<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-bradley-beal-positive-hamstring-injury-update-celtics-clash');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Bradley Beal gets positive hamstring injury update for Celtics clash');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bradley-Beal_859e0b.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Suns’ Bradley Beal gets positive hamstring injury update for Celtics clash</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-03T15:11:21-07:00">April 3rd, 3:11pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-03T15:11:21-07:00">April 3rd, 3:11pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After not playing since March 16, Bradley Beal <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1907853200310374783" rel="noopener">could make his return</a> for the Phoenix Suns, according to Duane Rankin of AZCentral.com</p><p>While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-bradley-beal-fans-frustration-missed-games">Suns fans and Beal were frustrated with the injuries</a>, his return might come at a crucial time. Phoenix is 11th in the Western Conference and would be out of the play-in tournament.</p><p>On the flip side, Kevin Durant sprained his ankle during the Suns loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Although one superstar might be down, another star can come in and try to fill the void.</p><p>However, their opponent will not do them any favors. The Boston Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference and are the favorites to win the NBA Finals.</p><p>Not to mention, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-mike-budenholzer-punched-celtics-30-point-loss">Celtics gave the Suns a 30-point beatdown</a> in late March. In a matter of days, the two teams will square off again.</p><p>Still, that game was without Beal, and with Durant. For Friday’s contest, the inverse can likely happen. Beal has played 48 games this season, but has missed crucial stretches. For the final few games of the season, his health might make all the difference.</p><h2><b>Bradley Beal could return for the Suns</b></h2><p>Although the fit hasn’t been the best, Beal is still proving to be an effective player. He’s shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from 3-point range. He’s attempted to play more off of the ball this season.</p><p>At the end of the day, it hasn’t stopped the Suns from having problems of their own. Initially, they thought that moving Beal to the bench was the answer. It was not.</p><p>Then, they brought him back into the starting lineup. It seemed to work for a while before Beal was injured once again. As a result, Durant and Devin Booker are both carrying the Phoenix offense.</p><p>Facing the Celtics, and then the New York Knicks on Sunday can prove to be a daunting task. After all, <a href="https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength" rel="noopener">every game</a> at this point inches the Suns closer or further from play-in contention.</p><p>Losing Durant doesn’t make matters any easier for them. Not to mention that Beal might have to knock off some rust from <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bealbr01/gamelog/2025" rel="noopener">not playing in the previous eight games</a>.</p><p>That might not be the time to have some delays. The expectation is high for Phoenix to close out the season with wins on wins. Luckily for them, Beal just might be the catalyst in pulling off some much-needed wins.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Bradley Beal gets positive hamstring injury update for Celtics clash

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-bradley-beal-fans-frustration-missed-games');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bradley Beal ‘gets’ Suns fans’ frustration over missed games');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bradley-Beal-gets-fans-frustration-over-missed-games.jpg"></figure><h1>Bradley Beal ‘gets’ Suns fans’ frustration over missed games</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T21:46:47-07:00">April 2nd, 9:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T21:46:47-07:00">April 2nd, 9:46pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Throughout the 2024-25 season, injuries and Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal have been synonymous with one another. While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-bradley-beal-injury-timetable-set-mri-play-in-push">Beal was ruled out for one week during a crucial Suns stretch</a>, he might be making his return.</p><p>However, it hasn’t stopped fans from expressing their frustrations. The majority of it has been centered around Beal. They are upset about his contract, the lack of a cohesive fit, as well as the injury history.</p><p>In an exclusive interview with AZCentral’s Duane Rankin, the shooting guard <a href="http://azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2025/04/02/phoenix-suns-injury-update-bradley-beal/82780438007/" rel="noopener">feels the fans’ frustration</a>.</p><p>“I get it, I get it,” Beal said. “They have every reason to be. I am, too.”</p><p>He’s typically been transparent throughout the season. With the current 35-42 record, Phoenix is on the cusp of missing a play-in spot. With a roster of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Beal, it doesn’t make sense.</p><p>Even with head coach Mike Budenholzer running the show, it still doesn’t add up. Much like last season, the Big 3 haven’t had much time to gel.</p><p>Last season, the three were together for 41 games. This season? Beal has played in 48 games this season.</p><p>“It’s not ideal, obviously, it’s not fun,” Beal said. “You don’t enjoy it. You control what you can control. That’s all I can do. I always preach about being available, and that’s something I’m definitely kicking myself about, but that’s sometimes how the cookie crumbles.</p><p>“All I can do is keep my head up and keep getting better. The staff has been great, my body is in a better place, and I feel really good right now. Hopefully, it continues to stay that way.”</p><p>Again, the fans have endured the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. In 2021, the Suns reached the NBA Finals. Although they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, the future was bright.</p><p>When the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/phoenix-suns-3-bold-predictions-for-2023-24-season-after-blockbuster-bradley-beal-trade-with-wizards">Suns traded for Beal</a> and Durant, it seemed that they were going all-in. A Big 3 was brewing… until it wasn’t. In the 2023-24 season, they only played 41 games. Still, they went 26-15 and had a quality system. For the guard, he <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bealbr01.html" rel="noopener">hasn’t played more than 60 games</a> since the 2020-21 season.</p><p>Since then, there has been a barrage of injuries. It has frustrated Beal to a significant degree.</p><p>“It’s tough, it’s definitely tough,” Beal said. “It’s definitely not the most ideal situation. I take a lot of it because my availability is a big piece of that. It’s tough.</p><p>“It’s tough, it’s frustrating, whatever word you want to put behind it, but all I can do is continue to move forward and we can continue to make this push to try to make a run.”</p><h2><b>Bradley Beal still believes the Suns can make a run</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bradley-Beal.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Regardless of the injuries on all fronts, there is still some optimism. The Suns are a game back of the Sacramento Kings in that final play-in spot. Simultaneously, there is still an opportunity for the team to make a run. Beal echoed that same sentiment.</p><p>“We still can make a run,” Beal said. “Obviously we’ve got to be healthy, get healthy, be available. In the playoffs, anything can happen, man, but we’re a talented team and believe in what we can do. We’ve just got to give ourselves that opportunity.”</p><p>Even with the uptake in positive thinking, Durant will be out for the entire Suns’ road trip. Even though <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/is-bradley-beal-playing-tonight-suns-vs-bucks-injury-report">Beal is set to come back</a>, the adjustment period cannot happen.</p><p>There are too few games left in the season for that to occur. However, Beal will need to play takeover, or at least be on his A-game, to will the Suns to that final play-in spot.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bradley Beal ‘gets’ Suns fans’ frustration over missed games

