At the same time, Harden strikes as a serious X-Factor here, with Paul obviously matching up with himself, and Deandre Ayton matched up against Clint Capela. Despite Devin Booker’s general basketball talent, he absolutely lacks the defensive skills to slow down peak Harden.

This team took arguably the greatest team ever assembled to seven games, and possessed a top five all-time offense by many accounts. So to an even greater extent than with the 2013-14 Clippers, the Suns deserve to feel no shame when falling below them.

The 2021-22 Phoenix Suns vs the 2020-21 Phoenix Suns

Everyone naturally wants to know if this coming year’s Suns will outshine last year’s, but these teams naturally stack up incredibly close to each other being separated by just one offseason. Phoenix returned its entire starting five from last year, with Torrey Craig and Jevon Carter resembling the only notable departures from the rotation.

Again, Phoenix’s offseason additions outscored their subtractions by 18.0 points per game last year, which works as an undeniable argument in favor of this coming year’s team. But another component even more so presents the 2021-22 Suns as the better squad than its predecessors.

The most common characteristic across last year’s Phoenix team was youth. With exception to Chris Paul and Jae Crowder, literally every other player within the rotation is expected to improve over the next coming years.

So with that phenomenon considered, elevation should take place for several players during this coming season, naturally elevating the team as well.

The 2020-21 Suns poise to go down as an unforgettable team, and this year’s group might not make make the Finals like they did, but with this age factor acknowledged, it makes zero sense for Phoenix to digress.

So with the 2021-22 Suns shaping up to exceed last year’s crew, that puts them as Paul’s third best team of all time. But who knows? An MVP season from Devin Booker, 65+ plus win campaign, or another run to the Finals might push this group to the top.

Despite being the “Point God,” Paul cannot look into the future and see for sure what this year’s team accomplishes. Just like the rest of us, he needs to wait and see.