Suns' Season Has Surprised Everyone — Including Kevin Durant

The Phoenix Suns have shocked everybody, even Kevin Durant.

Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Team USA Stripes forward Kevin Durant () 7of the Houston Rockets looks on during game three against Team World during the 75th NBA All Star Game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns simply weren't supposed to be this good.

Phoenix made massive changes from top to bottom over the past summer, swapping out two star players in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal while also replacing their general manager/head coach duo.

Now, with 27 games left on the schedule, the Suns sit with the West's seventh seed and just two games back of the fourth spot.

The West has typically been tough sledding, and while 2025-26 is no different — Durant himself admitted at All-Star weekend festivities nobody thought Phoenix would be in the mix.

What Kevin Durant Said of Suns, Western Conference

Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Team USA Stars guard Devin Booker (1) of the Phoenix Suns controls the ball against Team USA Stripes forward Kevin Durant (35) of the Houston Rockets in game two during the 75th NBA All Star Game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

“It's a crazy conference, man,” Durant said (h/t Duane Rankin). “You can look up and drop down two spots in a night and rise up two spots in a night.”

“It just goes to show you how much great talent there is in the league, great coaching, great GM'ing in the league to put together these good teams. Teams that you didn't think would be in the running. Like Phoenix, who nobody thought would be this good and going out there and looking like a contending team. San Antonio. A lot of teams each year have gotten better and made this conference even tougher.”

READ: Grading Suns' All-Star Break Signing

After Oklahoma City's 42-14 record (which is a .5 game back from the Detroit Pistons for best record in the NBA), and San Antonio in the second seed, teams 3-8 are all within six games of each other.

Durant, with the Houston Rockets (fourth in the West, two games ahead of Phoenix), was essentially an addition by subtraction for the Suns, who netted No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach, Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green from their deal with Houston.

Perhaps the best part is we haven't seen the best of the Suns, as they've yet to be truly healthy thanks to a mix of injuries to Devin Booker, Grayson Allen and Green.

"This is exciting. Like what we're playing for the next 27 games, that's exciting," said Suns coach Jordan Ott ahead of the All-Star break.

"... The break is good for whatever happened, happened. And now we're going to be in some of these games where we're going to grow. Every night is going to feel like one of those playoff games when you start fighting for it, so that continues our growth. That's what's exciting. So again, we'd like to get our our guys, our group, healthy. I think the break helps with that.

"We're right there, and these guys have put themselves in a position that makes these next handful of games meaningful, and that's exciting."

Who knows — Phoenix and Durant could very well run into each other in the postseason.