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-former-all-star-bashes-current-nba-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Former Suns All-Star bashes current NBA game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Suns-news-Former-Phoenix-All-Star-bashes-current-NBA-game.jpg"></figure><h1>Former Suns All-Star bashes current NBA game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T17:08:13-07:00">April 2nd, 5:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T17:08:13-07:00">April 2nd, 5:08pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Many former NBA veterans feel that the league has gone soft. One of those is former Phoenix Suns All-Star Dan Majerle. Even with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/phoenix-suns-fatal-flaw-must-fixed-2025-nba-all-star-break">Suns’ disappointing 2024-25 season</a>, there are more problems than just his former team.</p><p>On the Bickley &amp; Marotta Show, Majerle explained on Monday <a href="https://x.com/AZSports/status/1907102477625016404" rel="noopener">why he thinks</a> the NBA isn’t what it once was.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Former Suns star Dan Majerle admits on <a href="https://twitter.com/Bickley_Marotta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bickley_Marotta</a> that he's no longer the biggest fan of the NBA game.</p><p>"I just don't think there's a whole lot of toughness … I'm just talking about mental toughness. I think guys are too nice. I think there's not enough nasty competition… <a href="https://t.co/mF3kh4dltE">pic.twitter.com/mF3kh4dltE</a></p><p>— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/AZSports/status/1907102477625016404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I just don’t think there’s a whole lot of toughness,” Majerle said. “I’m just talking about mental toughness. I think the guys are too nice. I think there’s not enough nasty competition where guys really don’t like each other.</p><p>“I think it’s OK to not like the other team and the other players.”</p><p>During Majerle’s day, many thought it was the peak of basketball. Guys like Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Magic Johnson were superstars that everyone knew.</p><p>Now, there are the same caliber of superstars. However, there’s a different approach that the league has taken. Players hug before the game, and talk after.</p><p>For someone like Majerle, that doesn’t fly. Guys don’t truly despise one another like they did in the 80s and 90s. Those were legitimate rivalries that had a deep rooting of vitriol and disdain.</p><p>The current NBA has the same competition, but it’s <a href="http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?521052-What-are-the-main-differences-between-regular-season-and-playoff-level-NBA-intensity" rel="noopener">just not as intense</a>. When the playoffs come around, that is a different story. In the regular season though, it seems to be just fun and games.</p><h2><b>Former Suns All-Star Dan Majerle doesn’t like the new NBA</b></h2><p>There are some instances of players truly despising each other in today’s NBA. However, it is far and few in between, compared to Majerle’s era.</p><p>For instance, Jordan and Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas both hated one another. So much so that the hatred even carries over to this day. No matter how hard they try, they can’t seem to move past it.</p><p>As it pertains to the Suns, there aren’t any players that anyone on the team dislikes outside of their own. When he was in the league, Kevin Durant and Patrick Beverley would go face-to-face, one too many times.</p><p>The same could be said about Chris Paul. Beverley has never liked CP3 and has called him out a barrage of times. However, those instances show a one-sided disgust. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-10-greatest-players-franchise-history-ranked">Suns have had some elite players</a>, some of which showed that fire on all cylinders.</p><p>Besides that, the play styles have certainly adapted. The NBA banned hand-checking and has enabled offenses. As a result, the defenses haven’t been able to catch up.</p><p>Plenty of people feel that the game is relying too much on the 3-point shot. While there might be some truth to that, it doesn’t paint the full picture.</p><p>Some of the issues Majerle mentions are all on the mental side. The fiery edge isn’t as present as it once was. It’s unknown how that can change, but if it does, then the former Suns All-Star will be on board with the NBA again.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Former Suns All-Star bashes current NBA game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-why-love-is-keeping-devin-booker-in-phoenix-despite-tumultuous-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why ‘love’ is keeping Devin Booker in Phoenix despite tumultuous Suns season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Suns-news-Why-love-is-keeping-Devin-Booker-in-Phoenix-despite-tumultuous-season.jpg"></figure><h1>Why ‘love’ is keeping Devin Booker in Phoenix despite tumultuous Suns season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T00:42:42-07:00">April 2nd, 12:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T00:42:42-07:00">April 2nd, 12:42am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The P<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-phoenix-sets-embarrassing-nba-record-blowout-loss-rockets">hoenix Suns have undergone a gradual but brutal drop-off</a> over the past few seasons. Suffice to say, going all-in on a core of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal has not worked out according to plan, and this season, the Suns are in real danger of not just missing the playoffs, but even the play-in tournament. On Tuesday, their woes were compounded by a 133-123 defeat to the Damian Lillard-less Milwaukee Bucks, extending their deficit behind the Sacramento Kings for the 10th spot to 1.5 games.</p><p>There appears to be no recourse for the Suns moving forward other than to start over — perhaps by trading a few of their best assets, including Booker and Durant. They do not have the draft pick capital to add more pieces to their existing core, and Beal appears to be more than content to stay in The Valley, refusing to waive his no-trade clause.</p><p>Nonetheless, Booker, despite the Suns’ uninspiring 2024-25 campaign, <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/01/nba/phoenix-suns-devin-booker-kevin-durant-payroll-standings" rel="noopener">wants to stick it out</a> with the team that drafted him in 2015, as he believes that the purported greener pastures elsewhere may not be as green as initially expected.</p><p>“It’s not always greener on the other side. People always want to leave their situation and end up in a worse situation and then they go missing. You’ll never have the love like you have by the team that drafted you,” Booker told Logan Murdock of The Ringer.</p><p>Indeed, Booker is one of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-honors-kobe-bryant-the-best-way-possible-with-epic-scoring-feat">most vocal fans and supporters of the late great Kobe Bryant</a>, and Bryant endured his fair share of turbulence with the Los Angeles Lakers to stay as a one-team guy his whole career. While the Suns most definitely would want to keep Booker around, every Suns fan should hope that it doesn’t get to a point where trading away their franchise cornerstone is what’s best to preserve the team’s future.