Last season, it took the Phoenix Suns 81 games to earn victory number 25.

They only needed 43 games to reach that mark this season.

Going into the season, the Vegas odds had the Suns winning fewer than 20 games total, so it’s understandable that they are considered to be the biggest surprise in the entire NBA. But why are the 2013-14 Suns so much better than the 2012-13 version?

Here are five reasons the Suns have gone from a team with the league’s fourth-worst record to one with its ninth-best.

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