We sit on the brink of yet another season of Phoenix Suns Basketball, and the excitement is building in the Valley and Suns community. I find myself looking forward to all that will unfold for our team this year, but it’s understandable that there are many who feel some kind of way about this team, the players, and the prospects of us finally see the Larry O’Brien Trophy make its way through Downtown Phoenix.
I don’t know about you, fellow Suns fans, but last season was exhausting. The fan base had sky-high expectations after a flurry of moves and all of the positivity that came from being out from under the shadow of the Disgraced Former Owner of the Phoenix Suns. The future looked so bright we were going to need shades…and then it all fell apart.
I’d never seen the Suns community so upset about so many things: Book vs. KD stans, Beal’s injuries. Nurk vs. DA, Vogel, Eubanks, Eric Gordon, the failed mid-prime veteran gambit, turnovers, point guard debates, 4th quarter meltdowns, Mikal and Cam mourners, feeling slighted by the media, but trashing the team amongst ourselves. Landry Shamet…just because, damnit. I’m sure your blood is starting to boil just reading this list.
When the buzzer sounded at the end of Game 4 against the Timberwolves, I didn’t feel upset. I count myself as someone who rather enjoyed quite a lot about the 2023-24 season. Now, don’t mistake me. I’ve been a huge Suns fan my entire life. I joke that I learned what cognitive dissonance was when my favorite player (Michael Jordan) faced off against my favorite team. I vowed after that, never to root for a player over my team again, because it hurt so bad even as I was cheering MJ on.
Suns basketball is one of my favorite things in the world, and we should all enjoy it no matter how the season ends. It’s hard to do in the moment, but it’s worth remembering that literally every single great Suns memory you’ve ever had still fell short of the ultimate prize.
Just think about recent Suns history:
- Book’s 70-point game — Came in a loss
- The Bubble Suns — Didn’t make the Play-In Tournament
- Drafting DA, our first ever #1 pick — Luka
- The Valley Oop and NBA Finals run — Lost to the Bucks in 6
- The incredible 64-win season — Mavs blowout in game 7
- KD Trade — Lose to Nuggets in 6
- Beal Trade — Injuries, inconsistency, and a playoff flameout
That’s a lot of joy that ended in a lot of pain, and some would say that one cancels out the other. I disagree. Sports is about way more than just the outcome. It’s a place of community and celebration and hope. But hope can be dashed very quickly, and that is why I think we could all benefit from a little wisdom to help get through the upcoming season.
And for that wisdom, I always turn to the Stoics.
The Stoics date back to the Greeks in 300 BC and their philosophy focused on reframing the mind to not react to what we cannot control, leading to emotional resilience and inner strength.
So, without further ado, I want to use the likes of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus to help us prepare for — and most importantly, enjoy — the 2024-25 Phoenix Suns, no matter what the outcome may be.
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” – Epicurus
I actually enjoyed last season a lot because I just found myself in awe that I was getting to watch Kevin Durant suit up for 70+ games in a Suns uniform. I, of course, knew he was an incredible player and had been deeply envious and grumpy about what the Warriors and Nets had been able to create with their big threes. It felt unfair, and I remember being a kid and thinking how cool it would be if the 5 best players in the NBA all just agreed to be on the same team.
When Booker said he wanted the super team to come to him, it was a great soundbite but deemed deeply unserious by many. But damn it, here we are. It was manifested into existence. We should wake up every single game day with excitement, knowing that our homegrown superstar made it happen for us. We get to watch a top 10 all-time player represent us and a selfless star give up his cushy life in DC to join our squad.
It is easy to complain about draft capital, $50 million dollar contracts, who is the leader, and injuries. But every second of basketball we get to see with those three on the court is precious, and if you had told any of us ten years ago that we would have a squad like this, we would have laughed you out of the room.
So don’t pine for Mikal and Cam. Don’t mourn lost draft picks or second-apron ramifications. Appreciate that we have three incredible stars on the Phoenix Suns. It will be over before we know it.
“True happiness is…to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.” – Seneca
An 82-game season and playoff run is a slog, full of ups and downs, and it can be one big emotional rollercoaster. With championship aspirations it becomes easy to become bitter about every outcome regardless of how the actual game went. We saw this plenty of times last year.
The Suns complete an epic comeback against the Kings (on Bright Side Night, no less), but we are pissed that they were ever down to begin with instead of just enjoying what we just witnessed. Book goes off for multiple 50-point games in a week. Too bad they lost to the Pacers, though. KD hits a ridiculous double-clutch game-winner against the Bulls. It went on and on all season.
Every great performance came with a “yeah but…” and all because we were so focused on the big door prize at the end. Every nuance of the game came back to “how does this relate to the Suns chances of winning a title?” It can make it impossible to enjoy.
I think some of this has to do with how available all the games have become. I don’t live in Phoenix anymore, so my chances to see the Suns play are few and far between. I live in Denver and got to go to Game 2 against the Nuggets in 2023. They lost, but I had a blast being a Suns fan in hostile territory. I’d never seen KD play in person, and I saw Chris Paul’s final moments with the Suns live when he was starting to take over and I knew it was likely the last we’d see of him when he got injured.
I didn’t walk out of the game upset. I had fun watching two legends lace them up in a playoff setting. No matter the outcome, I appreciated the moment for what it was. So this year, let’s enjoy the wins, but also appreciate the outstanding performances, the fantastic highlights, hell, sometimes even the opposing players. (Seeing Jokic do his thing in person is unlike any basketball experience I’ve ever had.) Being in the moment is more enjoyable than being anxious about the unknowable future.
