Photo by Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images
A week-by-week look at how the Phoenix Suns’ identity crisis led to a lost season.
The 2024–25 season is over. The
Phoenix Suns finish 36–46, a staggering fall from the lofty hopes, bold proclamations, and sky-high expectations that preceded it. What unfolded wasn’t just a disappointment. It was a bewildering, historically confounding campaign. One of the most head-scratching seasons not just in Suns' history, but in the annals of the NBA. A roster drenched in salary, built to contend, delivered little more than regret.
I began the season with wonderment, intrigued
by the arrival of Mike Budenholzer as the Suns’ new head coach. He brought with him a philosophy I believed could be downloaded straight into Phoenix — one rooted in pace, space, and three-point volume — and, in turn, lead to tangible success.
After all, the 2023–24 Suns were an efficient shooting team from deep. They ranked fifth in the league, hitting 38.2% of their threes. The problem? They just didn’t take enough of them. Their three-point rate sat at 37.8%, good for only 21st in the NBA. Surely, with an increased focus on perimeter volume, that efficiency would finally translate into wins.
I started tracking it week by week, curious to see if a) the Suns would actually adopt this philosophy and b) whether it would make a tangible difference. As the weeks passed, the recaps took on a life of their own, offering a blow-by-blow account of the season’s highs and lows.
I found myself writing little weekly summaries and dumping them into something larger — this article — believing it would be a fitting way to reflect on the 2024-25 season as a whole, using each week as a chapter in the larger story.
So here it is, the anthology: an account of how this team’s season unfolded, week by week.
Week 1
The Suns decided to let it fly, and it worked. Across three games, they hoisted 114 threes — nearly half their total shots — and buried them at a 40.4% clip, good for fourth-best in the NBA. Ryan Dunn, of all people, led the charge, launching 72.2% of his attempts from deep and connecting on 46.2% of them. Devin Booker also let it rip from distance at an uncharacteristically high rate.
The result? A 2-1 start and a clear sign that this team is leaning into the long ball.
Week 2
The Suns continued their three-point barrage in Week 2, jacking up 127 threes out of 262 total shots. Against Portland, they set off a season-high 52 attempts, just one shy of their all-time record. They’re weren’t just flirting with the three-ball; they were in a full-blown commitment, with nearly half (48.0%) of their shots coming from deep, obliterating the franchise’s previous high.
The efficiency? A respectable 38.2%. The volume? Unrelenting. The identity? A high-risk, high-reward team that’s living and dying beyond the arc.
Week 3
Three weeks into the season, the Suns reminded us that the highs and lows come in waves.
The highs? Clutch wins against rivals, like that thrilling last-second victory in Dallas. The lows? Kevin Durant’s injury, a familiar sting for Suns fans who know that the other shoe is always ready to drop. But with a solid 10-game cushion, KD’s absence wasn’t a season-ender. Week 3 showed the Suns continuing their three-point barrage, staying true to their 40/40 approach under Mike Budenholzer, a shift that, while not flawless, was clearly taking shape.
Week 4
Week 4 was a brutal reminder of what happens when a $101.4 million payroll is relegated to the bench. It underscored the inherent risks of building around three max-contract players, especially when two are in their 30s and one has a history of injuries.
When the injury bug hits — like it did for the
Phoenix Suns — things can unravel fast. What started as an 8-2 fairytale teetered on the edge of doubt. Injuries to Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal turned a promising road trip into a painful reality check.
This was the week that brought us Mariah Carey to the Bright Side Baller. She would go on to win five times this season.
Mariah Carey was on point last night. Sang more hits than total number of shots made by the Suns.
Literally.
She sang 26 songs. The Suns made 22 field goals.
pic.twitter.com/byiBCDajMX
— John Voita (@DarthVoita)
November 16, 2024
Despite still firing away from deep, the Suns’ three-point percentage dipped as their star power sat on the sidelines. Royce O’Neale, for example, has felt the weight of the void. The Suns were 9-5, but the looming question is: will the injuries ever stop haunting them this season?
