Five reasons why Phoenix Suns will win their first NBA championship this season
Ten NBA franchises have never won an NBA championship.
The Phoenix Suns have been waiting the longest.
Playing their first NBA season in 1968-69, the Suns have been to the NBA Finals three times only to lose each series in six games. They took a 2-0 lead in their last trip there in 2021 before losing four in a row to finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Only two players remain from that 2020-21 Suns team — Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton — but they enter a third straight season as championship contenders.
Maybe this is their year.
Here are five reasons why the Suns will finally win it all this season.
Big 3 – and a big man
The Suns have three of the game’s most prolific scorers in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Booker. Teams must be asking themselves if it’s wise to double one and leave the other open.
All three are three-level scorers who can catch and shoot, score in transition, create for themselves and others. Not many teams have three players who can guard two scorers, let alone three.
Add having a big in Deandre Ayton who is averaging a double-double in his five NBA seasons and he should feast playing off that Big 3.
The Suns will have one of the league’s best offenses even if they don’t have a true point guard to set the table, but Booker will have the ball in his hands most of the time at the end of the close games. His playmaking ability has improved, but he’ll need to be even better and reduce turnovers for this group.
More: 5 reasons why the Phoenix Suns will once again come up short of winning an NBA championship
Defensive coach
The Suns hired Frank Vogel to replace Monty Williams, who was fired after the Suns fell to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals.
He’s coached some of the league’s best defensive teams in Indiana and in Los Angeles with the Lakers. Three of Vogel’s 11 teams finished first in the NBA in defensive rating while two more ranked third.
The 2019-20 Lakers he coached to an NBA championship ranked third in defensive rating.
If Vogel can get the Suns to buy in defensively to go along with what they’re capable of offensively, it’s going to be hard to beat this group.
Deandre Ayton
Looking back at Phoenix’s last three playoff exits, Ayton hasn’t been much of a factor in those series.
2021 vs. Bucks – Averaged 14.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, but committed 23 fouls in six games. That latter number damaged Phoenix’s ability to guard Antetokounmpo.
2022 vs. Mavericks – Averaged 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, but his sideline moment with Williams was part of Phoenix’s meltdown in losing Game 7 at home.
2023 vs. Nuggets – Averaged 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, but was thoroughly outplayed by two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Ayton didn’t play in Game 6 after suffering a rib injury in Game 5.
The Suns need impactful play out of Ayton in terms of offensive rebounds for extra possessions, protecting the rim, and being ready to catch and finish and play with a consistent motor. If they get that out of him, especially against the better bigs in the league, it’ll be unfair.
Fifth starter and bench
The Suns will have options on who to start with Booker, Durant, Beal and Ayton in Josh Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop and Yuta Watanabe as leading candidates.
Okogie started the eight regular-season games with Durant last season. The Suns went 8-0 with that lineup, but Okogie became a liability in the playoffs as he shot 0-of-6 from 3 in the Nuggets series.
Bates-Diop appears to be the best option because of his size (6-8, 229), length, defensive ability and 3-point shooting (39.4% last season), but Watanabe can also knock the deep (44.4% last season), is also 6-8 and can create for himself and teammates.
Whoever doesn’t start will be part of the bench rotation, but who else will get minutes? From Bol Bol to Drew Eubanks to Damion Lees, Vogel has options, but Eric Gordon could close games with Booker, Durant, Ayton and Beal because he’s a seasoned vet, spaces the floor and can score off the bounce.
Chemistry, accountability
More than half of Phoenix’s roster is new.
Lead assistant Kevin Young is the only returning coach from Williams’ staff.
The Suns are talented, but they must find chemistry. They’ve had players get together on their own working out and playing pickup games all summer.
On top of that, who is going to hold the players accountable?
Chris Paul did that and then some the previous three seasons, but he’s now in Golden State after Phoenix traded him to Washington in the Beal deal.
Maybe the Suns can do so collectively, but championship teams have leaders. Whoever takes on that responsibility likely will shape the team’s personality.
That role isn’t to be taken lightly.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal will lead Phoenix Suns to NBA title
