The Phoenix Suns have been around for a long time.
More than 50 years, to be semi-exact, and they’ve of course had some letdown blowout losses in that time.
That being said, they’ve never been beaten as badly as they were in the 2025 NBA Cup quarterfinal showdown against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, Dec. 10.
At points trailing by more than 50 to OKC, the Suns ultimately fell 138-89 — a 49-point loss. That now stands alone as the worst loss in franchise history by point differential — regular season and playoffs combined.
Embarrassing, yes, but the Suns played OKC tough in their previous meeting on Nov. 28. That game they lost by just four points (123-119) as all five starters scored in double digits. They were led by point guard Collin Gillespie’s 24 points backed by six 3-point makes.
The Suns also had Devin Booker healthy for that meeting. It was a different story Wednesday as they were without both Book and trade acquisition Jalen Green for the latest NBA Cup contest.
The Thunder gameplan to stop Gillespie worked to perfection with guard Cason Wallace putting the clamps on the Phoenix point guard early to set the tone. At the end of the night, Gillespie finished with twice as many turnovers (four) as points (two).
Dillon Brooks, meanwhile, who’s taken the reins as Phoenix’s go-to scoring option with Booker and Green out, also struggled. He finished just 4-of-16 shooting and wound up with a plus/minus of -47. Yikes.
As they like to say in coach speak, flush it and move on to the next.
The Suns absolutely should do so, as there’s no real shame in a shorthanded team losing to an OKC roster that’s putting itself in the conversation to be viewed among the greatest NBA teams of all time with a 24-1 start.
However, we’re going to take the opportunity to look back at the worst losses in Suns franchise history. None were worse than Wednesday against the Thunder, but perhaps it’ll cheer up fans that this isn’t 2017-18.
What are the worst losses in Suns franchise history?
Fans — if they haven't already flushed it from their brains — may remember the woeful start to the 2017-18 season under then head coach Earl Watson.
Watson’s young and inexperienced squad began the year 0-3, including a 48-point loss on opening night against the Portland Trail Blazers. All told, they lost those three games by a combined 92 points. That was enough for the front office to relieve Watson of his coaching duties, turning over the keys to Jay Triano for the remainder of what is arguably the worst year in the organization’s history.
That opening night loss under Watson is tied with a February loss to the San Antonio Spurs that same season. Prior to the drubbing at the hands of OKC, those two losses of 48 points were the worst ever for the Suns.
Opening night 2017 against Portland saw Damian Lillard go for a cool 27 points on 50% shooting with Pat Connaughton adding 24 points of his own off the bench. The Suns leading scorer, by contrast, was Eric Bledsoe with 15. He shot 5-of-18 from the floor (27.8%) and finished with a plus/minus of -41. Teammate T.J. Warren was the only player worse with a -42 plus/minus.
In that February loss to San Antonio, the Suns were down 28-9 after the first quarter and were trailing 69-31 at halftime. Yuck.
Like Brooks last night, then rookie Josh Jackson (selected with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2017 draft) finished with a -47 plus/minus.
The Suns nearly matched what were the worst losses in franchise history for a third time just five days later against the Golden State Warriors.
On Feb. 12, 2018, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the Dubs beat Phoenix by 46 points. Jackson, who went 4-of-18 shooting against Golden State, only had a -43 plus/minus in that one.
I’m sure every Suns fan would like to forget the 2017-18 team, as it’s in the record books for all the wrong reasons.
What’s the worst playoff loss in Suns history?
In what is now tied for the fifth-worst loss in franchise history, you have to go back to the 1997 playoffs against Seattle.
Despite finishing the season with a sub-.500 record (40-42) the Suns squeaked into the playoffs to face the SuperSonics in the first round. After winning Game 1 of the series thanks to a 42-point outburst from Rex Chapman, the Suns lost Game 2 by 44 points, 122-78.
Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson combined to shoot just 1-of-19 from the floor in that game, including 0-of-10 from 3-point range.
Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp led the way for Seattle with 23 points apiece, as just about everyone contributed for the Sonics in the Game 2 bludgeoning.
The Suns ultimately lost the series, but took it to a deciding Game 5.
Prior to that, you have to go back to 1988 to find the other loss that matches the playoff blowout of 44 points — it was also against Seattle.
On April 2 of that year, the Suns surrendered 151 points to the SuperSonics, giving up at least 36 points in each quarter.
Four Seattle players scored 20 points or more in the game, including two future Suns players Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel.
There are sure to be more blowout losses for the Suns in the future, but the Thunder upending more than five decades of precedent to take that blowout crown just shows how good OKC really is this year. Credit where it's due.