Week 5
Week 5 was a quiet one for the Suns, with two losses in two games and no action after Wednesday night. Injuries to both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal left the Suns scrambling and, let’s be honest, looking more like a defense-optional three-point shooting squad that couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Sure, Mike Budenholzer’s system is still being embraced, but without their stars, it was all just talk for now.
Week 6
The was a week that saw the Suns bounce back—sort of.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal returned, giving the team a glimpse of what they could be, but the same old Suns issues surfaced: mental lapses and dropping games they should have won.
Durant’s return was a shot in the arm, but without him, role players like Royce O’Neale and Ryan Dunn floundered. Despite a 2-1 week, the Suns’ reliance on Durant is glaring—10-2 with him, 1-6 without. It’s the same story: tantalizing potential, yet just out of reach.
The Phoenix Suns are 5-1 this season when they attempt 40%+ of their field goals from three-point range and convert 40%+ of those shots.
— John Voita (@DarthVoita)
December 1, 2024
Week 7
Week 7 served as a harsh reminder of the Phoenix Suns’ identity crisis: “Live by the three, die by the three.”
Without Kevin Durant, the team floundered to a 4-10 record, with their dependence on the three-ball and lack of defense catching up to them. The Suns led at halftime in all three of their losses but crumbled in the second half. With Durant sidelined, questions loomed. Can they survive without him? What happened to Alpha Booker? The next 19 weeks look daunting for this struggling Suns squad.
Week 8
Week 8 was another scheduling oddity for the Suns. Long breaks between games were a blessing for an older squad but a debt they would eventually have to repay.
The time off helped, as Phoenix went 2-0, leaning into its three-point-heavy identity. With Bradley Beal sidelined again (because of course he was), the Suns continued to embrace finesse over physicality, a strategy that could sustain them as the season wore on.
If they were going to live by the three, they needed to start perfecting the art.
Week 9
Week 9 wasn’t just bad. It was existentially bad. The Suns didn’t just lose games; they lost whatever semblance of identity they had left. The most expensive roster in NBA history looked lifeless, getting outworked and out-hustled at home by teams that should have been overmatched.
Sure, they kept firing threes, but with zero defensive resistance or personality, the shots were just empty calories. Kevin Durant still cared. Jusuf Nurkic still battled. But the rest? A joyless, mentally fragile squad that looked lost.
Week 10
Week 10 was another gut punch for the Phoenix Suns, a team seemingly allergic to playing a full 48 minutes. They were fading fast, now sitting at 15-16 after an 8-1 start, their free fall punctuated by turnovers, defensive breakdowns, and a general lack of consistency.
A lone Christmas Day win was a brief reprieve, but the reality remains grim: they’ve tumbled to 11th in the West, out of the playoff picture entirely. The bleeding hadn’t stopped. It was only getting worse.
Week 11
Week 11 slammed the Suns with another dose of harsh reality: whatever they had been doing, it hadn’t been working. They hadn’t won since Christmas, dropping four straight and spiraling to 3-7 over their last 10.
Even with elite shooters in Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, their three-point-heavy approach remained an unsolved puzzle. Defensive lapses, turnovers, and inconsistency plagued them, and desperation had begun to set in.
The first big shake-up? Jusuf Nurkic and Bradley Beal moved to the bench. Whether it was a fix or the beginning of the end remained to be seen.
Week 12
The Suns shook things up in Week 12, and — miraculously — it worked. Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic took a seat on the bench, a move that smelled more like a desperation heave than a calculated chess play. But hey, sometimes a broken clock is right, and Phoenix actually looked…functional.
Beal embraced the role shift without a tantrum, Devin Booker found his rhythm, and the team scrapped out wins. But let’s pump the brakes on redemption. Deating bad teams isn’t salvation. It’s survival.
Week 13
Winning cures all—until it doesn’t.
The Suns had rattled off a 6-2 stretch since Beal and Nurkic moved to the bench, climbing above .500 and teasing optimism. But the flaws remained. They still struggled with rebounding and focus, still slogged through inconsistency, and still sat 11th in the West despite their resurgence.
The silver lining? A top-six seed wasn’t out of reach. Phoenix had started to find its identity piece by piece. The question was whether they would put it all together before the season slipped away.
