End-of-season grades: Suns turn in ugly report card

The Phoenix Suns’ season was nowhere close to what many envisioned given the talent in the starting lineup and the amount of dollars being spent.

Instead of preparing for a first-round playoff series or even fighting for their lives in a play-in scenario, Phoenix missed the postseason boat entirely behind a 36-46 record.

Disappointment is an understatement, which is why head coach Mike Budenholzer was fired shortly after the season ended with even more changes on the way.

As far as what that did to their end-of-season grades? Let’s just say, the Suns have plenty of summer school in their future.

A look around the league at how analysts from around the league graded out Phoenix’s 2024-25 showing:

Suns receive poor grades for disappointing season

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton: F

The Suns were one of just two teams to receive an F grade from Pelton. The Philadelphia 76ers were the only other team to get a failing mark.

At least the 76ers can point to injuries as an explanation for their lost season. Phoenix wasn’t good even at full strength, going 19-18 with a negative point differential in the 37 games Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant played together. Coach Mike Budenholzer proved incapable of reaching his stars and lost his job after one season, and the Suns’ ill-fated attempt to add Jimmy Butler via trade alienated Beal and Durant. Solid debuts for rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro couldn’t salvage a failed season.

Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale: F-

After handing out a midseason F, Favale dropped the Suns down even to an F- to round out the season.

That’s the worst mark given out by Favale.

Finishing outside the West’s top 10 while having zero control over your own first-rounders through 2031 is failure of the highest order. It is, somehow, made even worse knowing what’s to come. Suns team governor Mat Ishbia is determined to win and seems unfazed by second-apron expenses and restrictions. This is sort of admirable, until you realize it’s the same mindset that led Phoenix here, to basketball purgatory—its own special kind of hell that may force the team to move on from Booker himself.

CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn: F

Phoenix again was among the only teams to receive an F, joining the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks.

The Suns — who fired Mike Budenholzer on Monday and will hire their fourth coach in four seasons in the coming weeks — are lucky to avoid an “F-” after the debacle of a season they just endured. Many of the bad grades you’ll see here boiled down to circumstances. A team got hurt. A team made a bad trade. A team changed coaches during the season. None of that really applies to Phoenix. This is the team the Suns wanted. It just wasn’t very good.

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