The Phoenix Suns confirmed their preseason slate of games on Thursday, in what is another small indicator that basketball will thankfully be coming back to The Valley eventually.
Much like Summer League out in Las Vegas when a trio of young Suns players looked head and shoulders above most of the competition, preseason contests are not a time for overreaction. But that doesn’t mean they are useless endeavours either.
Five game schedule composed perfectly by Suns as tune-up games
Taking a pair of road games to get things started is a smart move by the franchise, because nothing brings a group together like time spent on the road. The fact so many faces are returning from last season as well should only make this a better experience, with the likes of Luke Kennard and Miles Bridges also getting brought into the fold.
The Suns will visit the Detroit Pistons, which should surprise absolutely nobody. Not only does owner Mat Ishbia value players and staff with a Michigan State background, he will take any opportunity to go back there. It doesn’t hurt that this is Devin Booker country either, while the physical Pistons might be a nice opportunity to break out Khaman Maluach once again.
Next it’s off to face the Chicago Bulls, before coming home to take on the San Antonio Spurs. Any time you can face the reigning Western Conference champions to see where you’re at is a plus, and you might remember Phoenix had joy against Victor Wembanyama and company on a couple of occasions last season. The Suns will then follow that up with a trip to Texas to face the same opponent, which again makes sense.
Finally it is a home tilt against the Utah Jazz and an opponent who may have jumped them out West given their revamped roster, so the chance of matching up with them should be one to look forward to.
The Suns doing the travel early before a gruelling campaign and then having the final trio of games consisting of being in The Valley and only having to travel to San Antonio is another smart move, which the fact there will be no international travel as their has been in the past can also be viewed as a plus. You might remember the hamstring issues that hampered Jalen Green last season struck as early as their trip to Macao for two games versus the Brooklyn Nets.
A perfectly constructed run into 2026-27, these “meaningless” games can’t come quick enough.
Add us as a preferred source on Google