Entering the 2026-27 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns remain an under-the-radar, not much talked about team. That held true in the newest NBA GM Survey ahead of the season, with one key exception: Jordan Ott.
With categories ranging from which team will be most improved, to which rookie will be the biggest steal in the draft, to which team will be the most fun to watch, fans had to squint their eyes to see any mention of Phoenix. That is, with the exception of Coach Jordan Ott. Entering his second year at the helm, Ott received votes from GMs for two categories:
Which head coach runs the best offense?
And
Which head coach has the best defensive schemes?
While Ott’s recognition in each category is a testament to his work ethic to keep the Suns competitive on both sides of the ball, Phoenix’s exclusion everywhere else paints a bleak picture for the upcoming season.
Suns noticeably absent from most of NBA GM Survey
In total, GMs responded to 48 questions in the 25th annual survey, with only Ott getting recognized in the above categories. No Suns player made the cut anywhere, which shows exactly how the league’s GMs envision Phoenix for the upcoming season.
The Suns retained most of their core from a season ago this offseason while shipping away sharpshooters Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale in the widely panned Miles Bridges trade. They addressed the outgoing outside shooting prowess by signing 3-point sniper Luke Kennard, but it’ll be tough for the Suns to replace the loss of those two solid role players.
The Suns now have a plethora of questions to answer as the league at large continues to dismiss them as a factor. Bridges, the new acquisition, faces mounting pressure to raise the ceiling of the franchise. Not only was he the big-swing move of the offseason, but he’ll now have to help replace the injured Mark Williams until last season’s leading Suns rebounder returns from surgery to repair a torn labrum.
Meanwhile, the Suns’ roster is matching league-wide trends of skewing much younger than in years past, but Phoenix is relying on two aging veterans in Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks to steer the ship.
Even before Williams was sidelined with injury, there was reason to believe the Suns could be in for a season of regression in the evolving Western Conference.
Suns need to use this as motivation
Perhaps Phoenix will use the survey results as more chalkboard material to motivate them to defy expectations yet again. Regardless, the 45-win mark from a season ago will continue to provide the benchmark.
Anything below that 45-win total would be disastrous for a team that just shipped away another unprotected first round pick in an effort to improve right now.
At least according to the GM survey, the league once again does not seem super bullish on Phoenix’s chances to compete at a high level. The Suns will be considered underdogs once again.
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