From the Archives: What Suns History Says About This Roster

By the Suns Nightly Desk · Friday, September 25

Every era of Suns basketball has hinged on one traded-for piece and one singular star, and this camp is no different. Fifty-eight years after the franchise's first tip-off, Phoenix is still chasing the title none of its three Finals trips produced.

Suns Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

The debut season. Phoenix entered the league in 1968 as an expansion team, going 16-66 in its first season under 28-year-old general manager Jerry Colangelo and coach Johnny Kerr. Jordan Ott now runs a $216.2 million roster as head coach, a very different budget, but still the same test of whether a first year in charge moves this team forward.

A trade that turned it. The 1988 trade for Kevin Johnson, sent by Cleveland for Larry Nance and Mike Sanders, turned a struggling Suns team into a decade of playoff runs. Last July's deal followed the same logic: Kevin Durant to Houston for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Khaman Maluach's draft rights, Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea and a 2026 second-rounder, unproven with the Suns at 0-0.

One star, big year. Charles Barkley won MVP in 1992-93, his lone full Suns season, leading a franchise-record 62 wins and a trip to the Finals. Devin Booker, on a two-year, $145 million maximum extension through 2029-30 that pays more per year than any contract before it, is being asked to carry that same singular weight at 29, in year eleven.

Three Finals, no banner. Garfield Heard's shot forced a third overtime in Game 5 of the 1976 Finals, one of three championship trips in Suns history, all lost — 1976, 1993 and 2021. Last season's 45-37 finish and this month's ESPN ranking of Booker at 20th are the newest entries in a fifth-best all-time winning percentage that still has no title attached.

The middle, across eras. Alvan Adams anchored the middle in the 1976 Finals run, and Deandre Ayton did it in 2021. This camp's center group is built around Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro, with Mark Williams still out after September 11 shoulder surgery and no return date given since.

Ownership, then and now. Jerry Colangelo led the group that bought the Suns for $44 million in 1987-88. Mat Ishbia and his brother Justin paid a record $4 billion for the team in 2023, and now carry a $216.2 million payroll past the $200.4 million luxury line as the cost of keeping this roster's core together.

On deck The preseason schedule opens 2026-10-05 at the Pistons, then continues at the Bulls on 2026-10-07 and against the Spurs on 2026-10-10, with the regular season opener set for 2026-10-21 at the Trail Blazers.

Has Phoenix ever won an NBA championship?

No. The Suns have reached the Finals three times, in 1976, 1993 and 2021, and lost all three.

Why is Devin Booker's contract considered historic?

Booker signed a two-year, $145 million maximum extension through 2029-30 that pays more per year than any contract before it in the league.