Mat Ishbia Practice Media Availability | Phoenix Suns | 10-22-25

Mat Ishbia Practice Media Availability | Phoenix Suns | 10-22-25

How’s everybody doing? Doing well. How you doing? All right. Good. Good to see everyone. You guys excited for the season? Oh, yeah. Are you? I’m excited. Yeah, we’re real excited about the season. Hopefully you guys uh are excited as well. Hopefully the fans will enjoy it this year. So, we’re excited. You should hear back from Bill Simmons after your tweet. Uh I didn’t I didn’t even check. I didn’t I didn’t see Oh, sorry. Um I didn’t even check. You know, like I said, I Not a big deal. Always stick up for our guys. We’re a family around here. Stick up for our guys when someone says something. No, no big deal. It was all good. Matt, what is it about opening night for fans, for the team, for you? What is it about opening night? Just a lot of excitement, you know, a new year. It was a long offseason. Too long of an offseason, right, as we all know. And um we got a new crew here. We have a new identity, a new culture, new vision. I’m really excited about the fans being able to see it live. I think people have seen in the preseason a little bit and hopefully you guys have seen it. Um some of the stuff we’ve been talking about. So, not buzzwords anymore. Now, it’s actually you’re seeing it during the game and now the real game start. So now it really matters and so um you know we’re not going to be perfect you know but we are hopefully every day getting a little bit better um around that identity around that culture around the the the the grind the work the grit all the things we’ve been talking about. So I feel like you guys have seen it and people have been talking about which makes me happy but now we got it now now game one really starts. Matt with that oh with with that identity what have you seen just from the competitive nature of this team throughout training camp and and just how intense it’s been and guys really rooting for each other out there? Yeah, it’s been great. You know, that that competitiveness is is is awesome to see and you know, all the guys have have leveled up a little bit on that. Obviously, Dylan brings a whole level of competitiveness, but book all the guys, you know, and then seeing like one through 15, really one through 17 if you think about the three two-way players. Everyone’s competing every day, talking trash, but it’s not it’s not in a in a BS way. It’s a let’s get better every day. And that’s what I was just saying like we’re going to be stacking days. Getting better every day is the is the goal. I think we’re in a great spot now, but I think by game 82, you’ll be even more impressed with the competitiveness, with the drive, with the excitement, with the energy, and hopefully you’ll see some joy out there and some fun, which I know the fans will love. How excited are you for for Jordan Kn to to get his feet wet and get his first game as a head coach after all the work he’s put in. Yeah, he’s a worker. So, it’s it’s exciting. You know, you know, you got to realize this is his first game as an NBA head coach. He’s worked his whole life for this opportunity. And so, he’s excited. Um, and he’s prepared. you know, is not someone that’s like, I’m excited to go do it. Let’s go see how it goes. He’s put in all the work. He’s in there early, stays late every day. I mean, he’s just does everything you want from a coach. And uh now he gets to go do it in real life. And it’s going to be an excitement. It’s going to at the same time, it’s going to be a process. Get he’s going to be a better coach by game 82 than he is game one, just like everyone gets better as the year goes on. Are you surprised it it took group this quickly though for to grasp the whole idea? Because we’re talking June to now. There isn’t a lot of time. That’s like yeah that’s just a well to to be honest with you it took too long because it took two two two and a half years for me to make that change and define it. But once we said this is what we believe in and it’s alignment from owner GM coach players everyone in the organization then it’s now it’s action and you got to take action. So um you know and it’s not all the way there yet. So, you know, am I surprised? I’m not real happy with where we’re at. But at the same time, we have a long ways to go. You know, h doing the things that we’ve been talking about on the identity we talking about, we’re going to do it, but doing it for 48 minutes and then doing it for 48 minutes, 82 games, there’s still a process. And it’s not just on the court, it’s actually off the court. Hopefully, you’ve seen some of the stuff with the fans, doing different things for like we’ve done all those things. We had to change the identity here in Phoenix. And like I said, I’m hoping everyone’s going to be proud and excited. Um and and those are the expectations we have is to make sure that we do that um consistently and get better every day. What do you want to see from this team tonight? I want to see all the things we just talking about. I want to see some joy. I want to see some competitiveness. I want to see um the fans loving it. I want to see the players doing all the things that we’ve been seeing in training camp um and in the preseason games in the real games. And uh because now it matters. Now it matters for real, right? It’s game one of 82 and so uh I’m excited to watch. I’m I’m real excited. And you know, but then it starts going. you got a game, then you got two games Friday, Saturday, then you’re back on Monday, then Wednesday. It’s just we’re really going at it. So, I’m excited to watch. Matt, when you see an article or a video clip like the one you responded to last night, what motivates you to respond to those types of tapes? You know, I I usually don’t get too involved with it, but I I I will a little bit more now because once again, I I’m I’m big on family and team and like I’m going to stick up for our guys and I don’t have to respond to everybody’s perspective all the time because everyone can say what they want to say. But, you know, if someone says something about me, I like when our guys stick up and someone I’ve seen someone say this about our team, I’m going to stick up for our guys sometimes. And so, there’s there’s times to to to to voice your thoughts and times not to. And so, um, you know, it wasn’t anything negative. Like, I respect Bill and he makes comments and like I said in the tweet, he makes some good takes and some terrible ones. And that