The 2023–24 Phoenix Suns season is their 56th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 31st season at the Footprint Center.^[2] It is also the first full season under the ownership group led by Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia after the brothers purchased the team the previous season on February 8, 2023. It also became the first season since the 1971–72 season without Al McCoy broadcasting games at all, with him announcing his retirement after the end of the 2023 NBA playoffs.^[3] Not only that, but it also was the first season where the Suns moved their broadcasting services from Bally Sports Arizona (previously named FSN Arizona and Fox Sports Arizona) back in 2003 to multiple Arizona-based TV networks simultaneously broadcasting games through Gray Television owned local networks KTVK, Arizona's Family Sports via multiple local networks, and KOLD-TV (in the Tucson region only) alongside an over-the-top subscription service called "Suns Live" that was created by Kiswe.^[4] This also became the first season since the 2018–19 season without head coach Monty Williams coaching the team after a second straight disappointing second round exit for them, as he was fired on May 13, 2023, despite having the team's first winning record as head coach in a season since Jeff Hornacek, first winning overall record and first coach to make the playoffs since Alvin Gentry, being their first NBA Coach of the Year Award winner since Mike D'Antoni, and being their first head coach since Paul Westphal (and third overall alongside John MacLeod) to coach in the NBA Finals while also having one more season left on his original deal.^[5]

On June 6, the Suns decided to hire Frank Vogel (a previous championship winning head coach back in the 2020 NBA Bubble Finals^[6]) over finalists Doc Rivers (who previously won the NBA Finals back in 2008) and associate coach Kevin Young (who kept his job with a new pay raise in mind),^[7] with his new coaching staff being made official on June 21.^[8] On June 24, the Suns traded with the Washington Wizards to acquire 3-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal (alongside Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd) in exchange for 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Landry Shamet, six second rounders, four first round pick swaps, and cash considerations,^[9][10] though the deal was later considered a part of a three-way deal including the Indiana Pacers as well.^[11] This became the team's second trade for a star-quality player in four months after previously trading for 13-time NBA All-Star and 2-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant during the previous season in February. During the month of July, the Suns made three more trades for the purpose of gaining more draft capital. On September 27, before training camp began, the Suns traded center Deandre Ayton and rookie Toumani Camara to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-way deal that sent 7-time All-Star Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Portland center Jusuf Nurkić, guards Nassir Little and Keon Johnson, and Milwaukee shooting guard Grayson Allen.^[12]

At the onset of the season, the Suns faced a challenging start, as the team encountered a challenging beginning marked by a 4–6 record, largely attributed to their poor performance in the fourth quarters of most games. Nevertheless, the team managed to rebound admirably, by embarking on a seven-game winning streak subsequent to their loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 12. It was noteworthy that this victory streak occurred during a time when their formidable trio, known as the Big 3, were absent and did not simultaneously participate in any matches together. Despite commencing their joint participation in games on December 13, nearly a third of the way into the season, that the triumvirate of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal finally showcased their collaborative skills when all three star players finally graced a game together, albeit their partnership was short-lived, after encountering an abrupt end during their second outing as a cohesive unit concluded prematurely. After experiencing a detrimental loss record again on Christmas Day, what was subsequently followed by an average performance on December 27, the triumvirate of Booker, Durant, and Beal eventually made a triumphant comeback, securing their first collective victory after 31 games into the regular season. Consequently as the year drew to a close, the culmination led the team to conclude the year 2023 with a respectable record of 17-15.

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	College / Club
2	52	Toumani Camara	Power Forward	Belgium	Dayton

The Suns entered this draft with only a second round pick after trading their first round pick to acquire Kevin Durant during the previous season.^[13] With the 52nd pick, the Suns selected Belgian power forward Toumani Camara, who originally played for the University of Georgia before transferring to the University of Dayton after his sophomore season ended. During his time in Dayton, Camara was a part of the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team in his junior year before entering both the All-Atlantic 10 First Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team in his senior year. Camara signed a four-year, partially-guaranteed rookie-scaled deal on July 3, with years after his first season being guaranteed later on via his production with the team.^[14] On September 27, Camara was traded alongside Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-way deal that also saw Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard being sent to the Milwaukee Bucks.^[15]

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 8 Allen, Grayson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1995-10-08 Duke F/C 27 Azubuike, Udoka (TW) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1999-09-17 Kansas F 21 Bates-Diop, Keita 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) 1996-01-23 Ohio State G 3 Beal, Bradley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1993-06-28 Florida F/C 11 Bol, Bol 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-11-16 Oregon G 1 Booker, Devin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1996-10-30 Kentucky F 35 Durant, Kevin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1988-09-29 Texas F/C 14 Eubanks, Drew 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1997-02-01 Oregon State G 0 Goodwin, Jordan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-10-23 Saint Louis G 23 Gordon, Eric 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1988-12-25 Indiana G/F 10 Lee, Damion  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1992-10-21 Louisville G 38 Lee, Saben (TW) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1999-06-23 Vanderbilt G/F 25 Little, Nassir 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2000-02-11 North Carolina G 12 Maledon, Théo (TW) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-06-12 France F/C 4 Metu, Chimezie 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1997-03-22 USC C 20 Nurkić, Jusuf 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 290 lb (132 kg) 1994-08-23 Bosnia and Herzegovina G 2 Okogie, Josh 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1998-09-01 Georgia Tech G/F 18 Watanabe, Yuta 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1994-10-13 George Washington	Head coach Frank Vogel Assistant coach(es) Dru Anthrop Quinton Crawford David Fizdale John Lucas III Jon Pastorek Miles Simon Greg St. Jean Kevin Young (associate HC) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: December 29, 2023

Standings

Game log

Awards and records

• On August 9, 2023, the Phoenix Suns announced that both Shawn Marion's #31 and Amar'e Stoudemire's #32 would be inducted into the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor during this season.^[18]
  • Also, during their home debut of the season against the Utah Jazz on October 28, 2023, the Phoenix Suns unveiled their "reimagined" Ring of Honor with every member represented being introduced with either themselves or family members of theirs being introduced by new owner Mat Ishbia and being given commemorative watches by him before unveiling the new Ring of Honor design at halftime. With this event, the Suns also made sure that Tom Chambers, Dan Majerle, Charles Barkley, and Steve Nash had their numbers properly retired by the team after only being honored initially.^[19] The Suns ultimately won that game 126–104, though it was also the last public appearance of Walter Davis, who passed away days later through natural causes on November 2, 2023.^[20]
  • Shawn Marion's number was retired on December 15, 2023 against the New York Knicks.^[21] Unlike prior retirement ceremonies for the Ring of Honor, this retirement ceremony happened after the ending of this night's game, which ended in a brutal 139–122 defeat that also saw Bradley Beal getting injured early in the game. However, the ceremony also featured most past Ring of Honor members, as well as past Suns teammates of his, Dirk Nowitzki, and Marion's family members being celebrated guests of honor.
  • Amar'e Stoudemire's #32 will be retired on March 2, 2024 against the Houston Rockets.^[22]

Injuries/Personal missed games

Transactions

References