The Phoenix Suns are coming off the back of an awful 36 win season, which prompted wholesale changes this offseason. There's a new head coach in Jordan Ott in town, while Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were sent packing. Clearly the whole organization is again centering itself around Devin Booker, which seems the smart decision given where they're at in the Western Conference.
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Suns didn't feature on both the NBA Opening Night fixtures that were recently announced, or the Christmas Day slate of games. Which is just as well as this team needs a season or two in the wilderness to put themselves back together, as opposed to being humbled on national television on the unofficial curtain raiser for the season.
League trolling if their rumored first opponent is true.
Although the 2025-26 schedule isn't due to be released until later this week, Sean Cunningham of KCRA News tweeted out that none other than the Sacramento Kings are going to begin their season in The Valley against the Suns on October 22nd. If that date is correct - and Cunningham is clued into what is going on with the Kings - then it will be the first game for Phoenix too.
According to sources, the Sacramento Kings will open the 2025-26 season on Wednesday, Oct. 22 in Phoenix against the Suns.
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) August 11, 2025
The Kings home opener at Golden 1 Center vs. the Utah Jazz is Friday, Oct. 24.
The Kings’ next home game will be Sunday, Oct. 26 vs. Los Angeles Lakers.
That meeting would then pit the Suns with another struggling team out West who might have beaten them to the signing of none other than Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors by the time the two teams take to the court. The Suns were rumored to have put a package together for Kuminga some time ago, but he apparently favors a move to the Kings.
What worse way to begin a campaign in which many don't predict the Suns to win more than 31.5 wins, than by having Kuminga come to town and show them everything they could have had. That does assume that the Warriors eventually deal the 22-year-old - and there is no guarantee that they will - but anytime you're in competition with the Kings it is a bad thing.
Even if Kuminga isn't going to be present, there is no doubt that the Suns need another young and athletic wing to take this re-tool to the next level. Then again, if the tandem of Booker and Jalen Green can blow the Kings away and lead them to a couple of surprise wins early, who knows how much the team could over-exceed the odds in 2025-26?