was a terrible one. But, uh, but I respect him and and I appreciate what he does for the NBA and you know, for everyone. When you’re here and you’re around the players, what are what’s the conversations like? What are you trying to message me maybe get across to them? Is it more of a relaxed deal? Is it more of, hey, look, I’m looking for you to be this. How would you describe your interaction? Yeah. No, no, I’m I’m I’m not telling them what I’m looking for to do. That’s Coach A’s job, Brian Gregory’s job. They do all that stuff. But my job is to show them support. We talk about family. We talk about team. We talk about doing things the son’s way. And I’m I’m part of that as well. And so, we’re all one team and one family talking about that. So checking in with them, checking in on how their family is, checking in how they like being in Phoenix, checking in how how coaches treat them, how they like everything and just building a relationship um just like they do with me and they ask me how my kids are doing and the kids come to the game and so we just want to build that relationship and that and so me being around I think that’s what I do and you know not just with players and coaches but with front office and trainers and everybody we’re all you know this is one group and one team and that that that identity we had to redefine and I think we’ve done a good job of it so far. Something B something talked about at the preseason opener was that like training camp and all that translated to to the floor and for you and BG to like have this message that you were sharing over the summer and to see it translate training camp at the very early stages but to see it in motion already. What has that meant to you and BG? It means a lot. You know, it means a lot because you know when you say it everyone says those are buzzwords and what’s that mean and like you know everyone makes their jokes and their comments but now you start to see it and you guys have been around enough practice you can see a little bit of it then you see it in the preseason game. But once again, like I said, showing it in spurts is not good enough. Um, you got to be consistent with it. And so, um, I’ve been really happy with it so far. I feel like the the vision, the identity we’ve been talking about is being lived on the court, which is what the fans and you guys get to see all the time. And so, I’m excited about that. But once again, we’re not there’s no victory here. We got 82 games and we got to do it every single day. And then we got to do it again next summer and we got to do it the season after. And we we got to keep building. Take us behind the scenes with Jordan a little bit. What have like meetings with him been like? Film sessions with if you do that with him like what have you learned about him just getting to know him more of these people? He just so he thinks about basketball in such a creative innovative way. I really like when I describe him. I’m like he’s coaching like people are going to be coaching in 2030. He thinks of it differently. He thinks about how things um should be and he’s analytical but he’s practical. Um he’s really been a joy to watch his basketball mind. like cuz I think I know basketball but it’s like it’s there’s a whole different levels of this and so just being around him and hearing him talk hearing him just go through different things about players about strategies about what you know you know other you know we had dinner last night and see what you know he watching like what the the other games were going on and seeing how he thinks about it was just he’s he’s excellent but once again he’s going to keep getting better right he’s he’s a young coach and he’s going to develop just like our our players are going to develop and so but I’m been real happy with him and I love talking hoops with Just seeing you here, it sounds like, you know, you’re very optimistic and you’re excited, but you’re you’re like, “Hey, it’s just early.” How are you balancing the whole I’m happy for this, but there’s more to be done. Yeah. So, I’m always optimistic and positive. You guys have learned that. I think you guys heard seen me that for a couple years. And so, I feel great about where it’s at. But at the same time, um, being great today is not going to be good enough being great consistently. And like even in my mortgage business, like we got to get better every single day. And so, I got to be better as an owner. The front office has to be better. The players have to be better, the coaches. And so that’s what’s fun is like, you know, I I’ve said it a couple times like we’re an ascending team, a team that’s going to be getting better. And that’s fun for fans and for everyone where maybe in the past it was like, hey, we kind of have a short window and we’re going to, you know, get older and get worse potentially. This is not how it is now. Now we feel great about it. I feel like we’re going to get better and um it’s going to be it’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m having fun so far. We’ve seen you floating around the upper deck before interacting with fans. How will you spend your time on opening night? Yeah, I definitely walk the concourse to to make sure that the fans are getting the attention and uh and seeing if there’s anything that’s not right. And so I walk through there. I love going the front in the upper deck and maybe bringing some fans down whether it’s in my suite or other places and just or giving them some gift cards and just doing right by the fans. I love that because you know what they’re excited. I I like going to the upper deck and seeing fans there 30 minutes before the game with their popcorn and they’re sitting there waiting. It’s like man these are the these are the real fans. I want to make sure we do all the right things for them. And so I uh I really enjoy that. Every time I come to a game, whether it’s Mercury or the Suns, I always walk the concourse um by myself. Some maybe some maybe Josh or some other people will be with me, but usually it’s by myself, say hello to the fans, high five some of them, take some pictures, but more importantly, thank them for being there and supporting the team. Anything new at the arena for fans? There’s a lot of cool new things that there’s a new FanDuel, you know, that new new space, but there’s a lot of really nice things. We we got um we have a couple new traditions starting tonight. We got a couple new things. We also, one of the most important things