“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” – Seneca
Let’s keep it 100%. We have a lot of collective trauma as Suns fans. Our past experiences shape our perspective of what will happen in the future, and often, those feelings come from a fear of being hurt…again…by the Suns…it’s soul-crushing.
The best examples of this from last year were abundant. The reaction to the DA/Nurk trade was swift. Many were down on that trade immediately because, as a franchise, centers have sort of been a perpetual thorn in our side. Nurk was a downgrade, he couldn’t play defense, he was injury prone. And no matter how well he played compared to Ayton, the defensive disparity the moment he stepped off the court, or the number of games he played, it was never enough to appease the fear that having Nurk as a starting center instilled in many.
Another great example was the fear around draft capital. The Suns had no picks and would never obtain a young player for internal development again. We heard fans despair at this, lamenting giving up our fan favorites Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges for aging stars. Despite this narrative, the Suns had picks, used them smartly, and acquired two young players to bolster the ranks.
The fear was not real.
This season, we need to avoid allowing last season’s failure to cloud our judgment of the present roster. Despite keeping many core pieces, large changes were made, and the things that we feared last year will give way to new challenges. We must face those instead of lamenting problems that may no longer exist.
“People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” – Marcus Aurelius
I have news for you. If you think Bradley Beal is a washed-up, overpaid, injury-riddled, poor excuse for a third star, you’re probably not going to enjoy watching Bradley Beal play basketball for the Phoenix Suns. If you think Nurk is a slow, defensive sieve, terrible excuse for a starting center, it’s going to be rough. You feel like Kevin Durant is nothing but a cagey, mercurial star, stealing Book’s shine, bringing nothing but KD stans and haters into our kumbaya community? Look away.
Each of those players offered way more to us than the narrative that followed them to Phoenix. KD mentored Bol Bol despite having “no leadership”. Beal, despite his inconsistent availability, was the 3rd highest-scoring 3rd wheel behind only Kristaps Porzingis and CJ McCollum, and he did on his best efficiency ever. Nurk quietly anchored a team of non-defenders and was a lynchpin for one of the best half-court defenses in the league.
I won’t lie, I was annoyed when we got Nurk. His play changed my mind. I knew nothing of Grayson Allen other than his dirty reputation. His play and demeanor changed my mind. On the flipside, I thought Vogel would be a solid coach for the Suns…his coaching changed my mind.
If we allow players and coaches to surprise us, we will be surprised and fixed belief sets us up to be frustrated even when data and performance says otherwise.
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” – Epictetus
Along the lines of being fixed in our view of a player, it’s important to remember that in the social media world we occupy as Suns fans that, while we encounter a lot of nonsense, we also encounter a lot of wisdom if we choose to pay attention.
It was very interesting engaging with KD fans last season because their perspective on his strengths and weaknesses was surprising to me. They’d seen every iteration of KD and watched way more film and highlights of him than I ever had. Sometimes, they would pop off about Booker, and when I’d crash in to defend our shining Sun, of whom we will suffer no slight, they would provide context or insight I’d never considered. They helped me appreciate his game even more even though they can come across as being more for the player than for the team.
Also…just stay out of the Mavs community. I beg you. It’s not worth it.
“There is never a need to get worked up about things you cannot control.” – Marcus Aurelius
What’s done is done. The can of worms is opened. The only way out is through.
The part of the Suns season I found least enjoyable last year was the angst over things that couldn’t be undone and the reactions that fans had to them. I understand that Eric Gordon was frustrating all year, but I cheered for him every game and wanted him to be great. I might not agree with the Suns’ roster construction, but at the end of the day, Bradley Beal is on the roster, makes $50 million, and has a no-trade clause. I have absolutely no control over that, and it’s not worth an ounce of anger on my part. He’s on the Suns. I’m a Suns fan. Therefore, I’m a huge Bradley Beal fan until circumstances change and he’s not on the Suns.
The 20/20 hindsight is easy, and I always say it’s easy to talk about why a player is terrible, trash, or washed, but it’s more interesting to consider how it could work. The same goes for every single team. I can give you a reason why all 30 teams won’t win a title next year, and I’ll be correct 29 out of 30 times.
It’s interesting to think about how a team overcomes its shortcomings to be the one that rises above the rest. I don’t get mad at Nurkic because he’ll be suiting up during the season opener. What can Nurk do that makes him valuable to the Suns’ quest for glory? Let the anger go and consider the potential of things you have no power to change.
“Expectations are the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, we lose today.” – Seneca
In summation, I pose this challenge to all Suns fans for the upcoming season: Enjoy it. Savor it. Lay down the burden of dreaming about a championship and follow along with every moment as it unfolds.
They playoffs will arrive…or they won’t. A championship will be won, and the odds say it will not be the Suns, so we might as well appreciate every storyline. The narrative of our collective heartbreak is well-earned, but we do not have to accept that as our plight this season.
Cheer every player. Watch every game you can. Buy that City Edition jersey. Rock those Book 1’s. Make that fan art. It gets said all the time, but it bears repeating. Basketball is a game, and a beautiful one at that. The stakes are only as high as we have made them out to be in our mind, and it’s a welcome distraction from the very real problems we all face in life.
I want every Suns fan to enjoy it, win or lose, and I hope that we can all collectively appreciate the season in front of us, because I believe it has the potential to be an all-time great season for the Phoenix Suns, if we can only take the time to enjoy it.
I hope the upcoming season brings you nothing but peace and enjoyment in whatever form that takes for you as a fan! Embrace the present and let’s go Suns!
