The Phoenix Suns are sitting at 27-17 more than halfway through the 2025-26 season, and are tied for the longest winning streak in the league at three games.
That they have achieved this as part of a six-game Eastern road swing in which they dropped the first two contests is even more impressive.
Suns believe they can make playoffs and be competitive
To give credit to The Valley, they have been engaged from the jump about this team's chances of making the playoffs. Losing Kevin Durant not hurting nearly as much as everybody predicted.
But in recent weeks the organization themselves have clearly shifted towards that same way of thinking, and their lack of movement around the trade deadline has made that obvious.
VIBES FROM BOOK & JALEN 😁 pic.twitter.com/zSMnof5DPx
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 21, 2026
Rather than cash in on Grayson Allen or Royce O'Neale while they still have years left on their contracts and are knocking down 3-pointers at an elite rate, the Suns have instead decided to do nothing.
About the only player who could be on the move is Nick Richards, but even the leads on any deal there have gone cold.
The Suns don't appear to have interest in being buyers either, even with Jonathan Kuminga there for the taking and with his price seemingly lowering by the hour.
That's because the team chemistry under head coach Jordan Ott has been excellent and has propelled the Suns right into the playoff mix.
It gets better, and you can see why they wouldn't want to change something that isn't broken, because the teams around them are starting to fall off.
The Denver Nuggets have fallen as low as many predicted once Nikola Jokic went down, but the Golden State Warriors just lost Jimmy Butler for the year.
A potentially tasty rematch with the Minnesota Timberwolves could also fall by the wayside, given they have slipped to seventh (one below the Suns) and into the play-in conversation.
It took owner Mat Ishbia far too long to figure this out, but if you have a star player in Devin Booker and clear structure around him, plus great coaching, you are going to have success.
Jalen Green is the co-star, Dillon Brooks the emotional heartbeat and Collin Gillespie the plucky former two-way player.
There's shooting in the form of Allen and O'Neale, while Mark Williams is having a career year. They're miles ahead of schedule, a fact the fanbase has known for some time now.