The Phoenix Suns have surpassed every expectation set out for them already this season, and we haven’t even hit the All-Star break.
While the players have rightly received much of the praise for how they continue to battle for a spot in the playoffs, head coach Jordan Ott has been crucial to the success relative to these expectations in The Valley.
Win over Pistons boosts Ott’s Coach of the Year case
The importance of Ott to this group was never more evident than in Thursday’s win over the Detroit Pistons, who just so happen to be the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.
What made the manner of the 114-96 beat down was the fact the Suns achieved this without their two best offensive players in Devin Booker and Jalen Green, which made this recent take on Booker laughable in the process.
"There's no right or wrong when it comes to your teammates or your coaches."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 30, 2026
Dillon Brooks giving his side to a conversation with Jordan Ott during a timeout in Suns win over Pistons as Ott said he was wrong and Brooks was right about play calls.
"JO is almost never wrong."
On… pic.twitter.com/RZ05jaIfXZ
What coach Ott has managed to do with this roster sounds simple, but in the NBA it is anything but. Playing harder than your opponent every single night isn’t just about effort, it is a skill and one that requires a coach to know when to really push his team to go out there and turn the screw.
There was a brilliant sound bite from Dillon Brooks’ media availability in the aftermath of the victory over Detroit that also highlights both how valuable Ott already is to the organization, and gave us some insight into how he operates with this team.
Brooks spoke about how coach Ott is “almost never wrong”, but that he had said in a timeout that his play calls were incorrect and that it was Brooks who was right in that moment. That kind of mentality from a head coach is exactly why the chemistry has been on point this season.
That Ott then came to the podium himself in one of the “Villain” t-shirts the Suns were giving away on the night was again one of the little things that make a huge difference over the course of a long season. He’s not just the leader of this roster, he’s able to get involved and have a joke while also having the final say.
That is an incredibly difficult act to balance, and it is the secret sauce to coach Ott’s Coach of the Year candidacy. Which on the basis of a win without Booker that takes the Suns to 29-19, should be gathering serious momentum.