PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns aren’t exactly considered title contenders until the 2024-25 season.
It may be deserved, as the Suns were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs last season in hideous fashion after being swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading to the firing of first-year coach Frank Vogel.
Even though most believe Mike Budenholzer will be a better choice, the Suns still enter training camp with a new coach and a largely similar roster led by stars Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker.
It feels like the Western Conference has gotten tougher this offseason, once again providing a tough test for the Suns.
Still, they are a talented team, and NBC Sports’ Tristi Rodriguez called the Suns a sleeper team in their Western Conference Power Rankings, placing Phoenix at No. 5 with the following explanation:
“No one can single-handedly fix the Suns franchise, but if there’s one coach who can at least lead it in the right direction, it’s Mike Budenholzer. The new Phoenix coach has plenty of talent to work with in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and company, who finished sixth in the Western Conference playoffs last season but were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. As embarrassing as the Suns organization has been over the years, I think last season will motivate them going into the new campaign.”
Ahead of Phoenix, we find the Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 1), the Dallas Mavericks (No. 2), the Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 3) and the Denver Nuggets (No. 4) to complete the top 5.
Below the Suns are the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers who round out the top ten.
That’s probably where the Suns are at this point, although there are plenty of opportunities for them to reestablish themselves as a top team in their conference.