</p><h2><b>Can the Suns find a way out of this mess without trading Devin Booker away?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Devin-Booker-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>One thing’s for sure, the Suns cannot continue on in this trajectory. They will have to hit on the late first-round picks that they will have in the coming years, and somehow find a way to convince Bradley Beal to accept a trade — two factors that may not ever come to fruition.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-trade-only-way-dig-out-of-mess-says-insider">A Devin Booker trade becomes enticing</a> then, since Booker should bring back one or two promising young players, as well as a plethora of first-round picks. The Utah Jazz’s haul for Donovan Mitchell provides a good starting point for the Suns in terms of what their demands in a Booker trade situation would be.</p><p>But the Jazz’s situation isn’t too promising at the moment either. They don’t have that blue-chip prospect/potential franchise cornerstone on the roster just yet after three seasons of rebuilding, and there’s no guarantee that every rebuilding team ends up being like the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>Pivoting to a full-blown rebuild isn’t even an option for the Suns, unless they find a way to get their first-round picks back from the Houston Rockets, which by then may <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/nba-rumors-rockets-are-devin-booker-fans-but-theres-a-suns-trade-catch">ask for Booker instead of Kevin Durant in a potential trade</a>.</p><p>The straits are dire in the Valley, and Booker’s loyalty to the team will be tested in the coming years. Nonetheless, it seems as though Booker has the fortitude and patience to withstand whatever lies ahead; after all, he did play in four straight incredibly poor teams to start his career.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why ‘love’ is keeping Devin Booker in Phoenix despite tumultuous Suns season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-10-greatest-players-franchise-history-ranked');   ga('set', 'title', '10 greatest Suns in franchise history, ranked');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/10-greatest-Suns-in-franchise-history-ranked.jpg"></figure><h1>10 greatest Suns in franchise history, ranked</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T12:50:48-07:00">April 1st, 12:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T12:51:41-07:00">April 1st, 12:51pm</time><address><a>Mike Cruz</a>Mike Cruz is an editorial writer at ClutchPoints, primarily covering the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns have amassed a pretty rich history given its overall success as a franchise since being founded in 1968. But it’s surprising that despite its success, the team has yet to win an NBA Championship. Here is a look at the 10 greatest Suns players in franchise history.</p><p>Phoenix did not take long in finding success after debuting in the late 1960s, making the NBA Finals just eight years into its existence. Until 2010, the Suns were one of the winningest franchises in the NBA, having made 28 playoff appearances in 35 years.</p><p>But when the 2010s arrived, Phoenix went through its worst stretch as a franchise. They were still relevant and in the thick of the playoff race for some years early in the decade.</p><p>But through the latter half, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-devin-booker-speaks-out-becoming-finals-contender" rel="noopener">the Suns were essentially the laughingstock</a> of the NBA. Despite a rough patch in the previous decade, the Suns still have <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/highest-win-percentage-nba-teams-in-history-and-at-least-1000-games-played" rel="noopener">the fifth-best winning percentage</a> in NBA history.</p><p>Let’s look back as we list down the 10 best Suns players to ever don their uniform. Spoiler: Kevin Durant isn’t on this list just <i>yet</i>. But if KD helps <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-reveals-key-to-winning-championships-and-it-isnt-defense" rel="noopener">lead the Suns</a> to its first NBA title within the next couple of years, we might have to update this list the moment that happens.</p><h2><b>10. Alvan Adams</b></h2><p>Younger Suns fans probably don’t know much about Alvan Adams. But he was pretty much a fixture for the Suns through the 1970s to 1980s.</p><p>Adams won the 1975-76 Rookie of the Year award off averages of 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. That, however, would turn out to be his most productive season. Nonetheless, he spent his entire 13-year career in The Valley. He was a key member of nine Suns teams that made the postseason from 1976 to 1985, including a Finals appearance in 1976.</p><p>To this day, Adams is still the franchise’s leader in games played, minutes played, total rebounds, and total steals, and is third all time in points.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 988 games played, 14.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 49.8% FG%</b></p><h2><b>9. Walter Davis</b></h2><p>Walter Davis is another name that young members of Suns Nation probably aren’t familiar with. But through the 1980s, Davis was the man in Phoenix.</p><p>Like Adams, however, Davis arguably had his best year in his rookie campaign. He was sensational in his rookie season, where he averaged 24.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. Davis followed that up with a still solid sophomore year, where he averaged 23.6 points on 56.1 percent field goal shooting. However, the 6-foot-6 guard’s production declined after that. It’s unfortunate that Davis was not able to build on the success of his stellar rookie year.</p><p>Nonetheless, Davis still finished his 11-year stint with the Suns averaging 20.5 points and remains the franchise’s second all-time leading scorer. He is also No. 1 in field goals made and No. 2 in total games played.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 766 games played, 20.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.2 SPG</b></p><h2><b>8. Tom Chambers</b></h2><p>Tom Chambers may also be a name younger Suns fans won’t be familiar with. But the 6-foot-10 big man had his best years playing in Phoenix and was instrumental in turning the franchise around in the late 1980s.</p><p>Chambers made immediate impact upon his arrival in The Valley. He turned the Suns from a 28-win team to Western Conference Finalists in 1989 and 1990. In those two seasons, Chambers averaged at least 25 points per game in the regular season. He also made three straight All-Star appearances and earned two All-NBA Second Team nods with the franchise.</p><p>Despite having a season where he primarily played a bench role (due to the arrival of Charles Barkley), Chambers still has the eighth-highest scoring average in Suns franchise history at 20.6 points per game.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 380 games played, 20.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 46.3% FG%</b></p><h2><b>7. Paul Westphal</b></h2><p>Older Suns fans would know Paul Westphal the player, while relatively newer (though still old) Phoenix die-hards would know him as the coach that led the team to the NBA Finals in 1993. As a player, Westphal played six seasons in Phoenix, including one at the end of his career.</p><p>The other five were during his absolute prime. In those five years, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westppa01.html#1976-1980-sum:per_game">22.5 points</a>, 2.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 51.8 percent from the field.