Suns Awards: Who Actually Wins MVP Honors?

After trading away Kevin Durant last summer and buying out Bradley Beal, it was very obvious Devin Booker was the true No. 1 for the Phoenix Suns heading into the 2025-26 season.

Booker embraced being the focal point of the offense and elevated his teammates' play with his unselfishness, while averaging 26.1 points per game, which led to him making his fifth All-Star Game.

There's no question Booker is the team's best player, and he is paid accordingly so, but we have a different pick for the MVP of this season's team.

Our Pick for Suns' MVP in 2025-26 Season

The Suns had a complete identity reset this season, which led to them being one of the biggest surprise teams in the NBA with a 45-37 record, and one player set the tone for a new culture the moment he arrived to Phoenix - Dillon Brooks.

Not only did Brooks have the best season of his career, averaging a career-high 20.2 points per game, but everyone followed his lead with his gritty playstyle and the amount of work he put in from day one.

No one expected the Suns to make the playoffs before the season, but it was clear they were a playoff team almost all year long once they stepped on the court, and it's hard to see that being the case without Brooks.

Phoenix specifically targeted Brooks from the Houston Rockets as part of the Kevin Durant trade because of what he's all about, but Brooks was also up for the task of having a much larger offensive role when Jalen Green missed 50 games with a hamstring injury.

Even after fracturing his hand and Green coming back, Brooks stayed locked in on the court in the playoffs, and although the Suns were swept in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooks had a series to remember, averaging a team-high 26.0 points per game while shooting 43.8% from 3-point range.

Everyone in the organization talked glowingly about Brooks and the intensity he brought every single day, which constantly motivated the rest of the team.

With Brooks up for an extension this summer, Suns owner Mat Ishbia made it known how much he loves Brooks in his end-of-season press conference and summed up exactly why he's our pick for MVP.

"Dillon represents everything we talked about. When I talk about culture and identity and toughness and care and work ethic, that's Dillon Brooks," Ishbia said. "Dillon Brooks made a massive jump. A lot of people talk about his offense, and he made a massive jump, and he earned that. He's in early, he stays late, he comes in after the games and shoots comes in the night, morning, before the games. This is in the playoffs. This is before the season. This is in the middle of season.

"You get what you deserve in life. You earn it, and he earned it. His villain persona, I love. Technical fouls, I'll say I love them. Everyone else maybe doesn't love them as much. I'd rather not get suspended, but I take him as he is. Can he get better at things? Absolutely, but he's a leader. He cares. I love him. I love having him here. I've said that. I said that we targeted him, and he's helped change the identity.

"What I would say is beyond that, the identity that I talked about, that I wanted. I talked about it last April ... before any trade talk was even close, and I defined that, and he's the epitome of that. And so we love Dillon. I love his persona. I think the fans love him here. I think they've really embraced him in such an amazing way. And I think he loves that too, and he deserves it. You get what you deserve in life. Dillon deserves everything he's gotten. He's earned it. He put the work in, gets the most shots up. Guess what? He starts making more shots.

"And he cares, and he leads. And when he speaks, people listen because he puts in the work ... I love Dillon Brooks. Excited for him to continue to be here and be a huge part of our organization."