Monty Williams gives emotional postgame speech after Suns go 8-0
Aug 13, 2020, 4:39 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2020, 10:14 pm
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, Pool)
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis, Pool)
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams said that his experience at the NBA bubble with his team might be the highlight of his coaching career.
The team went 8-0 after a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, completely buying in to what Williams wanted from them in Orlando.
While it wasn’t necessarily flawless, the Suns played together and hard in all eight games, shifting their identity as a team in the process.
You could see how much that meant to Williams postgame, as he was emotional speaking to his team.
🗣️ RESPECT#WhyNotUs pic.twitter.com/M9OO17SlAn
— 8-0 (@Suns) August 13, 2020
“It has just been an unreal ride, right. And we gotta go back to the hotel and see what happens but I want you guys to know this before that happens: this was therapeutic for me to be around a crew like this. I gotta tell you guys, man, I love you. I don’t care what happens tonight. I know what I got in this room.
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“It has been cool for me to be with y’all, to watch you guys work and battle and gain the respect of your peers the way you have on this trip. We’re not the Suns of old. You’ve been through a lot. You’ve been through a lot. It’s hard to play the way you’ve played every single night and not get the respect that you deserve. Guess what? You got it. I don’t care what happens.
“God knows I hope we get a chance to keep shocking the world because that’s what you did. Nobody believed we’d come here and go 8-0 and beat the teams we beat. But just know man this is special. I want you guys to know that. I don’t care what happens — this is special. Don’t let anybody take this away from you. You’ve gained the respect of the league.
“Now, you gotta build on it. We may get to build on it this weekend or it may happen in the summer. We don’t control it. We gotta get to the point where we control it. You understand that? You guys understand that? You want to be the kind of team that controls your own destiny. That’s our next step. Love you guys.”
When Williams pointed at someone saying, “you’ve been through a lot,” he was pointing at All-Star guard Devin Booker, he confirmed after the game.