</p><p>He helped lead the Suns to four playoff appearances in five years, including an NBA Finals stint in 1976. Over that span, Westphal earned four All-Star appearances and four All-NBA nods, including three First Team recognitions.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 465 games played, 20.6 PPG, 5.2 APG, 1.6 SPG, 51.6% FG%</b></p><h2><b>6. Shawn Marion</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Shawn-Marion-is-honored-by-the-Suns.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>As part of perhaps the most exciting era in Suns history, Shawn Marion deserves a spot on this list of greatest Suns players ever. To put it shortly, Marion could do <i>everything</i> on the basketball court.</p><p>He was the ultimate Swiss Army knife with his ability to score, defend, rebound, and make plays. Dubbed as The Matrix, the 6-foot-7 forward served as the glue that kept the mid-2000s Seven Seconds or Less Suns.</p><p>Marion may have won his lone NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks, but he had his best individual years with the Suns. In over eight seasons in The Valley, Marion earned four All-Star appearances and two All-NBA nods.</p><p>And don’t let the funky form fool you. While it’s not elite, he still shot a decent 34.2 percent from beyond the arc during his time in Phoenix. He is also fifth all-time in franchise history in three-pointers made.</p><p>Those Seven Seconds or Less Suns are up there among the greatest teams to never win a championship or even get to the NBA Finals. Still, they had massive success led by two-time MVP Steve Nash. Under head coach Mike D’Antoni, they ran a revolutionary offense ahead of their time, and Marion was a major piece in that juggernaut.</p><p>To this day, Marion is still Phoenix’s franchise leader in win shares (93.2) and second in defensive win shares (42.8). He ranks fifth in total points, second in rebounds and steals, and third in blocks.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 660 games, 18.4 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.4 BPG</b></p><h2><b>5. Amar’e Stoudemire</b></h2><p>The main partner-in-crime of two-time MVP Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire was one of the most explosive interior forces during the 2000s. He had plenty of battles with Hall of Famers like Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki. Unfortunately, the Nash-Stoudemire Suns were never able to get over the hump and make the NBA Finals, let alone win an NBA championship.</p><p>Nonetheless, Nash and Stoudemire were still one of the more iconic duos of that decade. It’s arguable that Nash wouldn’t have the success he had if not for Stoudemire. Sure, the Canadian’s accurate passes would have still found its way to other beneficiaries.</p><p>But Stoudemire was the perfect recipient of those tasty dimes from the Hall of Fame point guard. His explosiveness perfectly complimented Nash’s play style and the two thrived as an elite pick-and-roll pairing. Nash and Stoudemire accounted for a lot of highlight plays in Phoenix during the Seven Seconds or Less era.</p><p>Stoudemire spent just over seven seasons in The Valley. He was named Rookie of the Year in the 2002-03 season. Stoudemire earned five All-Star appearances from 2005 to 2010 as well as four All-NBA selections, including a First Team recognition in 2007.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 516 games played, 21.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 54.4% FG%</b></p><h2><b>4. Kevin Johnson</b></h2><p>Kevin Johnson spent all but 52 games of his 12-year NBA career with the Phoenix Suns. He was the lead point guard of one of the more successful eras in franchise history. More importantly, Johnson was the second-best player on the Charles Barkley-led team that made the 1993 NBA Finals.</p><p>Johnson won the 1988-89 Most Improved Player award after he broke out into a nightly 20-10 threat with points and assists. From his MIP season to 1991-92, KJ averaged <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnske02.html#1989-1992-sum:per_game" rel="noopener">21.2 points</a> and 11.1 assists per game, while shooting 50.0 percent from the field as a point guard.</p><p>Despite his 6-foot-1 frame, Johnson was a relentless and fearless driver to the basket. He wasn’t afraid to get inside the paint and go up against the taller behemoths, especially during perhaps the most physical era of basketball.</p><p>Johnson finished his career with three All-Star appearances and five All-NBA nods, including four Second Team selections. He ranks second in franchise history in total assists behind Steve Nash, first in free throws made, and fourth in total points and total steals.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 683 games played, 18.7 PPG, 9.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 49.4% FG%</b></p><h2><b>3. Devin Booker</b></h2><p>Devin Booker may still be playing and his story in Phoenix is far from done. But the four-time All-Star has done enough to warrant a top-three spot in this list of greatest Suns players of all time.</p><p>Booker did go through some pretty rough years during his first five seasons in the league. But he stuck through the bad times and with the help and guidance of Chris Paul (who should be an honorable mention here), he led the Suns to their first NBA Finals appearance in nearly three decades.</p><p>Booker, along with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, is looking to finally bring Phoenix its first ever NBA championship. Those before him on this list and more so those in front of him, have tried and came close to doing so. If this <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-gm-james-jones-reveals-what-makes-phoenix-a-surefire-championship-contender" rel="noopener">group of Suns</a> can make history for the franchise, we might need to put Booker atop this list.</p><p>As it stands, Booker is already the franchise’s leader in points scored and three-point field goals made. He is also already fourth in total assists and ninth in steals in franchise history. With Phoenix set up for success in the future, Booker will only rise up these statistical rankings, which can further solidify his case as the best Suns player ever in due time.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 667 games played, 24.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.2 APG, 46.4% FG%, 87.3% FT%</b></p><h2><b>2. Charles Barkley</b></h2><p>Barkley could have easily nabbed the top spot because he did immediately turn the Suns into legitimate title contenders when he arrived there. He became MVP in his very first year in Phoenix and led them to the NBA Finals, where they, like most teams in the 1990s, unfortunately ran into Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.</p><p>With Barkley leading the way, the Suns finished in the top two in the West standings for three straight regular seasons. However, they never made it back to the Finals after losing to the Bulls in 1993. Nonetheless, Barkley enjoyed his best individual and team success in Phoenix.</p><p>He made the All-Star team in each of his four seasons with the Suns. The Round Mound of Rebound was also named to four All-NBA selections, including a First Team nod in his MVP year.</p><p>He scored his career-high as a Sun when he dropped 56 points, then <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuR-GbZma1Q&amp;ab_channel=HouseofHighlights">the third-highest total</a> ever in a playoff game, in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>Despite his short tenure in Phoenix, he still finished as the seventh leading rebounder in franchise history. He was also fourth in points per game and second in rebounds per game.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 280 games played, 23.4 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 4.4 APG, 50.1% FG%</b></p><h2><b>1. Steve Nash</b></h2><p>Choosing between Barkley and Steve Nash was pretty tough, considering both were iconic figures for the franchise during arguably their most successful eras. They are also the only two Suns players to win MVP.