As the 2024-25 NBA season progresses, four teams have fallen well short of their preseason expectations: the Golden State Warriors, New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers, and Phoenix Suns.
While the Sixers and Pelicans can somewhat justify their struggles due to injuries, and the Warriors seem to have recovered after acquiring Jimmy Butler, the Suns, despite having three All-Stars—Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal—along with a championship-winning coach in Mike Budenholzer, are stuck in 11th place.
On paper, none of the Suns’ Big Three are having disastrous seasons, but the team’s lack of effort, chemistry, and unity is evident.
Both the Suns and the Sixers have been among the most disappointing teams this season, but the Suns’ situation is especially dire.
“Given how disappointing and frustrating the Sixers’ season has been—and it’s been really tough—I’ve been around it… But this Suns team, I think, has been an even bigger disappointment because they’ve been relatively healthy this year, and they’re still a total mess,” said ESPN’s Tim Bontemps on the Hoops Collective podcast.
He added that Booker and Durant appear disengaged, having distanced themselves from the team, while Beal’s refusal to waive his no-trade clause has kept the Suns stuck. Despite their wealth of talent, the Suns have been far from good.
“It’s unbelievable how bad this season has been,” Bontemps concluded.
Currently, Phoenix sits 3.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the final Play-In Tournament spot, and unlike the teams ahead of them, they are on a sharp downward trajectory.