Week 14
The Phoenix Suns’ Week 14 was a rollercoaster of mediocrity. Against top-tier teams, they stumbled like a deer on ice, but against bottom-feeders, they won — barely — putting on a show full of drama and unnecessary effort.
At 23-21, they were stuck between mediocrity and potential, with a 2-1 week that still felt underwhelming. Beating the Nets and Wizards was expected, but a loss to Cleveland stung. With the toughest remaining schedule ahead, the Suns are left to answer one question: Will they rise or keep limping through the same predictable chaos?
Week 15
Week 15 had the Suns serving up some elite basketball, led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, who were cooking up 24.5 and 30.5 points per game, respectively.
Booker was closing in on the all-time Suns scoring crown while Durant was eyeing 30K career points. Without a solid distributor, however, all that scoring feels like a Breaking Bad operation: Walter White and Jesse Pinkman cooking up greatness, but no one around to distribute it.
The Suns are left like those two, always in search of a reliable partner, and frankly, it’s a mess. A 2-2 week proved it.
Week 16
Week 16 of the Suns’ season felt like a never-ending marathon, with trade deadline rumors swirling like a fever dream. But when the clock hit zero, reality set in: the roster was locked. Despite all that star power, the Suns find themselves built for the wrong era—reminiscent of the 7 Seconds or Less days, but now, a decade too late.
Hope was still flickering as the team clung to silver linings (shoutout to Bol Bol), and even if they didn’t make a playoff run, the Suns were playing with pure spite.
Week 17
Week 17 for the Phoenix Suns wasn’t nearly as thrilling as betting on black 17 at a roulette table. And trust me, I’ve got a thing for that number. It’s a good one. But the Suns? They didn’t hit like that this week.
There was no spinning wheel magic, no fate bending in their favor. Instead, it felt more like a quiet surrender, the odds stacked against them, and victory seemed as distant as the white ball’s final bounce. Definitely not the jackpot we had hoped for.
Week 18
Week 18 was a return to basketball, but it felt more like a post-vacation hangover for the Phoenix Suns. After a much-needed All-Star break, they stumbled through a 1-2 week, with a mere four-point win as their highlight.
The frustration was palpable. Mike Budenholzer’s search for adjustments, the players’ defensive struggles, and the front office’s roster missteps all fueled the fire. But in the end, I came to a place of acceptance. This mess is part of the journey, and as fans, we keep showing up for the fleeting moments of joy, even when the Suns seem determined to test our patience.
People can blame the front office.
People can blame the coaching.
People can blame the players.
Everyone would be right.
No one comes out unscathed from a season like this.
— Espo (@Espo)
February 24, 2025
Week 19
Week 19 was a gut punch for the Phoenix Suns, a 1-3 showing that felt like watching the Titanic steam full speed ahead toward an iceberg we all saw coming. The dream of an NBA championship? It’s slipping through our fingers like water through a sinking ship.
With just seven weeks left in the regular season, the Suns remained adrift, unable to beat good teams or take care of the bad ones. Their lone win against a bench-heavy New Orleans squad? A hollow victory in the grand scheme. And with a brutal remaining schedule, the iceberg is inevitable. We braced for impact. The Suns were about to hit it head-on.
Week 20
Week 20 for the Phoenix Suns wasn’t a roaring blaze, but it sure was a spark.
Down big against the West’s top dogs, they fought back, snagging one win and dropping another, but showing more grit than they had in weeks. Was it desperation or something more — a shift in identity, a turning point? Maybe both.
A 2-1 week against the Clippers, Nuggets, and Mavericks? That was a win, especially lately. It wasn’t optimism, but I was watching. If they wanted that spark to ignite into a full-fledged fire, they’d need to keep feeding it. Let’s see where it went.
Week 21
In Week 21, the Phoenix Suns took another gut punch in their loss to the
Lakers, marked by Luka Doncic’s all-too-casual remark: “I’ve never been open so much in my life.”
Luka: "I've never been open so much in my life."