</p><p>Though Barkley has the edge in terms of Finals appearances (well, it’s only one), Nash has the advantage with one more MVP trophy to his name. The Canadian also has more longevity wearing the Suns’ Purple and Orange as he played six more seasons in The Valley than The Chuckster.</p><p>Nash was also the engine that drove arguably the most exciting era in Suns basketball — the Seven Seconds or Less. As mentioned, the Nash-led Seven Seconds or Less Suns are among the best teams to never get a championship.</p><p>And it’s unfortunate because they were certainly on the cusp in a couple of seasons. Under Nash’s leadership, Phoenix made three Western Conference Finals appearances in six years. Over that span, the Suns went 492-160, good for a winning percentage of .674.</p><p>Not counting his first two seasons in Phoenix, when he was still a baby, Nash averaged <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/nashst01.html#2005-2012-sum:per_game" rel="noopener">16.3 points and 10.9 assists</a>, while shooting 51.0 percent from the field (which insane for a point guard), 43.7 percent from three, and 91.2 percent from the free-throw line. The man was basically a walking <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nba/news/nba-50-40-90-club-list-all-players-recorded-elite-shooting-feat-nash-curry-bird-durant/nyu9jk39xa731dlqber3gv2rr">50-40-90 guy</a> for eight straight seasons.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, Nash finished his Suns career as the franchise leader in total assists and fourth in assists per game. He is also No. 1 in free-throw percentage and first in offensive win shares.</p><p><b>Suns stats: 744 games played, 14.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 9.4 APG, 50.4% FG%, 90.7% FT%</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

10 greatest Suns in franchise history, ranked

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/is-bradley-beal-playing-tonight-suns-vs-bucks-injury-report');   ga('set', 'title', 'Is Bradley Beal playing tonight? Suns vs. Bucks injury report');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Is-Bradley-Beal-playing-tonight-Suns-vs.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Is Bradley Beal playing tonight? Suns vs. Bucks injury report</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T12:20:22-07:00">April 1st, 12:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T12:20:22-07:00">April 1st, 12:20pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Milwaukee Bucks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns (35-40) begin a pivotal three-game road trip Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks (40-34) with guard Bradley Beal <a href="https://official.nba.com/nba-injury-report-2024-25-season/" rel="noopener">listed</a> as questionable due to a left hamstring strain. Tip-off at Fiserv Forum is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.</p><p>Beal has not played since March 16, when he was limited to just 15 minutes in a 107-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He recorded four points and two rebounds before exiting early and has missed the team’s last six games. The Suns are expected to evaluate Beal’s availability closer to game time.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Bradley Beal’s injury status uncertain as Suns look to end skid withoutKevin Durant</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bradley-Beal-3-against-the-Sacramento-Kings-at-Footprint-Center.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Now in his second season with Phoenix, Beal has appeared in 48 games and is averaging 17.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50.5% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc. Injuries have continued to affect his availability throughout the season, but he remains a key piece of the Suns’ offensive core alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.</p><p>Phoenix enters Tuesday’s matchup on a three-game skid and sits just outside the Western Conference Play-In Tournament in 11th place. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-phoenix-sets-embarrassing-nba-record-blowout-loss-rockets">Suns trail the 10th-seeded Sacramento Kings (36-39)</a> by one game, with seven contests remaining in the regular season. Sacramento has lost two straight, giving Phoenix an opportunity to close the gap.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-out-one-week-ankle-injury">Suns will be without Durant, who sustained a left ankle sprain</a> in Sunday’s<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-stephen-a-smith-bashes-again-blowout-loss-rockets"> 148-109 loss to the Houston Rockets</a>. He exited in the second quarter and did not return. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that Durant will be sidelined for at least one week as the regular season winds down.</p><h2><b>Bucks list Giannis Antetokounmpo as probable amid growing injury report</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-34-shoots-during-the-second-quarter-against-the-Atlanta-Hawks.jpg"><figcaption>© Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Milwaukee has listed forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as probable with a left foot sprain. The two-time MVP is coming off a 31-point, nine-rebound, five-assist performance in a 145-124 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. He shot 11-for-18 from the field and added a steal in the defeat.</p><p>Guard A.J. Green is listed as questionable with a right AC joint sprain. Green last played on March 29 in a loss to the New York Knicks, contributing eight points and two rebounds off the bench.</p><p>The Bucks remain without forward Jericho Sims, who is set to miss his eighth consecutive game due to a right thumb UCL sprain. Additionally, the team announced last week that star guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/bucks-news-damian-lillard-releases-statement-blood-clot-diagnosis">Damian Lillard has been ruled out for the remainder of the season</a> after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf.</p><p>Milwaukee has lost four straight and is currently battling for position in the Eastern Conference standings with eight games remaining. The Bucks will look to halt their slide while managing a depleted roster.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Is Bradley Beal playing tonight? Suns vs. Bucks injury report

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-rumors-kevin-durant-new-contract-return-possible-amid-trade-speculation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns rumors: Kevin Durant new contract and return still possible amid trade speculation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kevin-Durant-new-contract-and-return-still-possible-amid-trade-speculation.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns rumors: Kevin Durant new contract and return still possible amid trade speculation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T11:15:36-07:00">April 1st, 11:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T11:15:36-07:00">April 1st, 11:15am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before the 2024-25 season began, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-prepared-to-wait-in-order-to-sign-123-8-million-contract">Kevin Durant didn’t sign a contract extension with the Phoenix Suns</a>. This worried some, as they thought he was done with the team.</p><p>Although Durant wanted a longer-term deal, the team didn’t make this season any easier. They offered him a deal that would’ve sent him back to the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>As a result, the Suns All-Star denied the request, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. Despite Durant still being the leading scorer, he might’ve made up his mind on whether he wants to stay in Phoenix or not.