Suns flex community connection with expected 200th consecutive sellout

The Phoenix Suns are expecting Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Mortgage Matchup Center to be their 200th straight home sellout.

Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta that the milestone is a moment worth taking a step back to appreciate given how quickly things can move in sports.

“We’re incredibly proud of it,” Bartelstein said Thursday. “When Mat (Ishbia) first bought the team, the first thing he said is we’re stewards of this thing. It’s a community asset and it’s really about the fans. It’s the memories the fans make coming to our games and selling out 17,000 seats.

“To do that 200 straight times tomorrow, it’s [worth] celebrating. We’re celebrating our internal team members who make all that possible … and we’re celebrating every fan, the ones that have come to all 200, the ones that are coming for the first time tomorrow, the ones that have had season tickets. We’re going to do that tomorrow and then the chase to 300 will start.”

Fans in attendance will be treated to free popcorn and bumper stickers. Other prizes are also available.

The streak began on Dec. 19, 2021, shortly after fans could again attend games following the COVID-19 pandemic. Phoenix is 127-72 (.638) in the first 199 games, the NBA’s seventh-best home record in that span.

While fans have enjoyed a gritty, competitive group this season, they have consistently attended even through more troubled times, like the injury-riddled 2024-25 season.

“We can be honest. Going into this year, people had a lot of questions,” Bartelstein said. “Would this team be competitive? Would they play the right way? Would there be a level of grit and toughness to represent the Valley? And I think that makes it that much more enjoyable for us.

“This year it’s been so much pride and they love watching our team play. … We got to put out a product that people are proud of. And we learned from last year, and we’ve done it this year and it makes it that much more enjoyable for us to see where it is as we come down the final stretch here.”

Phoenix’s streak is the fourth longest in the NBA and its second longest in franchise history. The longest was 390 from 1990-99, carrying over between Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the now-Mortgage Matchup Center.

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