The 2023–24 Phoenix Suns season was the 56th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 31st season at the Footprint Center.[2] It is also the first full season under the ownership group led by Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia after the brothers purchased the team on February 8, 2023. It was the first season since 1971–72 without Al McCoy broadcasting any games. He announced his retirement after the 2023 NBA playoffs.[3] It also was the first season the Suns moved their broadcasting services from Bally Sports Arizona (previously named FSN Arizona and Fox Sports Arizona) back in 2003 to local broadcast stations in Arizona owned by Gray Television, branded as Arizona's Family Sports (with it also being included to Albuquerue, New Mexico viewers via FuboTV), alongside an over-the-top subscription service called "Suns Live" that was created by Kiswe.[4] During their first season under this change, the Suns would see a 69% increase in viewership by comparison to the previous season under Bally Sports Arizona.[5] This was the first season since 2018–19 without head coach Monty Williams after a second straight disappointing second-round exit. He was fired on May 13, 2023, despite having the team's first winning record as head coach since Jeff Hornacek, the first overall winning record and first coach to make the playoffs since Alvin Gentry, their first NBA Coach of the Year Award winner since Mike D'Antoni, and their first head coach since Paul Westphal (and third overall alongside John MacLeod) to reach the NBA Finals, with one season left on his original deal.[6]
On June 6, the Suns hired Frank Vogel (a championship-winning head coach in the 2020 NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers[7]) over finalists Doc Rivers (who won the NBA Finals in 2008 with the Boston Celtics) and associate coach Kevin Young (who kept his job with a pay raise in mind),[8] with his new coaching staff made official on June 21.[9] On June 24, the Suns traded with the Washington Wizards to acquire 3-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal (alongside Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd) in exchange for 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Landry Shamet, six second-rounders, four first-round pick swaps (with at least one of them not conveying properly), and cash,[10][11] though the deal was later considered a part of a three-way deal with the Indiana Pacers.[12] This became the team's second trade for a star player in four months after trading for 13-time NBA All-Star and 2-time NBA Finals MVPKevin Durant during the previous season in February. During the month of July, the Suns made three more trades to gain more immediate draft capital on their end. On September 27, before training camp, the Suns traded center Deandre Ayton and rookie Toumani Camara to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-way deal that sent 7-time All-Star Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Milwaukee shooting guard Grayson Allen, Portland center Jusuf Nurkić, and Portland guards Nassir Little and Keon Johnson (the last of whom was waived before the start of the regular season).[13] The Suns then made a three-team trade at the February 8, 2024 trade deadline with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies to acquire Nets forward Royce O'Neale and Grizzlies forward David Roddy alongside a 2026 first-round pick swap with Memphis in exchange for mostly free agent acquisitions from earlier in the season in Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin, Yuta Watanabe, Chimezie Metu, and three of the Suns' four remaining second-round picks they had at the time, and also signed veteran free agents Thaddeus Young and Isaiah Thomas (the latter of whom had played with the Suns during the 2014–15 season) in a final attempt to bolster up their roster for the season.