</p><p>Logan Murdock of The Ringer detailed that Durant <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/01/nba/phoenix-suns-devin-booker-kevin-durant-payroll-standings" rel="noopener">would be open</a> for a return. Not to mention, Devin Booker elaborated more on a potential reunion with the leading scorer.</p><p>“Hell yeah, I want to play alongside him,” Booker says. “The team’s been in a tough situation. So, that’s the NBA today. I think K understands the business too, that when things aren’t going the right way, people are going to explore options.</p><p>“I don’t know how serious it was, but we moved past it. You see his morale, you see how he feels about the city.”</p><h2><b>Kevin Durant could re-sign with the Suns</b></h2><p>Even though Durant seems disgruntled with the team, the possibility of re-signing could open up other windows. After all, the team has been excellent with the superstar on the floor.</p><p>However, when Bradley Beal is thrown into the mix, it’s <a href="https://arizonasports.com/nba/phoenix-suns/kevin-garnett/3573858/" rel="noopener">turned the offense into a clutter</a>. Not that Beal is a bad player by any means. Rather, he doesn’t fit with the Suns offensive system.</p><p>It didn’t fit with Frank Vogel, and it isn’t fitting with Mike Budenholzer. Safe to say though, that Durant’s view of the city is one of the better ones he’s had.</p><p>Playing alongside Booker is enough reason to stay. The two have been dynamic when together on the floor. However, Booker has deferred a bit too much on his fellow superstar.</p><p>While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-reaction-30000-point-milestone">Durant is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history</a>, it’s come at the expense of Booker’s aggressiveness. He hasn’t been as willing to attack mismatches or take over a game.</p><p>Booker has taken over a game without Durant. Still, finding that balance with Durant could be key. Either way, Durant might be back in Phoenix, to people’s surprise.</p><p>At the end of the day, Durant would have unfinished business if he were to re-sign. Championship aspirations were the goal, and advancing those could be of interest to him.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns rumors: Kevin Durant new contract and return still possible amid trade speculation

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/sneakers/kevin-durant-wears-new-nike-kd-18-the-valley');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kevin Durant wears new Nike KD 18 ‘The Valley’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kevin-Durant-wears-new-Nike-KD-18-The-Valley.jpg"></figure><h1>Kevin Durant wears new Nike KD 18 ‘The Valley’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T18:54:04-07:00">March 31st, 6:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T18:54:30-07:00">March 31st, 6:54pm</time><address><a>Dominik Zawartko</a>Dominik Zawartko is a Michigan State graduate with a degree in Political Science and English. Having previously worked in the nonprofit and legal sectors, he decided to pursue his true love of writing with ClutchPoints. Dominik's hobbies include painting, cooking food, training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and always having a laugh. His main focus areas are UFC coverage and all things sneakers.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Just days after debuting yet another fresh colorway of his Nike KD 18, Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant returned to the floor in another wild iteration of his newest signature sneaker. Durant and the Suns are fighting for playoff position in the Western Conference, but that’s never stopped the Slim Reaper from looking good while making his scoring look effortless. Fans are already calling for this PE (player exclusive) colorway to release to the public.</p><p><i><b>Check our <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sneakers">Sneakers news</a> for more upcoming releases and breaking content!</b></i></p><p>The Nike KD 18 first launched in Febraury 2025 as part of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nike-lebron-22-black-label-coming-soon">Nike’s “Black Label”</a> pack for athletes like LeBron James, Devin Booker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more during All-Star Weekend. The eighteenth signature model for Durant is slated to see a number of additional releases, including the “Lucid Lime” debut colorway.</p><p>In recent games, Durant has been breaking out unreleased exclusives and after just rocking an “El Valle” pair to match the Suns’ City Edition uniforms, he broke out this “The Valley” colorway to continue his run of new PEs.</p><h2>Nike KD 18 “The Valley”</h2><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kevin Durant reps “The Valley” with a new Nike KD 18 colorway 🌵</p><p>📷 <a href="https://twitter.com/Suns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Suns</a> <a href="https://t.co/bnfXed2OBV">pic.twitter.com/bnfXed2OBV</a></p><p>— Sole Retriever (@SoleRetriever) <a href="https://twitter.com/SoleRetriever/status/1906510203694043183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="ja">NIKE KD 18 “The Valley”</p><p>フェニックスの太陽とそれに照らされたサボテンのイメージを落としこんだカラー☀️🌵<br>グッドデザインです、が……とにかくも、足首の状態が軽傷でありますように。 <a href="https://t.co/TyTCD7CU1T">https://t.co/TyTCD7CU1T</a> <a href="https://t.co/qXtoW0nN0V">pic.twitter.com/qXtoW0nN0V</a></p><p>— CARTER_AF1 (@carter_AF1) <a href="https://twitter.com/carter_AF1/status/1906693885482684552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><br>This <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/closer-look-at-kevin-durants-new-nike-kd-18">Nike KD 18</a> appears to match the color scheme of the Suns’ City Edition “The Valley” uniforms with a predominantly purple upper accented by black paneling and Native patterning throughout the toebox. The shoe features a second panel with “claws” or waves similar to the <a href="https://stockx.com/nike-air-terra-humara-sp-alchemy-pink-diffused-blue">Nike Air Terra Humara</a>, where the KD 18 draws some inspiration from. The panels alternate green on the lateral side and orange on the medial side to match the secondary colors of the purple uniform.</p></figure><p>There’s no news on whether these will release to the public or not, but we can expect Kevin Durant to continue teasing PE sneakers in hopes that they’ll eventually make their way onto the release calendar. For now, fans can look forward to the “Lucid Lime” Nike KD 18 reportedly dropping on April 18, 2025.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kevin Durant wears new Nike KD 18 ‘The Valley’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/sneakers/devin-booker-gifts-penny-hardaway-his-air-penny-inspired-nike-book-1');   ga('set', 'title', 'Devin Booker gifts Penny Hardaway his Air Penny-inspired Nike Book 1');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Devin-Booker-gifts-Penny-Hardaway-his-Air-Penny-inspired-Nike-Book-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Devin Booker gifts Penny Hardaway his Air Penny-inspired Nike Book 1</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T16:26:01-07:00">March 31st, 4:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T16:26:37-07:00">March 31st, 4:26pm</time><address><a>Dominik Zawartko</a>Dominik Zawartko is a Michigan State graduate with a degree in Political Science and English. Having previously worked in the nonprofit and legal sectors, he decided to pursue his true love of writing with ClutchPoints. Dominik's hobbies include painting, cooking food, training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and always having a laugh. His main focus areas are UFC coverage and all things sneakers.