Phoenix Suns' owner Mat Ishbia had a ton of doubters heading into this season, but few were as vocal as Bill Simmons.
The Ringer's own taking shots at the mortgage mogul any time that he could, and it got tasty when Ishbia clapped back on social media when Simmons claimed the Suns would be the worst defensive team in the league.
Simmons finally gives Ishbia his flowers on turning Phoenix around
With the regular season drawing to a close, Simmons was gracious enough on the most recent episode of his podcast to admit he got the Suns and Ishbia wrong in 2025-26.
Simmons was particularly complimentary of the fact that the Suns became watchable again, a problem the Houston Rockets now appear to have since taking on Kevin Durant.
Phoenix now playing hard every night (when healthy) and showing off all manner of exciting guys such as Collin Gillespie and Dillon Brooks.
Even rookies Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Maluach bring intrigue, while who hasn't enjoyed Grayson Allen taking on a bigger role from time-to-time?
Simmons didn't stop the love-in there however, also marvelling at the front office's ability to have any assets at all moving forward.
Most would have said that Phoenix had one of the mosk bleak outlooks in the league prior to the season beginning, but that is no longer the case.
Bill Simmons and Mat Ishbia every 3 months pic.twitter.com/ZWmbhze7O9
— Devin (@Dev_ATX) February 11, 2026
Making the playoffs means the first round picks they traded away become less enticing, while players such as Allen and Jalen Green certainly have worth throughout the league.
Now is not the time to go all-in for another star, but at least the franchise has younger players who they could package together down the road when the time is right.
This campaign was all about getting the fans back onside, and Ishbia has succeeded. A small subsection are unhappy with how the team has tailed off recently, but they have surpassed all expectations.
That Simmons (who wouldn't always own up to his blunders) was willing to shout out Ishbia after their little back-and-forth earlier in the season shows you how quickly things have turned around in The Valley.
Perhaps the team can go one better in the postseason and actually make some noise, although even a competitive first round series will be more than enough to head into the offseason full of confidence.
From there Ishbia will have to make some harder decisions around the futures of players such as Gillespie, so for now he should enjoy being congratulated from an unlikely source.