The biggest win for the Suns this preseason wasn’t buried in a box score. It was the sight of a healthy roster and a starting group that spent the first two-and-a-half quarters on the floor before giving way to the reserves.
That mattered in Phoenix because a year ago, the injury picture looked very different. Booker's backcourt mate, Jalen Green, was limited to 30 games after a hamstring injury. This time around, with the 2026-27 season closing in, the Suns appear to be in much better shape.
Even with Luke Kennard and Oso Ighodaro out of Friday’s game, Jordan Ott said both players are ready for the season opener.
Devin Booker saw the same thing the Suns did all preseason: a team getting the work it needed without the concerns that can derail a year before it starts.
“Yeah. I mean, we're healthy,” Booker explained in the locker room postgame.
“I think that's the main goal of preseason, and we've been getting to scrimmage each other in practice too. So, everything's been high level.
We know what we're up against here.”
Ott, as usual, was deliberate about what he wanted to learn from the preseason and careful not to overstate it. He liked the stretch he got from his rotation players, but he also knows the real test begins when the games count.
“I think we've seen it in spurts, in long spurts,” he explained postgame. “We'll look at this film because this is a big one because they're gonna play their rotation players.
But I think overall, when our rotation guys have played, we played to our identity. We've taken some steps, adding new pieces, but you don't know until it jumped up Wednesday night, so we're in a good place.
“Health is always the first and foremost when you get through a preseason. I think we're in a pretty good place there, and what we've been able to do on the floor with this group seems to be headed in that direction, but we won't know until Wednesday night.”
Phoenix opens the regular season on the road Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
In Other News...
Suns Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Roster Priorities
The Suns made an early roster choice that says plenty about where their focus is heading, parting ways with Haywood Highsmith and keeping Jamaree Bouyea on a non-guaranteed deal. It is the kind of move teams make when they are weighing not just current depth, but also the shape of the roster a few months down the line, with both contracts set to become fully guaranteed in January.
Bouyeas retention points to Phoenix leaning into youth, development and flexibility while also taking Highsmiths injury history into account. For a team still sorting out the edges of its roster, that is a meaningful signal about which paths it wants to preserve as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Miles Bridges Could Decide How Far The Suns Really Go
Miles Bridges is already drawing attention in Phoenix before the regular season even begins, and not just because of the change of scenery from Charlotte. Former NBA head coach Tyrone Corbin said he believes Bridges can become a key player for the Suns in the 2026-27 season, a view that adds another layer to an offseason acquisition the team hopes will pay off as it tries to build on last years playoff trip under new coach Jordan Ott.
The timing matters because the Suns are heading into their opener after a 1-4 preseason, leaving plenty of room for questions about how quickly the pieces will fit together. Corbin also pointed to Devin Bookers maturity and offensive talent, a reminder that Phoenix still has top-end firepower, but the broader question is whether Bridges can become part of the answer when the games start to count and the Suns are judged on how far this group can really go. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Get One Last Rotation Test Before The Games Start Counting
The Suns are getting one final look at a near-full rotation before the games start to count, and that makes their preseason finale against the Jazz a little more meaningful than the average tune-up. Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and Collin Gillespie are all slated to return, giving Phoenix a chance to run its core pieces together one more time before the regular season begins.
Luke Kennard and Oso Ighodaro will sit out because of injuries, though both are expected back for the opener. Coach Jordan Ott said the Suns have been using the preseason to get their preparation where it needs to be, and Utah offers a useful final test because of its size. For a team still sorting out its best combinations, the matchup is less about the scoreboard than about how the pieces fit when the rotation gets real. [Read more 🡒]