The Phoenix Suns finally saw their 2025-26 NBA regular season schedule drop on Thursday, with some encouraging news on how many times the team will appear on national television. The nine confirmed games for them on ESPN - plus returning broadcaster NBC and new entrant Peacock - a bonus considering national attention will be low for this group.
That's what the franchise gets for sticking with Devin Booker though, a 28-year-old superstar that casual fans want to tune in and watch even when his team isn't going to be very good. Booker is primed for a bounce back season, and the national TV cameras clearly believe it could pay to be in the building if he has a big night.
Suns receive boost to play-in odds with February homestand.
Another promising development for the group was how the schedule broke for them, with attention quickly turning to a eye-raising run of games in February. If the Suns can tread water to that point - no easy feat given the question marks surrounding this roster plus first time head coach Jordan Ott running the show - then this could be their chance to officially get into the play-in conversation.
That's because in the month of February the Suns will play a whopping nine of their 11 scheduled games at home. Making this even better is the fact that their two ventures away from Footprint Center are spaced out weeks apart, and feature trips to the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs. In a league this vast, they could nearly be classed as day trips.
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) August 14, 2025
This is important for two reasons, and the first is that the All-Star break is nestled in there as well. The Suns will play four games in a row at home heading into the midseason exhibition, and as of right now you have to imagine Booker is the only player who is going to be involved in the festivities. This would give the rest of the team nearly a week to rest and recover.
That break could be invaluable, but so too could the run up to it with other teams relishing the chance to stop the grind for a little bit. What better way to rack up some wins than by catching opponents coming into Phoenix while they're well rested at home, before sending them on their way. The All-Star game itself will be in Los Angeles, so it's not like Booker will have far to travel either.
The second aspect of this is the fact the trade deadline will take place around this period too. A hot home stretch from Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale or Nick Richards could be all a panicking franchise needs to see in order to move for one of them. An excellent opportunity then to put some of their own players in the shop window.
Adding another layer of intrigue is the fact the Suns' 2026 first round pick could well go to the Washington Wizards anyway, which is yet another reason to be competitive. Which this home stretch in February absolutely gives them the chance to do, and make a run at the play-in tournament a real possibility. Especially as they managed to turn their main area of weakness into a strength.