Suns’ season ends with head and heart telling different stories following sweep

PHOENIX — Painful endings are far too common on Planet Orange, and they never get easier.

Unless they represent new beginnings.

That’s the silver lining for the Suns following their hasty exit from the NBA playoffs on Monday at Mortgage Matchup Center, a game where their considerable fight wasn’t nearly good enough.

Thud.

“I do think there’s a sense of pride with this group, we hear it often (from) the city and the fans,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said. “That’s what hurts today. Because it ends. That team ends. And they should be proud of what they did this year.”

Harsh lessons were absorbed against Oklahoma City. The Suns shot 59.5% from the field in the first half in Game 4, making 11 three-pointers and receiving 29 points from the tandem of Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen. And they still trailed by eight points at halftime, which illustrates the quality of opponent they were facing.

It also underscored the team’s only unforgivable sin, losing a play-in game at home to Portland that dropped them into a matchup against the reigning NBA champions.

Meanwhile, Devin Booker did little to quell fears over the state of his game. He scored two points in the first half, both on free throws. He missed three field goal attempts while Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks each hoisted up 12 shots. He also committed five turnovers, and incredibly, the Suns were better with him on the bench during the first half.

Booker was much better in the second half, but not nearly good enough. He is now 1-5 in elimination games.

Now that it’s over, the Suns have landed in a strange place. They have landed in the space between the head and the heart.

The heart tells you that the 2025-2026 season was a smashing success. The Suns won 45 games and would’ve posted 50 had Dillon Brooks not broken his left hand. They shattered preseason predictions and effectively mocked the experts who saw nothing but doom and gloom in our foreseeable future.

The Suns unveiled a new culture; a terrific young head coach (Jordan Ott); a tone-setting tough guy and fan favorite (Brooks); and gritty core pieces for the future (Jordan Goodwin, Collin Gillespie, Oso Ighodaro). For three months, they punched up and landed haymakers. They ranked among the best stories in the NBA.

“They’re organized, disciplined, physical, they attack the game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

“I just have a high respect for the job that they’ve done this year. You know, they’ve obviously had a great season … they were able to get their floor raised very quickly, which is impressive. They got organized on both ends of the floor. They had a very clear identity that they played to very consistently. Those are the marks of a very strong foundation.”

And yet the brain tells another story. The Suns slogged to the finish line, were swept from the postseason for the second consecutive appearance and have now lost 10 consecutive playoff games. They are in no man’s land, a team good enough to make the playoffs and yet they are miles away from title contention.

The Suns have a lot of work remaining. They need more size. They need a balanced roster. More trades and tough decisions are surely on the horizon.

And yet the duality of the moment should excite Valley sports fans. Owner Mat Ishbia is relentless, aggressive and free spending, an owner who does more than writes checks. He checks the most important box. He is willing to do anything it takes to win. He has promised to deliver a championship to Phoenix, and after making good on his promise to Suns fans entering the season, he deserves the benefit of doubt. But this much is both daunting and undeniable:

The Suns went from the basement to the No. 8 seed in one remarkable season. The next steps are much steeper and far more difficult.

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