The Phoenix Suns might have never won an NBA Championship - and be the owners of this ugly stat in the process - but the road to glory has only gotten tough as the years have progressed. Not only are there more teams than ever at 30, but the Western Conference is as loaded as it has ever been.
With rumors continuing to swirl that the league will eventually add two more franchises to the mix - Las Vegas and Seattle make too much sense at this point - there will likely come a time in the next decade when the talent in the league dilutes a little bit. Which is just as well if you're a fan in The Valley.
But which rivals have the Suns faced the least since joining as an expansion team themselves in 1968?
The answer to that is actually a fun trip to take, with three (let's make it four) opponents who the Suns have faced less than anybody else. The drop-off is massive as well, with the team they've faced the most times (regular season and playoffs) those pesky Los Angeles Lakers at a whopping 336 occasions. Comparing that to number one on this list (55 games played), you see the difference.
3. Miami Heat (71 games)
As we will quickly see, there is going to be a strong element of Florida teams that appear on this list. The Miami Heat being the first, and reaching 71 games by virtue of the fact they were founded in 1988, although at this point they feel like they've been Pat Riley's baby forever.
Really though the Heat of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh was something else. Four trips to the NBA Finals and a pair of championships at a time when the Suns were pretty good themselves. The last competent group the organization had before they fell off and rebuilt around Booker in fact.
What's interesting here isn't that the Suns have a 39-32 lead and are 6-4 in their last 10. Rather that they've hung an average of 109.3 points on the Heat across all of their meetings. Obviously the "seven seconds or less" Suns of earlier in this century played their part, but the truth is the Suns have just had offensive success against any iteration of the Miami Heat.
Even better the Heat have only managed to average 105.4 points against the Suns - which obviously explains why they're lagging behind in the all-time series - but it also shows that when relevant, the Suns are a tough out for anybody. A finals meeting between these two is by far the most likely to happen on this list.
2. Orlando Magic (69 games)/Charlotte Hornets (68 games)
Not quite a tie with the Orlando Magic shading it, but it felt appropriate to group the two organizations together here. Not that the Magic will be happy with that, despite only coming into existence in 1989, they've already appeared in the NBA Finals twice. One less than the Suns, although neither have ever won a championship.
Both the Charlotte Hornets (LaMelo Ball) and Magic (Paolo Banchero) now have a star that Suns fans will willingly come out to watch when they're in town, and the Magic in particular look like a franchise that is ascending right now. The Hornets still have a lot to figure out, although taking Brandon Miller second overall in 2023 NBA Draft is looking like a wise decision.
What is Paolo Banchero’s Ceiling?! 📈 pic.twitter.com/mGzMy7lZ98
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) August 27, 2024
The Suns hold a 43-25 record all-time over the Hornets, and are 9-1 in their last 10 meetings. Clearly then this group doesn't mind going East when they see Charlotte on the schedule, although it is a little different with the Magic. Again the Suns are up 41-28 overall, but only hold a slender 6-4 lead across their last 10 meetings.
The idea of the Suns coming up against one of these two in the NBA Finals would be ratings suicide for the league, even with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on display. Luckily for Commissioner Adam Silver and company, these matchups will continue to be a twice yearly thing, most likely forever more.
1. Toronto Raptors (55 games)
That seems like such a small number when you consider how often the Suns play the Lakers or Golden State Warriors for example - literally four of their first five games in 2024-25 are against either the Lakers or L.A. Clippers - so it would make sense an organization in Toronto would be found on the other end of the scale.
Of those 55 contests, the Suns and Raptors are neck-and-neck at 5-5 in their last 10. Continuing their dominance against expansion franchises and the Suns are way ahead all-time, sitting at 34-21. With the Raptors not close to contention right now either, look for the Suns to continue to stretch that lead.
That can't mask the ace card the Raptors have in this battle though - as despite only coming into existence in 1995 - they have an NBA Championship to show for it. Their single appearance in 2019 landing them a title at the expense of Durant, who was going for his third with the Warriors and subsequently left San Francisco for Brooklyn and then finally Phoenix.
Perhaps the Raptors did the Suns a favor then, although they also managed to land a superstar in Kawhi Leonard in his prime for one season, and actually win it all. Yes that was achieved via trade and Leonard bolted as soon as he could, but the trade the Suns executed for Durant is yet to reach the same heights. Perhaps then they could learn a lot from the opponent they've seen the least.