PHOENIX SUNS

Phoenix Suns 1st NBA team to clinch 2022 playoff berth after win vs. Heat

Mar 9, 2022, 7:51 PM

Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the NBA game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Footprint ...

Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the NBA game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Footprint Center on December 27, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Grizzlies defeated the Suns 114-113. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Phoenix Suns will return to the playoffs for the second straight season after a 111-90 win over the Miami Heat clinched a postseason berth.

At a record of 53-13 that leads the NBA, the Suns are the first team in the league to seal a postseason fate.

Next up for the Suns is locking in the top spot for the Western Conference.

Phoenix ends Wednesday night’s action with an 8.5-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies, with the Golden State Warriors a half-game back of Memphis. With the Suns having only 16 games left, the odds are in their favor. Basketball-Reference’s playoff probabilities, percentages based on 10,000 simulations, have the Suns’ chances of holding the No. 1 seed at 99.9%.

The Suns’ playoff berth will be the 31st in the history of the franchise. Phoenix’s all-time playoff mark in its 55-year history is 147-149 (.497), the 10th-best winning percentage in the playoffs among active franchises. The Suns have made the NBA Finals on three separate occasions but have yet to take bring home the top prize.

One of those trips to the last round of the playoffs was last season, Phoenix’s first with future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul. With Paul at the helm under head coach Monty Williams, the Suns went 51-21 and beat the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers to win the Western Conference before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.

With the majority of its rotation returning this season and also young, the Suns have been even better this year. A .806 winning percentage after the victory on Wednesday would be the top winning percentage in the history of the franchise if it were to hold.

The difficulty in maintaining that, though, increased when Paul fractured his right thumb in the last game for the Suns prior to the All-Star break. Paul’s timeline for the injury on Feb. 16 was being re-evaluated in six-to-eight weeks. The NBA playoffs start on April 16.

Phoenix Suns

Kevin Durant, Devin Booker...

Damon Allred

Report: Kevin Durant unhappy with trade talk unawareness, Devin Booker content to stick around

Kevin Durant is unhappy the Phoenix Suns discussed trading him without him knowing while Devin Booker is content to stick around regardless of what happens this summer, according to reports.

2 hours ago

Kevin Durant #35 and Bradley Beal #3 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half of the NBA game at ...

David Veenstra

Suns list Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal questionable for Friday’s game vs. Jazz

The Phoenix Suns listed Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal as questionable for Friday’s home game against the Utah Jazz.

19 hours ago

General manager James Jones of the Phoenix Suns talks during a press conference introducing Kevin D...

Brandon Cadiz

The 5: Most recent trade deadlines for Phoenix Suns under James Jones

The Phoenix Suns' last five trade deadlines is headlined by the acquisition of Kevin Durant in 2023. We revisit the last five deadlines.

22 hours ago

Upon the change in format to the NBA All-Star Game, the league had its captains draft their teams o...

David Veenstra

2025 NBA All-Star Draft results: Kevin Durant lands on Team Shaq

Upon the change in format to the NBA All-Star Game, the league had its captains draft their teams on Thursday. Kevin Durant landed on Team Shaq.

23 hours ago

Suns...

Damon Allred

After the trade deadline, where are the Phoenix Suns slated to pick in upcoming drafts?

The Suns again shuffled the decks of their future picks, and the lack of a bigger deal at Thursday's NBA trade deadline left them poised to make two selections in this summer's draft.

1 day ago

Suns...

Kellan Olson

Suns unable to make big move at trade deadline with foreboding summer ahead

The Phoenix Suns wanted to make major moves at the trade deadline. They were not able to, and in some ways, were saved from themselves.

1 day ago

Phoenix Suns 1st NBA team to clinch 2022 playoff berth after win vs. Heat