Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has certainly enjoyed a turbulent time since buying the franchise back in 2023.
We don't need to revisit every major moment up to this one, but there is no doubt the Kevin Durant trade will remain his defining moment until the Suns can do something to top that.
Ishbia more involved than ever in Phoenix and it is working
But whereas many fans believed Ishbia was too involved in the running of the organization across the last few seasons, which had led to the underwhelming results, the opposite was in fact true.
Ishbia telling Ryen Russillo on his podcast towards the end of last year that he actually was too hands off during the early part of his tenure and left the professionals to their jobs, but that this has now changed.
That might sound terrifying, but it has been anything but. Ishbia taking the criticism on the chin of hiring a head coach and General Manager with ties to Michigan State, and then watching both succeed.
The addition of Jordan Ott in particular looks like one of the smartest moves of the offseason across the entire league, while the front office continue to find gems to fill out the roster.
But it is the little things that he is now doing that are uniting a team and fanbase that had undoubtedly grown apart during the tail end of Durant's tenure. An issue the Houston Rockets are beginning to face themselves.
He has taken to social media on a few occasions now and offered up tickets or his own box if he can't make a game to fans, and this has gone down extremely well in The Valley.
It is a far cry from when Robert Sarver was in charge, with Ishbia clearly eager to bring everybody together in a way that just didn't happen prior to this season.
It also helps when the team is playing hard every night and is winning tough games, and the owner again taking to social channels to big them up on that front is another small way we are seeing improvement across the franchise.
This might seem like a small thing, but it also proves what Ishbia was bullish about going back to media day. The owner, front office and star player are aligned, and that is clearly true.
As long as he keeps reaching out to the fans and making the Suns free to watch in the state of Arizona, he will be doing his bit to get this franchise back to where it belongs.