Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker addresses media before China Games
Devin Booker held a news conference in Macao, China, leading up to the Phoenix Suns’ preseason matchups against the Brooklyn Nets.
Provided by the Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are expected to have a losing record after trading away veteran stars and rebuilding with a younger roster.Despite low expectations, the Suns could still make the play-in tournament, as teams with losing records have done so in the past.
The Phoenix Suns are expected to have a losing record and miss the playoffs this season after trading away Kevin Durant, buying out Bradley Beal and starting anew.
However, consider this.
In the last four seasons, five teams reached the play-in tournament in the West with a losing record, with one advancing to the playoffs.
The New Orleans Pelicans finished 36-46 in the regular season but defeated the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in to earn the eighth seed in the 2022 playoffs. New Orleans then pushed Phoenix, the top overall seed with a franchise-record 64 wins, to a sixth game before being eliminated in the first round.
2025 play-in results
The No. 7 seed was the Golden State Warriors (48-34), followed by the Memphis Grizzlies (48-34), Sacramento Kings (40-42) and Dallas Mavericks (39-43) made the play-in.
The Warriors and Grizzlies battled through to the playoffs.
2024 play-in results
The No. 7 Pelicans (49-33), No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers (47-35), No. 9 Kings (46-36) and No. 10 Warriors (46-36) reached the play-in.
The Lakers and Pelicans advanced to the playoffs.
2023 play-in results
(No. 7) Lakers (43-39), followed by Minnesota Timberwolves (42-40), Pelicans (42-40) and Oklahoma City Thunder (40-42) made the play-in.
Los Angeles and Minnesota extended their season into the playoffs.
The next year, Oklahoma City earned the No. 1 seed in the West and Minnesota reached the conference finals as a third seed.
2022 play-in results
No. 7 T-Wolves (46-36), followed by Clippers (42-40), Pelicans (36-46) and Spurs (34-48) reached the play-in. Minnesota and New Orleans advanced to the playoffs.
Phoenix may very well have a losing record in 2025-26.
The Suns are coming off an ugly and underachieving 36-win season.
They have gone from having a veteran roster to one of the youngest in the league. Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen and Nigel Hayes-Davis are the only three players on the team who are at least 30 years old, with O’Neale being the oldest at 32.
Eight players are 23 years old or younger in Jalen Green, Mark Williams, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, Koby Brea, Rasheer Fleming, two-way signee CJ Huntley and 7-footer Khaman Maluach, who is the youngest at 19 years old.
Maluach, Fleming, Brea and Huntley are rookies, with Huntley being undrafted while Ighodaro and Dunn are entering their second NBA seasons.
Green, Williams and Dunn are expected to start with Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker for the season opener on Oct. 22 against the Sacramento Kings at Mortgage Matchup Center.
They have a first-year head coach in Jordan Ott.
In addition to that, the Western Conference is brutal, with defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder being the favorite to repeat as NBA champions.
The NBA general managers voted the Nuggets, Rockets, T-Wolves, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Mavs and Spurs to finish second through ninth behind the Thunder in the NBA.com survey entering the 2025-26 season.
This leaves one spot open for that 10th seed and last play-in tournament entry.
Can the Suns land that one?
Teams with losing records have, and history has shown anything can happen in the play-in.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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