Suns' Biggest X-Factor For 2026-27 Season Isn't Devin Booker or Jalen Green

This Suns forward could be their biggest determining factor of success this season.

Apr 22, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Jordan Ott gestures to his team during a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

PHOENIX -- Despite a slew of injuries all season long, the Phoenix Suns managed to surprise everyone and outperform expectations with a 45-37 record in the 2025-26 season.

The Suns' "next man up" mentality defined last season, but all the injuries they dealt with eventually caught up with them at the end of the year, as they did not have enough continuity and reps together when the games mattered most, which led to them losing their first play-in matchup and then getting swept in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

If Phoenix wants to take elevate its level of play again this season, it will take more than just everyone stepping up to fill a role when needed.

A lot will ride on how a new addition assimilates into the group, especially after the Suns decided to re-sign the majority of their core long term and only reshuffle in a couple areas.

Who Is Suns' Biggest X-Factor Next Season?

While the Suns hardly got to see how their top-three players from last season in Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks played together because of the injuries they dealt with, adding Miles Bridges into the mix could very well determine just how far they can go in the 2026-27 season.

Phoenix has a funky starting lineup once again now with four ball-dominant players and scorers in Booker, Green, Brooks and Bridges, who all aren't really known for their 3-point shooting.

Bridges comes over to the Suns after averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists with Charlotte last season and fills a need of a downhill player, but he is still undersized for his position at 6-foot-7 and will have to prove he can be a capable rebounder, defender, playmaker and shooter if the Suns want to improve their ceiling next season.

Bridges also carries past off-the-court issues that made a lot of people question the Suns trading for him and is extension eligible heading into the last season of his contract, so Phoenix will have to make a difficult decision on if they like him pretty quickly after trading away Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and an unprotected 2033 first-round pick to land him this summer.

Suns coach Jordan Ott's system allowed a lot of players to flourish last season, so Phoenix will bank on it continuing to prove successful with Bridges, who will fill a true power forward role, which is something Ott did not really utilize in his first year.

This is another aspect of how Bridges impacts the Suns after Ott relied a ton on small ball last year, but will likely have to play bigger this upcoming season with a forward group that now features Bridges, Rasheer Fleming, Ryan Dunn and incoming rookie Koa Peat.

If Ott and the Suns can integrate Bridges in seamlessly while continuing to have a top-10 defense coupled with maximizing the offensive firepower they now have, the trade could take the Suns to another level and lead to a significant improvement in their record this season.

On paper, there are a lot of questions of Bridges' fit with the group, but Ott was able to dispel almost every narrative about the team heading into last season and will now look to do the same with Bridges.

Because of all the concerns about his fit and with the potential he has to silence this doubt, Bridges looks to be a true X-factor for the Suns going into the 2026-27 season.