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Phoenix Suns’ franchise star Devin Booker currently sports one of the NBA’s most popular signature sneakers at the moment in his Nike Book 1, taking the court each time in what seems to be a new colorway. Many of Booker’s PE (player exclusive) shoes are inspired by previous basketball shoes he grew up loving, particularly a Suns-themed colorway from the Nike Penny V. After wearing the shoes in a game, Booker recently gifted the shoes to their originator in NBA legend Penny Hardaway and thanked him for the inspiration.</p><p><i><b>Check our <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sneakers">Sneakers news</a> for more upcoming releases and breaking content!</b></i></p><p>The Nike Book 1 has appeared on Devin Booker in PE versions on numerous occasions, from mimicking the classic <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nike-book-1-forrest-gump-releasing-january-2025">Nike Air Cortez</a> to paying homage to his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/devin-booker-wears-son-of-moss-point-nike-book-1-honoring-mississippi-high-school">former high school in Mississippi</a>. This particular Penny-inspired pair features the same <i>Dark Grey/Black-Rave Pink-Court Purple </i>colorway from the Nike Penny V “Suns” released back in 2012.</p><p>Devin Booker wore the shoes during a March 9, 2025 win over the Miami Heat that saw Booker with a game-high 23 points.</p><h2>Devin Booker sends his Nike Book 1 to Penny Hardaway</h2><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Devin Booker has a new Nike Book 1 inspired by Penny Hardaway’s “Phoenix” Nike Penny 5 🔥😮‍💨 <a href="https://t.co/G9VGG5eQ7W">pic.twitter.com/G9VGG5eQ7W</a></p><p>— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicekicks/status/1898820592540824058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Devin Booker signed and gifted his Nike Penny 5-inspired Book 1 PE to Penny Hardaway 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/qIxW6oR4tq">https://t.co/qIxW6oR4tq</a> <a href="https://t.co/u1qKz4wY0n">pic.twitter.com/u1qKz4wY0n</a></p><p>— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicekicks/status/1906115010943684689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><br>Given the win and the stellar performance, Booker was feeling generous in passing his Nike Book 1s along to someone who may appreciate them. On the toebox of the game-worn sneakers, Booker wrote “To Penny, appreciate the inspiration” while signing the toebox of the other pair. The shoes feature Penny Hardaway’s “half-cent” Nike logo along the tongue, perfectly mimicking the original pair.</p></figure><p>While we’re not likely to see these released to the public, it’s a great gesture from Devin Booker to pay homage to those who inspire and came before him. We can, however, expect to see more Nike Book 1 PE sneakers from Booker as the Phoenix Suns continue their push for the NBA Playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Devin Booker gifts Penny Hardaway his Air Penny-inspired Nike Book 1

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-out-one-week-ankle-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Kevin Durant out at least one week with ankle injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kevin-Durant-out-indefinitely-with-ankle-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Kevin Durant out at least one week with ankle injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T12:00:40-07:00">March 31st, 12:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T12:03:42-07:00">March 31st, 12:03pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Phoenix Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant underwent an MRI on Monday that revealed a <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1906782849446908351" rel="noopener">left ankle sprain</a> and he will be sidelined for at least one week with only seven games left in the regular season, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-leaves-game-rockets-ankle-injury">Durant suffered this ankle injury</a> in Sunday night’s 148-109 loss to the Houston Rockets. While driving to the rim about halfway through the third quarter against the Rockets, Durant stepped on Jabari Smith Jr.’s foot and rolled his ankle.</p><p>Upon going to the ground and immediately grabbing his lower left leg in obvious pain, Durant was helped off the court and went straight to the Suns’ locker room since he was unable to put much weight on his leg. He was ruled out upon leaving the game since he wasn’t able to take his free throws.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Here’s a closer look at the ankle injury Kevin Durant just suffered:</p><p>Hope KD’s okay 🙏<a href="https://t.co/58Y4rzW6sj">pic.twitter.com/58Y4rzW6sj</a> <a href="https://t.co/cNbbrTe5jY">https://t.co/cNbbrTe5jY</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1906537183999336531?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>After the game, Suns head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-mike-budenholzer-kevin-durant-injury-update-loss-rockets">Mike Budenholzer was questioned about Durant’s health.</a> Budenholzer gave little information in the immediate aftermath of the game other than that his star was to undergo an MRI on Monday and would not travel with the team to begin their upcoming three-game road trip. Phoenix is scheduled to play on Tuesday night on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks.</p><p>This injury to Durant is yet another slap in the face to what has been a horrific season for the Suns.</p><p>Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Durant have spent limited time on the court together because of injuries, and a sense of dysfunction has clouded the Suns throughout the 2024-25 season. Phoenix is currently 35-40 after Sunday’s 39-point loss at home to Houston and is 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the final play-in tournament spot in the Western Conference.</p><p>The Suns and Kings will meet in the final game of the regular season on April 13.</p><p>In 62 games this season, Durant has averaged 26.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the floor and 43.0 percent from three-point range. Should he miss the remainder of the regular season, Durant will be ineligible for any end-of-season awards or All-NBA honors, as he will need to play in at least 65 games to qualify.</p><p>Without Durant on the floor this season, the Suns have gone 2-11.</p><p>Whether or not this was Durant’s final game in a Suns uniform is the biggest question around the NBA ahead of the offseason. Although the 36-year-old star still has one more year left on his contract with Phoenix, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/how-nba-new-208-million-second-apron-impacts-trades-free-agency-siegels-scoop">Durant will be the center of offseason trade talks</a> around the league.</p><p>Before the trade deadline in February, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/nba-rumors-everybody-knows-jimmy-butler-wants-suns-trade">Suns attempted to acquire Jimmy Butler</a> from the Miami Heat in a trade that would’ve paired him with Durant and Booker.</p><p>Unfortunately for Phoenix, these attempts to trade for Butler created fractures and rifts within the organization, specifically with Beal and Durant, since the Suns held extensive trade conversations with teams centered on the two stars.</p><p>The 15-time All-Star was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/kevin-durant-jimmy-butler-nba-trade-deadline-intel-siegel-scoop">on the verge of being dealt back to the Golden State Warriors</a>, where he spent three seasons and won two championships, before the trade deadline. If it weren’t for him stepping in at the last minute and telling the Suns’ front office that he didn’t want to be traded, this three-team deal involving the Heat, Warriors, and Suns would have likely been completed.