Throughout this season, the Suns dealt with constant challenges that had them performing below expectations early on, such as the delayed debut of their Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal together until December 13, 2023 (with them not even seeing consistent playing time together until the end of 2023 and the start of 2024) alongside injuries and poor fourth quarter production by comparison to the rest of their quarters of play that would cost them some games, especially earlier in the season. Despite these consistent issues, including starting the season out with a 4–6 record and ending 2023 at 17–15, the Suns would still manage to obtain their fourth straight winning season in a row following a 131–106 blowout win over the San Antonio Spurs on March 23, 2024. They would then match last season's win total with a 122–101 blowout win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on April 3 and surpass it two days later with a 97–87 win over the then #1 Western Conference team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a dramatic April that went down to the wire at times, the Suns secured the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference, avoiding the play-in tournament altogether due to a combination of a 125–106 blowout win over the Timberwolves and a 124–108 Los Angeles Lakers win over the New Orleans Pelicans, with the Suns holding the series victory over the Pelicans 2–1 this season. Despite sweeping Minnesota in the regular season, the Suns were swept in the first round by the Timberwolves (who fell to the #3 seed in part by the Suns' hands at the end of the regular season) in four games, losing each game by an average margin of 15 points. This not only was the first time since 2008 that the Suns were exited out of the first round, but it was also the first time they were swept in a playoff series in general since 1999. It also was Vogel's only season in his original five-year, $31 million deal that he served with the team, as he was eventually fired from his position on May 9, 2024, following their disappointing playoff appearance. The Phoenix Suns drew an average home attendance of 17,071 in 41 home games in the 2023-24 NBA season.[14]
The Suns entered this draft with only a second-round pick after trading their first-round pick to acquire Kevin Durant during the previous season.[15] With the 52nd pick, the Suns selected Belgian power forward Toumani Camara, who originally played for the University of Georgia before transferring to the University of Dayton after his sophomore season ended. During his time in Dayton, Camara was a part of the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team in his junior year before entering both the All-Atlantic 10 First Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team in his senior year. Camara signed a four-year, partially-guaranteed rookie-scaled deal on July 3, with years after his first season being guaranteed later on via his production with the team.[16] On September 27, Camara was traded alongside Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-way deal that also saw Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard being sent to the Milwaukee Bucks.[17]
This was the first regular season where all the NBA teams competed in a mid-season tournament setting due to the implementation of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.[18][19] During the in-season tournament period, the Suns competed in Group A of the Western Conference, which included the Memphis Grizzlies, the long-time rivalingLos Angeles Lakers, the Utah Jazz, and the Portland Trail Blazers. After losing their first ever In-Season Tournament match in a close nailbiter to the rivaling Lakers, the Suns bounced back during their seven-game winning streak in November with a close victory over the Jazz to even up their point differential. They then won through more convincing, double-digit victories over the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies, thus securing a +34 point differential for the open Wild Card spot. Following an initial scare with the New Orleans Pelicans on November 24 through them almost matching their point differential, the +34 score was enough of a difference maker for the Suns to advance as the Wild Card team of the Western Conference. Their next match in the event was on December 5 as a rematch against the Lakers, who already beat them twice earlier this season, with this game also counting as each team's 81st confirmed game of the regular season. This match also turned out to be their last, as this match ended controversially due to the referees allowing a timeout from the Lakers despite them not having possession of the ball at the time of them calling the timeout, which led to the Lakers winning 106–103 and later winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament afterward. As for the Suns, their 82nd game of the regular season was now going to involve a fifth match against the Sacramento Kings, who lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in the In-Season Tournament a match earlier.
During their regular season home debut against the Utah Jazz on October 28, 2023, the Phoenix Suns unveiled their "reimagined" Ring of Honor with every member represented by either themself or family members being introduced by new owner Mat Ishbia and being given commemorative watches by him before unveiling the new Ring of Honor design at halftime. With this event, the Suns made sure that Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, Charles Barkley, and Steve Nash had their numbers properly retired by the team after only being honored initially.[21] The Suns ultimately won the game 126–104, though it was the last public appearance of Walter Davis, who passed away days later through natural causes on November 2, 2023.[22]
Shawn Marion's number was retired on December 15, 2023, against the New York Knicks.[23] Unlike prior retirement ceremonies for the Ring of Honor, this one happened after the end of the night's game, which ended in a brutal 139–122 defeat that also saw Bradley Beal getting injured early in the game. However, the ceremony featured most existing Ring of Honor members, as well as Marion's past Suns teammates, Dirk Nowitzki, and Marion's family members as guests of honor.
Amar'e Stoudemire's #32 was retired on March 2, 2024, against the Houston Rockets.[24] Like most other Suns Ring of Honor ceremonies, this one happened at halftime instead of at the end of the game, which resulted in a 119–108 defeat that also saw injuries to Jusuf Nurkić, Devin Booker, and Royce O'Neale during the game, as well as a surprise ejection toward Bradley Beal during the third quarter. For this Ring of Honor ceremony, some former Suns teammates of Stoudemire's (primarily from the Seven Seconds Or Less era, including Ring of Honor members Steve Nash and Shawn Marion) celebrated the ceremony alongside Stoudemire's wife and four children.
