The Phoenix Suns just finished off the final chapter of their Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Great Gatsby, or Catcher in the Rye. Having won more games than any other group in franchise history this year, the Valley Boys wrote an all-time classic—a masterpiece even—which fans will want to dust off and re-read for years to come.
While Devin Booker and Chris Paul were certainly the lead writers on this project, both earning All-Star nods and at different times attaining MVP buzz, they got plenty of help.
Polishing off a Defensive Player of the Year caliber season, Mikal Bridges played every game for Phoenix this year, tormenting his opponents night in and night out with his smothering seven-foot wingspan and relentless hustle. Deandre Ayton elevated his game as well, deepening his offensive bag with a more consistent jump shot.
Rounding out the group, Cameron Johnson developed into one of the game’s most accurate marksmen from deep. Cameron Payne and Jae Crowder both hit some big shots while consistently pumping energy into the team. Behind those guys, role players Aaron Holiday, Torrey Craig, JaVale McGee, Bismack Biyombo, and Landry Shamet filled in the remaining gaps about as well as anyone could have imagined.
Like a lead editor, Monty Williams sewed it all up in exquisite fashion. Being a shoe-in for the league’s Coach of the Year award, he deserves the world, and then some.
But although the Suns are already looking to put together the perfect epilogue or sequel to the 2021-22 season by way of an extensive playoff run, fans would be selling themselves short by not taking one final look at everything the regular season had to offer.
So to soak it all up now, and as a tool to remember down the line, enjoy these five games which best represented Phoenix’s almost perfect campaign.