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Mat Ishbia talks Suns, Mercury, UWM and more on Pat McAfee Show

Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia went on the Pat McAfee Show today and told the world all about what he is doing with the Suns and Mercury, his mortgage company and his personal life.

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In terms of being the Suns and Mercury owner, Ishbia started off by detailing his mindset when it comes to being an owner.

“I’m a fan that owns a team now, and now I get to do all the things that as a fan I wanted the owner to do,” Ishbia said. “Whether it’s getting TV or trading for players or just getting involved, I love it. It’s been the best.”

So what have been his impressions of Suns’ fans?

“The energy is fantastic, the Suns’ fans are the best,” Ishbia said. “We’ve never won a championship, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”

With that being said, as Suns and Mercury fans have heard countless times, Ishbia does not care about the money.

“No fan cares what I pay in luxury tax, they care if we win,” Ishbia said. “My job is to do what they want, and it’s not just about how much money I make. Let’s just go talk about winning.

“Money follows success every single time.”

Hands-on approach

Ishbia, who was once a walk-on for Michigan State basketball from 1999-2002 and was part of the 2000 National Championship team, said he is hands on about “every detail” as an owner.

“I’m very involved with it,” Ishbia said. “I can watch a little film, I’m not James Jones, my GM. But I’ll watch it, talk to them and strategize. I love being involved with it because I love basketball, I know the game a little bit. If you want to be great at something, you’ve got to be all in, and I’m all in with the Phoenix Suns and Mercury.”

Ishbia also detailed his mentality about who he wants on the team.

“Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, they are killers,” Ishbia said. “These guys, their mentality, I love being around them. They’re killers and they’re amazing players too. My DNA, Michigan State basketball, I like guys that play tough. We want to build a culture in Phoenix, we look for those kinds of guys. That’s one of the reasons we traded for Royce O’Neale. We think he fits in like that kind of mentality.

“Honestly, Booker, Durant, (Bradley) Beal, (Jusuf) Nurkić. I love Nurkić, the way he plays, he’s big, strong. This guy’s a monster down there. We got Grayson Allen, who’s tough, plays the right way. We got a team.”

Following up on trading for O’Neale, Ishbia talked about some of his thought process involving the deal, which is going to bring a lot more money than before to their luxury tax bill.

“They said, ‘Oh, it’s going to add to the luxury tax,” Ishbia said. “I said, ‘Is Royce O’Neale going to make us better?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Okay, then what are we talking about?’ No fan is going to be like, ‘Good job saving money on the tax bill.'”

Talking to his players

Ishbia said he talks to his players “all the time.”

“How can I run a business if I don’t talk to my players?” Ishbia said. “I talk to every player on my women’s team and my men’s team. I talk with them all the time, I text with them, I have dinner with them. I’m around these guys and gals all the time. I’m learning to get better.”

Ishbia explained how he asks them for feedback on what they can do better.

“I tell people that came from other teams, like, ‘Hey, what do they do better than us? Because we’re gonna do better than that,'” Ishbia said. “‘Oh, we like team dinners on the road.’ Okay, we got it. ‘How do we make the hotels better?’ We’re trying to be the best franchise in all of the NBA, in all of sports. How do we do that? You’ve got to invest, you’ve got to find out the players actually know. They’ve been (like), ‘This place we did this or hey, I love this.’

“Take care of your guys, do the right thing. Take care of your girls, that’s what we’re trying to do. Every detail I’m involved with.”

Furthermore, Ishbia said his basketball background, but more so the members of his team’s backgrounds help him with what he does.

“I know what it takes because I’ve seen it, and I want to be involved with it,” Ishbia said. “I’ve never done it in the NBA, never done it in the WNBA. You know who’s done it? Some of my players, my head coach has won a championship. So ask them, I don’t need to reinvent the wheel. What works, what doesn’t work, let’s try to do more of that. ‘Let’s build a new film room.’ ‘Okay, we got you.’

“My job is to be the best owner, their job is to be the best player, best coach, best medical trainer. We all have to play our roles. Do your role, be the best at it, it’s all about team.”

Ishbia’s life outside Phoenix

Ishbia described how he tries to go to bed at 9:30 p.m. and is in the office at his company, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), working at 4 a.m. He added that he has to been doing this for 20 years.

“I don’t need an alarm, I just get up, I just go,” Ishbia said. “I got to outwork everyone, I’m not the smartest guy.”

He joined as the 12th employee of the company, founded by his dad in 1986, and eventually bought the company in 2013. Now, UWM has 7,500 employees.

Ishbia also has three kids, so he said he spends weekends coaching their teams. He still lives in Michigan, but tries to go to most of the Suns’ games, and he now also has a house out in Phoenix.

When asked if he had any ties to Phoenix before, Ishbia said no, but he now loves the city and especially escaping the cold in Michigan.

With his already busy schedule, Ishbia said he doesn’t much time for anything else, but he “makes the time” for everything he does.

“I just want to try to win,” Ishbia said. “Try to win with the Suns, the Mercury. Try to win championships. Be involved with it, I love it. I’m in the weeds of it. My mortgage business, I run it all day, every day. That’s what I’m doing most of the time. Basketball, business, and I’ve got three kids.”

How does Ishbia manage all that he does?

“I got energy, I love it. You wake up excited,” Ishbia said. “I love it, I love what I do.”

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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