On May 22, 2024, both Kevin Durant and Devin Booker were named to All-NBA Teams for their consistent production and meeting the new quality standard of at least 65 games played for this season.[28][29] For Durant, he was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the fifth time in his career (his 11th overall All-NBA selection), as well as it being his first entry while with the Suns. As for Booker, he would barely qualify over Jaylen Brown for the final spot on the All-NBA Third Team, which would be his second All-NBA Team honor following his All-NBA First Team honor in 2022.[30] This has now become the team's 12th pair of teammates to be named onto All-NBA Teams in the same season.[31]
On November 27, 2023, Devin Booker won his eighth Player of the Week Award, winning it for the period of November 20–26, 2023. That week Booker averaged 30.3 points (including a season-high 40 points from an In-Season Tournament match against the Memphis Grizzlies), 7.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game during a perfect 4–0 week. Booker holds the franchise record for most Player of the Week honors.[32]
On January 22, 2024, Kevin Durant won his first Player of the Week Award with the Suns (32nd overall), for the period of January 15–21, 2024. During that week, Durant averaged 31.0 points on 60.0% field goal shooting (47.6% three-point shooting), 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game during a perfect 3–0 week, including a record game where he scored 40 points without attempting a single free-throw. Durant ranks third for the most Player of the Week Award honors behind Kobe Bryant with 33 and LeBron James who has 67 honors as of that date.[33] His teammate Devin Booker was also nominated for this week.[34]
One week after Kevin Durant won Player of the Week on January 22, Devin Booker won the ninth Player of the Week Award of his career on January 29, 2024, winning the award for the week of January 22–28, 2024 despite the Suns finishing with a 2–2 record that week. During the week, Booker averaged 42.0 points through 63.9% field goal shooting, 70.1% two-point field goal shooting, 50.0% three-point shooting, and 82.9% free-throw shooting; he also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. His lowest-scoring game that week was on January 22 with 16 points in a comeback win over the Chicago Bulls, while his best scoring game happened on January 26 with 62 points scored in a crushing loss to the Indiana Pacers on a night that also saw Luka Dončić score 73 points in a win against the Atlanta Hawks, though Booker and the Suns would beat Dončić and the Mavericks on January 24 with Booker starting a streak of scoring over 40 points during that week (and by extension, continuing a streak that saw at least one Suns player scoring at least 40 points starting back on January 19 by Booker himself).[35] Not only does this extend Booker's Player of the Week franchise record, but with Kevin Durant's Player of the Week honor from the prior week, it marked the first time that the Suns had players that won the award in back-to-back weeks since Steve Nash won the award on January 21 & 28, 2007.[36]
Three days after winning his second Player of the Week Award of the season, Devin Booker won his third Player of the Month Award for his career on February 1, 2023, for his performances throughout January 2023. With him previously winning the honor for both February 2021 and the combined months of October & November 2022, Booker broke a previous six-way tie between himself, Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Shawn Marion, Steve Nash, and Amar'e Stoudemire to become the sole franchise leader for most of these honors held in franchise history. Throughout the 16 games played in January 2023, Booker averaged 30.0 points on 53.9% field goal shooting and 40.0% three-point shooting, 6.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game to give the Suns an 11–5 record for the month and help improve their standings by February 2024 after ending December 2023 with a barely above-average 17–15 record. Booker also achieved records previously held by Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain during the team's seven-game road stretch that month.[37]
On January 25, 2024, Kevin Durant was voted by the NBA and its fans as one of the five Western Conference starters (and one of three frontcourt starters) for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. This ties him for All-Star nods at seventh overall with 14 total All-Star selections in NBA history alongside other NBA greats like Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, and Dirk Nowitzki. This is also his first official selection to the All-Star Game as a starter while with the Phoenix Suns properly (while he joined the team last season, he officially made the 2023 NBA All-Star Game as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, plus he did not play at the event properly that year), thus making him the franchise's first official All-Star starter since Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire were both named starters in 2010.[38] Durant would get 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 24:51 of action as a starter in an unprecedented 211–186 defeat for the Western Conference.
