Former Sun Amar’e Stoudemire shoots ceremonial free throw before 2025-26 season-opening win

To get the Phoenix Suns’ 2025-26 season started on Wednesday, former team center Amar’e Stoudemire had the honor of shooting the honorary first free throw.

Unfortunately for eight-year Phoenix star, he missed it — a bit too strong off the back iron — but the moment had the desired effect for fans in attendance.

Former Suns center Amar’e Stoudemire had the honor of shooting the ceremonial “first free throw” before Phoenix’s 2025-26 season opener against the Kings.

Unfortunately for him, it came off a bit too strong… pic.twitter.com/tOU0vMZLko

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 23, 2025

Suns reporter Amanda Pflugrad asked team owner Mat Ishbia about the ceremonial start, and he said it’s his hope to bring in former franchise players to begin games akin to first pitches in MLB.

Stoudemire, who recently named Suns advisor Steve Nash called the “best pick-and-roll partner I ever had,” also made an appearance on the Arizona’s Family Sports pregame show.

The former Suns players in attendance for the season opener in the newly named Mortgage Matchup Center didn’t stop there, as Dan Majerle made a stop with the game’s broadcast team of Eddie Johnson and Kevin Ray.

Devin Booker and the Suns came out slowly with lots of missed shots to trail by 17 points at halftime but began crawling back into the game with defense and second-chance opportunities. Phoenix trimmed the deficit to two, 92-90, by third quarter’s end.

Team defense, including a high energy effort by new Sun Dillon Brooks, and key hits from 3 helped the Suns successfully come back for a 120-116 win. Booker led all scorers with 31 and center Mark Williams had six points and 11 rebounds off the bench in his Suns debut.

Related

Suns' Mark Williams coming off bench vs. Kings, Grayson Allen in starting lineupMat Ishbia: 2025-26 Suns identity is 'set' as something for Valley fans to get behindSuns' Collin Gillespie reveals origins of 'Villain Jr.' moniker from Dillon BrooksDillon Brooks credits viral meme to oddly timed LeBron James fan interactionCam Skattebo can’t quite stick landing on backflip during Fanatics FestMike Trout reveals son Beckham is a Diamondbacks fan