Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker drives to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. defends. Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Suns Still In Lottery For Western Conference Power Rankings

Originally posted on Phoenix Suns on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 11:48 AM ET

The Phoenix Suns are going into the season hoping to improve after finishing outside of the playoff picture in 2025.

PHNX writer Gerald Bourguet doesn't believe the Suns will get better as he has them finishing No. 11 in the Western Conference again in the upcoming season.

"Realistically speaking, with so many new faces and so many of them being on the younger side, it’s going to take a season or two for Phoenix to right the ship, and that’s assuming they have the right pieces to begin with," Bourguet wrote.

"It’s not out of the realm of possibility that everything comes together in Year 1, but it’d take a Coach of the Year type of effort from Ott, a return to First Team All-NBA form from Book, and question marks like Green and Williams becoming exclamation points. More than likely, this group will be fighting for a play-in spot."

Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The teams behind the Suns in Bourguet's power rankings are the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz.

The Suns are competing for a spot in the Play-In Tournament and Bourguet thinks the teams in direct competition with Phoenix for that role are the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors.

The top six teams are the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets and defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Suns have a lot of work to do if they want to escape the lottery, but they are going to need to beat the low expectations placed upon them going into this season.

This means Devin Booker will have to play his best basketball to date. The same can be said for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and pretty much everyone else currently on the team's roster.

This article first appeared on Phoenix Suns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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