The Phoenix Suns fired Mike Budenholzer soon after their 2024-25 season ended without as much as a trip to the play-in tournament. Rather than hire another veteran coach, the Suns decided they wanted a first-time head coach to help establish a new culture. They found that in Jordan Ott, who most recently was an assistant for the Cavaliers.
Ott and Phoenix are 8-6 through the first few weeks of the season, having won five of their last six games. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on the "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective" podcast, the early results of Ott's time in the desert are "very encouraging."
The Suns' two previous head coaches, Budenholzer and Frank Vogel, were hired in large part because of their championship backgrounds. Phoenix traded for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to go all-in on winning a title, but the closest the Suns came to doing so was making it to the second round of the playoffs in 2023, and that was before the Beal trade.
After a 2024-25 season that couldn't have possibly been more disappointing than it was, Mat Ishbia and Phoenix knew many things needed to change. The head coaching job came down to Ott and Johnnie Bryant, both promising candidates, but Ott had the edge. Devin Booker, who signed an extension over the offseason, was part of the hiring process. He liked Ott.
So far, so good.
Jordan Ott looks like the coach the Suns needed
Ott was tasked with taking over a roster with several new faces and trying to get that roster to win as many games as possible, as Phoenix isn't in a position to tank.
Devin Booker looks like Devin Booker, averaging 28.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and seven assists per game. Dillon Brooks, acquired in the Durant trade, is averaging 22 points per game, shooting 45.9% from the field. He's brought the energy, too. Grayson Allen is also playing well (how about that backcourt?), averaging 18.5 points per game, shooting 44.7% from three on 8.8 attempts per game.
There were many questions over the summer about what the Suns would look like and whether they even stood a chance in a stacked conference. It's still early, but sitting two games above .500 and eighth in the West is a solid spot to be in.
Before Sunday's two-point loss to the Hawks, the Suns had beaten the lowly Pelicans, Mavericks, and Pacers, but all by double digits. Before that, they posted two wins over a Clippers team that has since fallen apart even more. The Suns took care of what was standing in front of them before clashing with the Hawks.
The next several games on the schedule will be a good test for the Suns, with matchups against the Timberwolves, Spurs, Rockets, and Timberwolves. If you looked at the upcoming stretch on the schedule over the summer, you might not have thought those games would be all that competitive, but this Phoenix team has proven otherwise. Ott is at the forefront of that.