Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia was a member of the Michigan State University basketball team from 1999-2002, and now he’s getting prepared to lace up his sneakers once again.
The Suns announced via Instagram that Ishbia will compete in the 2026 Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
Ishbia will join celebs including actor Keegan-Michael Key of “Key & Peele” fame, former NBA player Jeremy Lin, multi-platinum music producer Mustard, multi-platinum rapper GloRilla, ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania, All-Pro Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and many more.
Ishbia is set to wear No. 15 for the game and will play under actor Anthony Anderson, NBA shooting coach Lethal Shooter and player development trainer Chris Brickley as coaches for the celebrity game. Coaches on the other side will be Giannis Antetokounmpo, his brothers Alex and Thanasis, as well as Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts.
Ishbia, listed at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds on his Sports Reference page, played in 48 games for Michigan State in college. He was part of the team that won a national championship in 1999-00 when he was a freshman.
Ishbia played sparingly throughout his collegiate career, notching just 2.4 minutes per game across his 48 games played at MSU.
In his college career, Ishbia averaged 0.6 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists per game. He made nine of his career 21 field goal attempts (42.9%) and two of his six 3-point attempts (33.3%).
Ishbia struggled at the free throw line in college, sinking just 8-of-17 chances at the charity stripe (47.1%). As a point of reference, notoriously poor free-throw shooter and former Suns All-Star Shaquille O’Neal was a career 52.7% from the charity stripe. A tough look, to be sure.
Ishbia’s stats leave a lot to be desired, but at least he comes into the celebrity game with a low bar. If he makes a single field goal or free throw, he’ll eclipse his college scoring average.
Among the players competing in the game opposite Ishbia are former NBA player Tacko Fall, who stands 7-foot-6. Seeing a showdown between Fall and the 5-foot-10 Ishbia would be quite a sight.
The Suns owner will look to emulate his team’s success by shattering expectations, but it remains to be seen how many minutes he’ll be afforded in the celebrity game.
At 46 years old, Ishbia may simply be hoping to avoid injury.