um is there’s over 60 former players coming back tonight to the game and so we have a bunch of suites for them. They’re actually golfing right now. I was going to go try to come pop in and say hello to them. But um but it’s really cool to get everybody here. Um they want to come back and players that have played one year with us and players that have played 15 years. Players that in the Ring of Honor and players that maybe most fans won’t even remember, but everyone’s coming back and we’re building that that family, that program, that tradition, that those relationships. And that’s exciting. When you were talking about Jordan earlier, you said you had dinner with him last night. Yeah. Was that just like you and a couple of front office members together as well? Yeah, we, you know, we just, it was just a, you know, hey, I’m I got in town, want to just see what he’s thinking. So, um, just three or four of us had dinner, talked, um, briefly about the team, about the about the expectations, about the excitement, about the energy, and, uh, and then we’re ready for dinner today. You’re not planning too far ahead, but how much do you like circling together with with Jordan and Brian over the course of the season and just kind of checking in with how the year’s going? Oh, I mean there’s no s checking in all the time. Yeah, we talk all the time and we will talk all the time. I talk to BG um every day. Talk to Josh every day. Talk to Jordan probably once a week. Maybe we’ll call it that. Um you know BG is you know Jordan’s main contact obviously and he works with him on a daily basis. Um but I’m very involved in talking with them. Once again not hey who we starting, who we playing, why we playing that. That’s not my thing. My thing is hey what can I do to help support you more? how you feeling about the team, anything that’s going right, anything that’s going wrong, you like that. That’s that’s my role. Like everyone and that’s why I talk about as as an owner and players, everyone’s got a role on the team, whether you’re the strength coach, whether you’re the star player, whether you’re the owner, and everyone’s got to be the best at that. I got to be the best owner I can be. I’m not trying to be the best coach or scout. Like, I don’t do that. That’s not my role. But, um, a lot of communication. Communication is an important part of this organization. Um, everyone’s got to be aligned and be on the same page. So, the way you do that is talk. Here’s what I think. here’s what I don’t think. Why’d you do that? My my perspective is this and that’s that’s what we’ve been doing. Just to make sure that doesn’t get taken out of context, you would say it’s like the same amount of communication as last year. More less. It’s it’s more so there’s there’s more communication this year. Once again, I as I told you guys have to see like we’re now doing it a different way, the Sun’s way around here. And it’s going to be more communication. We’ve had to define the identity. We’ve had to all be aligned on what that identity means and what we’re going to do and and like not just say these buzzwords, but what are you actually going to see differently? And so we talk about those things and they send me clips of that stuff that we’re seeing, whether it’s guys diving on the floor, everyone picking each other up. All the little things that I think turns into successful organization and program and we all believe that and we’re really focusing on those things. We were talking to Colin, you know, about, you know, how much has changed for him over a year by becoming part of the rotation and and the hard work that he’s put in. Is that the kind of identity that you character that you’re talking about with this team? Guys like that that are willing to do whatever it takes to get on the team. Absolutely. Colin’s a great example of like what we’re talking about, right? You guys when you watch Colin play tonight, you’ll be like, I get it. That’s how he plays. Same thing with Dylan, right? And but then but those two guys are raising everyone else to that same type of level. There’s a lot of guys also and of course book I mean go through all the name I’m not going to name every name Grayson does like we but we had to be consistent with that one through 14 one through 17 however we want to think about that and the coaches and everyone through the organization with that mentality and that mindset and and we weren’t before we didn’t we didn’t set that tone and that’s like I said I took the blame for that but it’s very clear now what we’re doing and you’ll see it and once again we’re not going to be perfect it’s not going to be 82 games 48 minutes a game like oh I see it you’re going to be like oh that’s that’s not that’s not what they’re talking about and then we’re going to film look at a film and get better. We’re going to talk about it, communicate, and then improve. Book has really taken the initiative of being the leader, getting the guys together this offseason. How have you seen him take those steps forward? Yeah, it’s very clear it’s Devin Booker’s team, right? He understands that. He knows that. Obviously, there’s other people that are leaders, too. There’s Dylan Brooks. There’s other guys that are making a a contribution. What’s up, buddy? Have a good one tonight. See you. Yep. Um, but you know, even even guys like Ryan and Oso, these guys are leading. Like, that guy’s done so much this offseason. And then when you come on and Rashir and Kobe come in, Ryan’s showing him this is how we do it in Phoenix. And so we’ve had to set the tone, but Book’s done an amazing job. And once again, this is game one. So, it’s going to be different for him. He’s going to be doing more and more, but uh you know, to have a franchise player like Deon Booker be allin for this city, all in for this organization. It’s a pretty special thing we’ve got here. So, hopefully we all appreciate it and enjoy it. I do. And I’m going to enjoy watching him this year on the court, but also all the things he does, you know, in the shadows, in the crevices, however you think about it. Thanks. Thank you guys. See you guys tonight. All right. Appreciate you guys and all the support. Thank you.

Mat Ishbia speaks to media ahead of the Phoenix Suns’ season opener against the Sacramento Kings on October 22nd, 2025. Mat speaks about excitement leading into the season, implementing new culture, and Head Coach Jordan Ott in his first game. #SunsUp

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