</p><p>Now, Durant’s future in Phoenix is uncertain. Between the organization’s struggles over the last few seasons and this injury, what happens with Durant will be the main storyline the Suns carry into the offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Kevin Durant out at least one week with ankle injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-stephen-a-smith-bashes-again-blowout-loss-rockets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Stephen A. Smith bashes Suns again after blowout loss to Rockets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Suns-news-Stephen-A.-Smith-bashes-Phoenix-again-after-blowout-loss-to-Rockets.jpg"></figure><h1>Stephen A. Smith bashes Suns again after blowout loss to Rockets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T09:46:33-07:00">March 31st, 9:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T09:46:33-07:00">March 31st, 9:46am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Safe to say, Stephen A Smith thinks that the Phoenix Suns are done. Following Sunday’s game, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-stephen-a-smith-ruthlessly-calls-out-lackluster-effort-rockets">Smith ruthlessly called out the Suns’ lack of effort</a> in a blowout loss to the Houston Rockets.</p><p>Once he was in the First Take studio and the cameras were rolling, he had more of the same. Smith detailed <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1906720808451416250" rel="noopener">what he thinks</a> about the franchise.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Phoenix Suns are an atrocity. They are bad for basketball. … They're not interested in being there, they're not interested in playing… they look like they can't wait for the season to be over. … You gotta purge that squad."</p><p>—Stephen A. Smith 👀<a href="https://t.co/jNfgMTS89G">pic.twitter.com/jNfgMTS89G</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1906720808451416250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“(The) Phoenix Suns are an atrocity,” Smith said. “They are bad for basketball. They’re not interested in being there, they’re not interested in playing… they look like they can’t wait for the season to be over. You gotta purge that squad.”</p><p>Calling a team an atrocity is not for the faint of heart. It’s also not an idiomatic expression either. The Suns have a 35-41 record and have been one of the biggest disappointments in the league.</p><p>They might be the biggest disappointment when looking at other teams. Although they’ve dealt with injuries, some of the losses have been absurd.</p><p>With the amount of talent on the roster, it still hasn’t clicked. Even with hiring Mike Budenholzer, many thought that’s what the team needed. However, it seems that the season has been swept away by a multitude of things.</p><h2><b>Stephen A Smith blasts Suns for tumultuous season</b></h2><p>Again, a 35-41 record <a href="https://arizonasports.com/nba/phoenix-suns/play-in-standings/3576222/" rel="noopener">doesn’t appear to make sense</a> when looking at the roster. A Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal should win more games.</p><p>However, it’s been anything but. While Durant has played at an All-NBA level, it hasn’t made up for the disappointing losses. They started the season with an 8-1 record.</p><p>Since then, it has been an immediate regression. On Sunday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-leaves-game-rockets-ankle-injury">Durant left the Suns game with an ankle sprain</a>. That seemed to be the dagger into the season.</p><p>Still, the season was likely done weeks before that. There seems to be a lack of enthusiasm and pride. Although the rookies and two-way players are playing for something, the rest of the roster doesn’t seem to have that same fire.</p><p>As the Dallas Mavericks continue to surge in the standings, the season could be over before they know it. As a result, changes are likely to come and it might be a matter of when.</p><p>Players might get traded, head coaches might be fired, and even some executives might be fired. It’s a lethal concoction of ineptitude brewing in Phoenix, and it’s been fermenting for quite some time.</p><p>Smith’s comments are only the tip of the iceberg on a lackluster and disappointing season for the franchise.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Stephen A. Smith bashes Suns again after blowout loss to Rockets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-mike-budenholzer-kevin-durant-injury-update-loss-rockets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Mike Budenholzer provides Kevin Durant injury update after loss to Rockets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SUNS-NEWS-MIKE-BUDENHOLZER-PROVIDES-KEVIN-DURANT-INJURY-UPDATE-AFTER-LOSS-TO-ROCKETS.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Mike Budenholzer provides Kevin Durant injury update after loss to Rockets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T06:54:47-07:00">March 31st, 6:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T06:54:47-07:00">March 31st, 6:54am</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A Phoenix Suns season that was already somewhat of a nightmare went from bad to worse on Sunday night during a 148-109 loss to the Houston Rockets. During the third quarter, star forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/suns-news-kevin-durant-leaves-game-rockets-ankle-injury">Kevin Durant drove to his left before collapsing to the ground</a> and grabbing his lower left leg.</p><p>Durant turned his ankle badly, immediately left the game and did not return. Now, his <a href="https://x.com/TheSteinLine/status/1906556477193531778" rel="noopener">status is a little bit clearer</a>. Head coach Mike Budenholzer said that Durant will undergo an MRI on Monday and will miss the Suns’ upcoming road trip, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>“Kevin Durant will undergo an MRI on Monday on his left ankle and stay behind in Phoenix when the Suns leave town for a three-game trip that begins in Milwaukee, Suns coach Mike Budenholzer says,” Stein reported on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Durant’s injury certainly throws a wrench into the Suns’ slim hopes for a playoff push. Phoenix is currently outside of the play-in picture, sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference at 35-40. However, Budenholzer and company are just 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the final spot in the play-in tournament, so they will feel like they have a chance to crack the top 10.</p><p>That task obviously gets much tougher if Durant is sidelined. On the court, the future Hall-of-Famer has been a rock for a Phoenix squad that has been very unsteady outside of him this season. For the year, he is averaging 26.6 points and six rebounds per game. Durant will now miss an upcoming road trip that includes very challenging games away from home against the Bucks, Celtics and Knicks.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-rumors-could-spurs-pull-off-kevin-durant-trade-heist-with-suns">impending trade rumors surrounding Durant</a> make this injury even more complicated for the Suns and their fans. He was nearly sent back to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline, but a potential trade this summer is still definitely on the table. While the severity of this injury is not yet known, Sunday could have marked the last time Durant plays for the Suns if he is forced to miss the rest of the season.</p><p>With or without Durant, the Suns must figure out how to lock in and get some better results out of their defense. Phoenix is currently in the bottom five in the league in defensive rating and that end of the court has been the primary culprit in its current three-game losing streak.</p><p>Without Durant, the margin for error defensively gets even smaller, so fixing that will be the first priority for Budenholzer and his staff.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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Suns News: Get the latest Phoenix Suns news, scores, stats, standings, fantasy games, and more from ClutchPoints.

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