Less than a week later, on the same day Devin Booker won the Player of the Month Award for January 2023, on February 1, Devin Booker was also named one of the seven All-Star reserve players (as determined by the NBA's head coaches) for the Western Conference in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. This not only became his fourth All-Star appearance in the last five seasons, but he joins Connie Hawkins, Paul Westphal, Charles Barkley, Shawn Marion, Amar'e Stoudemire, Walter Davis, and Steve Nash as the only Suns players to have at least four All-Star selections while with the franchise.[39] Booker would get 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals in 19:05 of action off the bench for the Western Conference 211–186 defeat to the Eastern Conference.
Grayson Allen finished the season as the season leader in three-point shooting percentage with 46.1% three-pointers made.[40] He became the second Suns player behind Craig Hodges (and first player to be with the team throughout an entire season) to lead the NBA in three-point field goal shooting percentages in a season with 445 three-point field goal attempts.[41]
On March 3, 2024, Jusuf Nurkić tied a 21st-century record for most rebounds in one game in NBA history (set by Kevin Love in 2010) with 31 rebounds in a 118–110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[42] He set this new career-high a day after being injured during the previous night's game by a bump with his teammate, Josh Okogie.
On April 1, 2024, Devin Booker recorded his third straight game of scoring over 50 points against the New Orleans Pelicans, this time scoring 52 points (including recording a new career-high eight three-pointers made) in a 124–111 win after previously scoring 52 earlier in the season on January 19, 2024, in a 123–109 win at New Orleans and scoring 58 last season on December 17, 2022, in a 118–114 win in Phoenix. He would tie Wilt Chamberlain's record of three straight games of over 50 points in games with the Philadelphia Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers early in the 1961–62 season as the only other player to record such a feat in the NBA against one specific opponent.[43]
Eleven days later, Grayson Allen tied the record with 9 three-pointers made for 27 points scored in a historic game where the Suns had a 22-point fourth quarter comeback and a 32–8 comeback stretch late in the game to upset the Sacramento Kings to win 119–117 at home.[46]
On March 20, 2024, Grayson Allen had his third game of the season where he tied the franchise record of 9 three-pointers made with 32 points made in a 115–102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in a night that also saw Kevin Durant surpass former Suns player Shaquille O'Neal for the 8th-most points scored in the NBA and saw Isaiah Thomas officially return to the Suns.[47]
On January 21, 2024, Kevin Durant became the first player in franchise history to score 40 points in a game while not recording a single free-throw attempt.
On March 3, 2024, Jusuf Nurkić broke the franchise record for most rebounds grabbed in a single game for the Suns with 31 in a 118–110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The previous franchise record was 27 set by Tyson Chandler in January 2016.[42]
On November 21, 2023, Kevin Durant passed Elvin Hayes for 11th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.[49] Durant scored 31 points during an In-Season Tournament match where they won 120–107 over Deandre Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers.
On December 1, 2023, Kevin Durant passed Moses Malone to enter the top 10 in the all-time scoring list.[50] Durant recorded a double-double of 30 points and 11 assists that night in a 119–111 loss to the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
On February 23, 2024, Kevin Durant passed Carmelo Anthony for 9th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.[51] Durant surpassed Anthony around the start of the fourth quarter with a free-throw, later finishing the night with a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 114–110 loss to the Houston Rockets that also saw his teammate, Bol Bol, get season-highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds off the bench that same game.
On March 20, 2024, Kevin Durant surpassed former Suns player Shaquille O'Neal to finish the season in 8th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.[52] Durant would surpass O'Neal with a midrange jumpshot at 10:22 in the third quarter and later finish the night with 22 points scored in a 115–102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on a night that also saw Grayson Allen tie his personal record (and franchise record) for most three-pointers made in a single game for a third game this season and saw the official return of Isaiah Thomas with the Suns.
