Suns host families for Thanksgiving meal at St. Vincent de Paul
The Phoenix Suns hosted a Thanksgiving meal for families on Nov. 20, 2025, in Phoenix, at St. Vincent de Paul.
Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn remembers going to homeless shelters as a kid with his mom and providing food on Thanksgiving.
He still has the giving spirit.
The Phoenix Suns/Mercury Foundation teamed up with St. Vincent de Paul for a holiday event Nov. 20 to help those in need at the main campus on Watkins Road in Phoenix.
“Coming here with the team and seeing all these families and with the front office and the staff here, it’s just great camaraderie,” Dunn said. “Great for the community. They pour into us so it’s easy to give back.”
Nearly 500 meals were served as the dining room was filled with food, fun, music and smiles all around with the Suns bringing joy to the event.
“This is a longtime partnership between the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and St. Vincent de Paul,” said Ryan Corry, Chief Philanthropy Officer at St. Vincent de Paul. “And every time they come in, there’s energy, there’s joy. We almost never tell the families and so when people walk in, just the looks on their faces tells you we’re doing something special.”
Suns players volunteer at community Thanksgiving event
The Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury Foundation partnered with St. Vincent de Paul to hold a Thanksgiving event on Nov. 20, 2025.
Suns general manager Brian Gregory, head coach Jordan Ott and his coaching staff and staff members were all in attendance as well as the Gorilla mascot and Suns players Nick Richards, Nigel Hayes-Davis, rookie Khaman Maluach and Dunn.
“We talk about how important being in the community is,” Gregory said. “It’s a great day and it’s an opportunity for us to show how important that connection is.”
The event put life in perspective for Ott.
“We get stuck in this NBA bubble pretty quick, city to city, hotel to hotel, competition to competition,” he said. “Then there’s real life out there. It’s good to get outside of our bubble and be a part of an event like that.”
The Suns volunteered in multiple ways, from serving food to passing out drinks and cleaning up afterwards.
“It’s important for us as athletes to be in a position where we can be able to give back to those who are in an unfortunate position right now,” Hayes-Davis said. “We don’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. For us to be able to not only as players but as an organization come in and help, it’s very special, very important and needs to happen. Those who are in privileged positions should help those who are not.”
They visited tables and had conversations with families as well.
“The uniqueness of this team is they’re really fun, they’re super likeable, they’re down-to-earth guys,” Corry said. “Nick Richards walked in and immediately, he’s taking photos with the kids, he’s talking to the parents.”
Richards towered over everyone there, being a 7-footer, but he was down to earth with everyone who approached him.
“I just try to get to know them,” he said. “I ask them what’s their name, what they like to do. Ask them about their families.”
Corry also noticed how the 7-footer Maluach lit up the room with his presence and energy.
“Khaman’s what, 18, 19 years old, the biggest dude in here and just smiling,” Corry said. “Just joy on his family. This is a really special team. I’m not the GM, but they’re winning on the court and they’re winning in this dining room, too.”
The Suns players played basketball with the kids, signed autographs and took pictures with them in leaving a lasting impression.
“At every level of stardom or popularity, someone meets someone and the first thing they say is, ‘Wow, they were so nice like a regular person,’” Hayes-Davis said.
“We are regular people. Our job, they see us on TV, it creates that large gap. With the money stars make, the notoriety, the fame, it feels like we’re not in the same class. People separate themselves on their own. Then once we’re in the environment together where we’re all in one building, all at one event and then they talk to us and it’s like, ‘Oh he’s great.’”
This is all part of the Suns looking to become even more involved in the community.
“We asked in the spring for the community to show a commitment to us as we made some changes, we’re going to do some different things,” Gregory said.
“We asked them to trust us. I think so far, so good. We’ve a long way to go, but the community is really important to what we want to build. Rebuild that trust among us in terms of the organization and our great fans and supporters. This is just one little way we can do it.”
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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