Suns Owner Posts Heartfelt Thank You Message After 1st-Round Sweep

PHOENIX -- After the Phoenix Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, owner Mat Ishbia wrote a long message about the team on social media.

"Losing is never easy, but I feel really good today about our team and am already thinking about where we go from here," Ishbia posted on X. "I’m so proud of this season and want to thank every single person who made this year possible.

"First, thank you to the fans who supported our team every single day... and the players, coaches, front office, and entire organization who worked so hard to give our community a team to be proud of. So many fans have told me how much they loved cheering on this team and were proud of how we competed for 48 minutes every game. This season introduced a new era of Suns basketball and we have a lot more work to do, which I am truly excited about, and we are just getting started!"

Losing is never easy, but I feel really good today about our team and am already thinking about where we go from here. I’m so proud of this season and want to thank every single person who made this year possible. First, thank you to the fans who supported our team every single…
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) April 28, 2026

How Mat Ishbia's Vision Helped Suns Exceed Expectations

Phoenix Mercury CEO Josh Bartlestein (left) talks with team owner Mat Ishbia during the second quarter against the Washington Mystics at PHX Arena on May 25, 2025. | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Suns were projected to win right around 30 games before the season started, but instead ended the year with 45 wins and a spot in the playoffs.

This came after Phoenix failed to make the playoffs a season ago and moved off Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in the offseason, but Ishbia had a vision for success even after the disappointment of last season.

"The biggest change that I want to talk about is, on me, I'm accountable to this one, which is I have to do a better job of setting the identity of the Phoenix Suns," Ishbia said after last season.

He added: "I want to put a team out there on the court that everyone's proud of. 'Proud of' has to have an identity, an identity that's similar to Phoenix with a little bit of grit, some determination, some work ethic, some grind, some joy. And so we just haven't had that. We did it a different way, and it didn't work. I will do a better job as the owner of setting the tone on the vision ... That's a change that's coming, and it will be undeniable. You will know the difference next year."

Ishbia followed up this statement with an unconventional move of promoting Brian Gregory from vice president of player programming to general manager.

They then hired a first-time head coach in Jordan Ott and retooled the roster around Devin Booker, which most notably included trading Durant to the Houston Rockets forJalen Green, Dillon Brooks, rookies Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea, and a 2026 second-round pick.

All of these decisions surprisingly paid off, and the identity shift was very clear with the amount of grit and determination the Suns played with all year long no matter who was in or out of the lineup.

"When we came in here, we didn't really have an identity. And from game one, everyone showed that our identity is going to be coming out playing hard every night," Green said after last night's Game 4 loss. "We got a group of dogs that fight every time they step on the floor, from starting five to the bench, every single person comes in and does something special for us.

"So that right there, says a lot. And I mean, no one really expected us to even be here in general. People didn't think we was gonna get into the play-in, we did that. People didn't think we was gonna get into the playoffs, we did that. You got to take everything with a grain of salt and understand that they counted us out, and we rose above that."

It was very clear that the Sun bought in to this identity and vision Ishbia set out, and now they will try to build off this for the future after what they were able to show this season.

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