A first look at how Phoenix’s revamped roster and new leadership will shape their early season success—with Krakens, burner accounts, and possible snow alerts.
The Phoenix Suns are no strangers to big changes, but this season? The Suns’ 2024-25 campaign has all the makings of something special. Mike Budenholzer is set to shake things up with his pressure-building, up-tempo philosophy, unlocking the big three-headed monster of Booker, Durant, and Beal with potent “Release the Kraken!” vibes.
If the first 10 games of the Suns’ regular season will be any indication, this team isn’t here to warm up—they’re here to run. Buckle up because these opening matchups reveal how quickly the Suns can hit top gear under Budenholzer’s playbook.
The First Ten—Who Have We Got?
The Phoenix Suns’ first 10 games of the 2024-25 season present a solid mix of challenges and opportunities. They start with their opener on October 23 against the Los Angeles Clippers and then hang around town to play the Lakers for their second game of the season.
Here’s what the early stretch looks like:
- Oct 23 – @ LA Clippers
- Oct 25 – @ LA Lakers
- Oct 26 – vs Dallas Mavericks
- Oct 28 – vs LA Lakers
- Oct 31 – @ LA Clippers
- Nov 2 – vs Portland Trail Blazers
- Nov 4 – vs Philadelphia 76ers
- Nov 6 – vs Miami Heat
- Nov 8 – @ Dallas Mavericks
- Nov 10 – vs Sacramento Kings
This is as fair a shake as the Suns could ask for to start the season. They have opportunities to test themselves early against some West Coast rivals (Dallas, Lakers, Sacramento), a selection of games that I feel will be “easy” wins early (Clippers x 2 and Portland x 1), and a 50/50 split of home and away matches with five a piece.
So, how have I projected the games to go?
W-L Projections and What to Expect in Each Early-Season Matchup
GAME 1
Oct 23 – @ LA Clippers (AWAY) — W
The Clippers are going to drop off this season in a big way. The Suns will be the first team (of many) to capitalise on the Clippers’ regression with a blow-out win in their season opener. Release the Kraken!
GAME 2
Oct 25 – @ LA Lakers (AWAY) — L
Early in the year, a healthy (albeit old) LeBron will play an effective second fiddle to Anthony Davis. This one will be close, but the Lakers will hold ground. After a massive game for Nurkic in the season opener, he’ll look a little more pedestrian here but show promise. Hopefully, the Suns will show off some of Coach Bud’s promised defensive acumen.
GAME 3
Oct 26 – vs Dallas Mavericks (HOME) — W
Coming off the high of two well-played games under Coach Bud, the Suns will manhandle the Mavericks in a home opener. This second night of a back-to-back will have everything; Booker will match Luka Doncic’s scoring outburst and continue to live rent-free in Klay’s skull. The Suns will take this as the first of several moral victories, but the Mavs will play it off as an early-season outing and downplay the hell out of it. This game will result in a Suns win and simultaneously produce this year’s most memorable Suns meme.
Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
GAME 4
Oct 28 – vs LA Lakers (HOME) — W
With home cooking, a little rest, and an adjusted game plan from their earlier matchup, the Suns will show why they’re a top-3 team this season with a solid win against the Lakers. All of a sudden, LeBron will look older.
GAME 5
Oct 31 – @ LA Clippers (AWAY) — W
Can’t stop. Won’t stop. The Clippers (whilst still looking for their first win) won’t find it here, as the Suns are suddenly white-hot. The Suns’ depth will be on full display here, with KD able to sit out the entire 4th quarter and Bol Bol doing clean-up duty for the first of his 18 double-doubles.
GAME 6
Nov 2 – vs Portland Trail Blazers (HOME) — W
Phoenix comes back home for the first match of a three-game stand. It’s a walk-over, with the referees calling TKO midway through the third quarter. There is a lovely little tribute to Ayton and the Valley-Oop (but he’s watching it from home… there was talk of snow again). A 4-game winning streak puts the Suns on top of the standings league-wide at 5—1. The Booker-for-MVP chatter begins.
GAME 7
Nov 4 – vs Philadelphia 76ers (HOME) — L
Philadelphia comes to town, and whilst the Suns make a quality stand, the 76ers benefit from inopportune shooting numbers for the Suns, a thorough effort from the trio of Embiid, PG, and Maxey, and some highly favourable calls through the 4th quarter. The result leaves a sour taste—if only for popping the “we’re never losing again!” balloon, making the rounds on X.
GAME 8
Nov 6 – vs Miami Heat (HOME) —W
This turns into the first “get-right game” for the Suns in the slate of the opening ten games—a solid win against a Miami outfit that gets the game closer down the stretch than it ought to have. Some random role player for the Miami Heat has a career game out of nowhere (as per Suns custom). I’m thinking Nicola Jovic (37pts, 12rbs, 7ast)?
GAME 9
Nov 8 – @ Dallas Mavericks (AWAY) — L
Light All The Fireworks. 2.0. The Suns come into Dallas with a huge chip on their shoulder and yet another point to prove. And they almost do. The Dallas Mavericks stand on business (showing they were actually offended by the earlier meeting) and win a game they need to.
The explosive atmosphere almost gets the best of the Suns, but they navigate it well—Coach Bud has the team working well on all cylinders—and the Mavericks try to make a scene with a ‘bully the bully’ response.
A second spectacular meme is born, and no one can quite tell whether Luka, Booker, Klay, Durant, and Kyrie love each other or hate each other.
KD goes on the record, removing Klay from his 2K lineup and replacing him with Devin Booker.
GAME 10
Nov 10 – vs Sacramento Kings (HOME) — W
The Kings have quietly gone about a solid season, but Phoenix are intent on not getting embarrassed to close out the opening 10-game stretch. A solid double-digit win results. Suddenly, media pundits are raving about the Suns’ defense and hotly debating which side of the ball the Suns is actually the Suns’ strength (It’s still the offense, but it’s nice to talk about and hear the national media talking in such glowing terms—KD kicks off the discourse with multiple burner accounts).
How Does it All Look?
Marvelous. It looks marvelous. I have the Suns going a promising 7-3 with the season’s first ten games.
There are some lovely narratives to look forward to. Some nights, Booker will play the villain. On other nights, the Hero (either way, it will be spectacular). Bradley Beal will be on the come-up and back in discussions for being the best third-best player on any given team in the NBA. And we’ll enjoy having the Slim Reaper doing Slim-Reapery things.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Such an outcome feels within reach, giving me hope for an exciting and engaging Suns season. How did I get there? Guess-work. Vibes. A dartboard? A little from table A and a little from table B… Sure, I’ve taken a little creative license—in the writing game, we’d call it speculative fiction—however, I’d love your feedback and thoughts. Let’s get diabolical.
What are YOU expecting out of the first 10 games of the season?