On February 13, 2024, Devin Booker surpassed long-time Suns center Alvan Adams to become the second-highest scoring Suns player in franchise history, reaching a milestone high of 13,918 points at the end of the Suns' 130–125 win over the Sacramento Kings.[53] He would first tie Adams' mark by hitting a game-changing shot that gave Phoenix the lead for good with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter before expanding the team's lead moments later with another mid-range jumpshot to surpass Adams with 2:16 left in the game.[54]
^I: Initially, the Phoenix Suns would have acquired the least valuable pick between themselves and from either the Washington Wizards or the New York Knicks in 2024 due to a previous trade the Wizards and the Knicks did that allowed the Knicks the option to acquire the Wizards' first-round pick in 2024 if it was outside of the Top 12 that year. However, with their later trade with the Memphis Grizzlies in July 2023, the Suns now acquired the least valuable pick between themselves, the Wizards (or Knicks), and the Grizzlies, while the Grizzlies acquired the middle pick of the available options at hand instead. For the Suns, they ultimately kept their pick as it originally was (as the 22nd pick, which became DaRon Holmes II) anyway due to Washington utilizing their plans to tank this season for a high draft pick as one of the worst teams of the NBA during this time, Memphis suffering from many different injuries throughout the season to become a lottery team, and Phoenix becoming a last-minute Playoff team to close out the regular season. The same would also apply for the Wizards and Grizzlies with Washington's pick being at #2 (which became Alex Sarr) and Memphis' pick being at #9 (which became Zach Edey) in 2024, thus making each of the pick swaps become ultimately irrelevant for 2024. ^II: Originally, the Phoenix Suns would just acquire the least valuable pick between themselves and the Washington Wizards in 2026 due to their Bradley Beal trade in June (although if the Wizards' 2025 first-round pick goes to the Knicks instead, the Suns would have automatically kept their pick by default due to the Ted Stepien rule). However, due to their July trade with the Orlando Magic, the Suns would have acquired the least valuable pick between themselves, the Wizards (presuming they keep their pick for 2026) and the Magic, with Orlando having unprotected swap rights in the process. Despite that, another trade with the Memphis Grizzlies being involved on the February 8, 2024 trade deadline now made it so that the Grizzlies would acquire the least valuable draft pick between Memphis themselves, the Suns, the Magic, and the Wizards, while the Suns would acquire the second-least valuable option at hand from those four teams. ^III: The Phoenix Suns will acquire the least valuable of the first-round picks in 2028 between themselves, the Washington Wizards, and either the Brooklyn Nets or the Philadelphia 76ers due to the combination of the Suns' trade for Kevin Durant from the previous season and a trade the Nets did with the 76ers that allows them the option to acquire Philadelphia's first-round pick in 2028 if it is between picks 9 and 30. ^IV: The Phoenix Suns initially held the rights to only the least valuable first-round pick between themselves and the Washington Wizards in 2030 due to the Bradley Beal trade in June. However, with their later trade with the Memphis Grizzlies in July, the Suns now would hold the least valuable first-round selection between themselves, the Grizzlies, and the Wizards, with Memphis holding the middle pick of the available options at hand. ^V: On October 25, 2023, the NBA punished the Phoenix Suns for tampering violations via engaging in free agency conversations with former Portland Trail Blazers center Drew Eubanks earlier than they were allowed to do so by taking away the 2024 second-round pick they had acquired from the defending champion Denver Nuggets via the Orlando Magic from their July trade with the Magic.[62] Had that pick been conveyed properly, it would have been a late second round pick for the 2024 NBA draft instead. ^VI: Due to previous trades the Orlando Magic had with both the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks, the Suns were originally involved with acquiring the least valuable second-round option between the Magic, Pistons, and Bucks in 2026. However, thanks to their three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies on the February 8, 2024 trade deadline, the Brooklyn Nets would now get the least valuable second-round option from those three teams instead. ^VII: The San Antonio Spurs' 2024 second-round pick that was traded from the Cameron Payne deal in July allowed for the Phoenix Suns to acquire San Antonio's pick only if that selection was around picks #50–54. If San Antonio's pick went to around picks #55–58 for 2024 (there would be no 59th or 60th pick in that year's draft as of October 25, 2023 due to tampering violations relating to the Philadelphia 76ers in the previous season and the Phoenix Suns themselves this season), that pick would go to the Boston Celtics instead due to a prior trade the Spurs did with the Celtics in the previous season. However, due to the Spurs being one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, the second-round pick would not be conveyed to Phoenix or Boston. Instead, it would be kept by San Antonio entering the 2024 NBA draft since it remained in the #31-49 range (specifically at pick #35, which became Johnny Furphy).
Belgium
Toronto Raptors / Brooklyn Nets