48 hours. That’s the gap between now and the first look at the 2026-27 Phoenix Suns, who open preseason Monday afternoon against the Detroit Pistons in the Motor City.
The standings won’t move, but the questions start immediately. And for Phoenix, the first five preseason games should give a few real hints about how this roster is taking shape.
The biggest one sits in the middle. The Suns’ center battle is going to draw plenty of attention, with Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach likely getting picked apart possession by possession.
One of them could separate himself enough to claim the starting spot by the end of the preseason. But the picture gets even more interesting when the minutes go to CJ Huntley and Duop Reath.
Those two are fighting for more than just a good showing. They’re trying to hang around the organization into the regular season, with a two-way contract possibly being the best-case outcome. The preference for who Phoenix should keep is clear when it comes to youth, long-term value, and development, but training camp and preseason performance could decide which one sticks.
There’s also plenty of intrigue around first-round pick Koa Peat, who could make his Suns debut in these exhibition games. Since this is preseason, especially in the first three outings, he should have room to show what he can do.
The real question is how much freedom he gets. Peat can handle the ball even as a power forward, so the Suns have a choice: let him stretch into that part of his game or keep him in a narrower role that doesn’t fully tap into his prospect profile.
That’s a familiar kind of conversation in Phoenix. Ryan Dunn showed in Summer League that he can be more dangerous when he’s allowed to attack with the ball, get downhill, and create a little more offense.
But that’s not how he’s used with the Suns. He’s more of a three-and-D player, someone there to space the floor, knock down threes, and avoid too much dribbling.
Peat is a little like that, too, even if he hasn’t shown the same comfort as a three-point shooter. So preseason should tell us something useful about how the Suns intend to deploy him and which parts of his game they’re willing to lean into right away.
Then there’s the word that has followed the Suns all offseason: continuity. It’s been the buzzword for a reason, even if this team hasn’t had much of it over a longer stretch. Outside of Devin Booker, the longest-tenured players are Oso Ighodaro, Ryan Dunn, and Collin Gillespie, and all three are entering their third seasons in Phoenix.
Still, there is some carryover from last season, and that should start showing up more clearly as the preseason moves into games four and five, when rotations and minutes begin to settle in for the regular season. That’s when the chemistry should become easier to spot.
The Suns do have familiarity working for them, but the roster isn’t unchanged. Miles Bridges has been added to the starting group, and Mark Williams is currently injured, so not every role is as settled as the word “continuity” might suggest. With more youth in the mix, that cohesion has to be guided from the top and turn into something real once the games start to matter.
The final score won’t tell us much. The clues will.
The center race, Peat’s role, the fight for roster survival, and what continuity actually looks like when the rotations firm up - those are the pieces worth watching. Five preseason games won’t answer everything, and they’re not supposed to.
But after months of projecting what this team might become, the Suns are finally about to start showing their hand.
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As the Suns get ready for their first preseason game of the 2026-27 season, there is a different kind of energy around the group than the one that followed them into last year. The win projections are lower this time, but the tone from the organization has been notably upbeat, with general manager Brian Gregory stressing the importance of daily work, team connection and the habits that can carry a group through the grind of a season.
Mat Ishbia has leaned into that optimism, too, saying he believes Phoenix is close to moving deeper into the playoffs and back into the kind of high-level contention the franchise is chasing. For a team trying to turn internal belief into a stronger finish, the real test now is whether that confidence shows up once the preseason turns into games that count. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Dunn Just Got Dragged Into A Suns Debate Fans Feel Strongly
Ryan Dunn is already in the middle of a familiar Suns conversation this fall, the kind that comes with a young player whose value is easier to see on one end of the floor than the other. The team picked up his fourth-year contract option, and he came into training camp ready to fight for his spot, bringing the same defensive promise that made him interesting in the first place even as the shot has remained the part of his game that still needs work.
Now he has been pulled into a bigger public debate after NBA on Prime rolled out a new commercial for its upcoming coverage. The promo puts Dunn in a defensive role against elite scorers, a reminder of why the Suns still see reason to keep betting on him, but also of how sharply fans tend to split when a players upside is tied to one skill and his future depends on another. [Read more 🡒]
Devin Bookers New Suns-Themed Sneaker Has A Discount Fans Will Notice
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The release has already created some buzz because the Friends & Family pair disappeared quickly, but the version most fans can actually buy is the general-release Sedona colorway. For Suns supporters and sneaker collectors alike, it is the kind of crossover release that ties Booker back to the state in a very visible way, with one price point now standing out for anyone looking to grab a pair before the next wave of attention hits. [Read more 🡒]