PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns have muscled their way into the heart of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup conversation. What makes this run compelling isn’t just their perseverance without Devin Booker and Jalen Green; it’s the emergence of a new identity built on discipline, with a coach leaning into the full depth of his roster with full belief.
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Dec 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) works around Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) in the third quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Head Coach Jordan Ott has quietly shifted the Suns from a model relying on their star shooting guards to a layered, matchup-driven rotation that echoes the formula Oklahoma City used to ride to last year’s title. The Suns’ second unit is embracing responsibility instead of deferring to it. Nobody embodies that shift more than Collin Gillespie. Once a fringe rotation piece who came on strong at the end of last season, Gillespie has become Phoenix’s strongest playmaker as he truly takes the offense into his own hands with poise, while giving this team the sturdy, low-mistake backbone it often lacked.
Dec 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) works around Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Although their first test in the upcoming Emirates NBA Cup is a brutal one, as they take on the defending NBA Champions, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC suffocates teams with depth, pace, and narrow-margin execution, everything Phoenix is trying to become. Matching Shai possession-for-possession isn’t realistic; limiting the avalanche around him is. That’s where Dillon Brooks’ blueprint comes in with his intense defense and leadership. Phoenix must weaponize its newfound depth, win the non-Shai minutes, and turn the game into a war of lineups rather than stars.
Dec 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) and guard Jordan Goodwin (23) battle for position against Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the third quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
For Suns fans, this Cup run matters not because it guarantees hardware, but because it previews something larger for the Suns team capable of contending even when their stars deal with injuries. It’s a stress test, and if Brooks and Gillespie continue to rise, including starting with taking down the Oklahoma City Thunder, it’ll be a signal that Phoenix’s window is as open as anybody’s.
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Reporter Benjamin Bliklen covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @BenBliklen