It’s frustrating to hear because it’s a perfect personification of the 2024-25 Suns’ defense.
pic.twitter.com/otdiMQUXpv
— John Voita (@DarthVoita)
March 16, 2025
After seven years of tormenting the Suns, Luka’s comment felt like a brutal assessment of where this team was at that moment. Despite what Mike Budenholzer claimed about pressuring Luka, the Suns’ defense was non-existent.
This 1-3 week was a painful reminder of just how broken the Suns were — a team so out of touch with reality, even their coach’s assessments seem detached from the on-court chaos. They’re slipping fast, and the question remains: Do they even care?
Week 22
Week 22 had a surprising turnaround for the Phoenix Suns, and not just because they went 3-0. After a brutal loss to the Lakers, the team could’ve easily crumbled under the weight of criticism, but instead, they fired back with the best basketball they had played all season.
The Suns looked sharp, connected, and — dare I say — enjoying themselves. For a team that often felt like a soulless machine, this sudden spark of personality was the real highlight. It was hard to say how long it would last, but for one week, the Suns showed what real joy on the court looked like. And damn, it was fun.
Week 23
Week 23 was supposed to be the Suns’ proving ground. Instead, it became their funeral procession.
A gritty win over Milwaukee teased hope, but then came the basketball apocalypse: Boston steamrolled them, Minnesota flexed, and Houston left them for dead. The Suns failed the test because they never had the answers. No toughness, no identity, no ‘it’ factor. Just a season-long scavenger hunt for something they never found.
And then there was the injury to the insult.
Week 24
The Phoenix Suns’ Week 24 was a grim reminder of the uphill battle they’ve been fighting all season. With matchups against the Bucks,
Celtics, and
Knicks, the Suns never found their footing, failing to gain momentum while missing Kevin Durant and a hobbled Bradley Beal.
Devin Booker did his best, averaging 38.7 points per game on the week, but with just four games left, the Suns are now three games behind the Kings for the final Play-In spot. It’s a brutal, slow-motion crash, and the dream of a late-season surge is slipping away fast.
Week 25
The Suns limped to the finish line like a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest, snapping their eight-game skid just in time to cap a brutal 1-9 death march. Week 25 offered little reprieve. A 1-3 showing that felt more like a mercy killing than a sprint to the playoffs.
Relief replaced rage as the curtain fell on a season defined by chaos, confusion, and crushed expectations. Fans didn’t cheer the end. They exhaled. The madness is over.
2024-25: 44.0% 3PAr, 38.2 3PT%
The philosophy was executed, but it didn’t work as intended. Sure, the team became a legitimate three-point threat. They finished the season shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc, with a 44% three-point attempt rate, the highest in franchise history. But despite these numbers, it translated into the 13th lowest winning percentage in the 57-year history of the Phoenix Suns.
What we learned this season is that three-point shooting, while impressive, isn’t the quick fix it often appears to be in basketball. Sure, you can light it up from beyond the arc, but that won’t stop you from falling behind by 20 points. And it sure isn’t a guaranteed solution to clawing your way back into a game once you’re down.
Defense matters. Having the ability to make life difficult for your opponent? That matters. Not being a turnstile? That matters. Being able to impose your defensive will? That matters. Success in this league requires balance. Quality offense and quality defense. For the Suns? That balance was nowhere to be found.
With the 13th-best offensive rating and the 27th-best defensive rating, this season was a masterclass in imbalance. Perhaps that’s where I’ll focus my weekly recaps next season: tracking the offensive and defensive ratings by week. Or perhaps the net rating, which for the Suns was a -2.9 on the season, ranking 21st in the league. That seems fitting, considering they finished with the 20th-best record.
What is one sentence that sums up this season? The Phoenix Suns’ season was a long, spiraling freefall, launched by a flurry of threes, grounded by injuries, riddled with identity crises, and ultimately defined by squandered potential and exhausted hope.
Listen to the latest podcast episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast below. Stay up to date on every episode, subscribe to the pod on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, Castbox.
Please subscribe, rate, and review.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25951471/Phoenix_Suns_kings.png)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25953428/2152922988.jpg "Mike Budenholzer Introductory Press Conference")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25925337/Standings_by_Date.png)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25952887/Tracking_40.png){kind=tracking}
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25952855/Suns_Winning__.png)
