Suns Predicted to Be Worse in Latest NBA Projections

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns continue to be underlooked going into the 2026-27 season after the changes they made this offseason.

Phoenix and coach Jordan Ott will have to show they can continue to be one of the hardest playing teams in the league and assimilate Miles Bridges well into the system before they start getting recognition.

The Athletic and ESPN still aren't bought in to what is transpiring in the Valley.

The Athletic Ranks Suns Among Bottom Half of League

The Athletic's Law Murray ranked the Suns as the No. 18 team in the league in his latest power rankings and in a tier he called "The Bubble," which is the middle of the pack.

The Denver Nuggets (11), Toronto Raptors (12), Atlanta Hawks (13), Miami Heat (14), Indiana Pacers (15), Orlando Magic (16) and Portland Trail Blazers (17) were also in this tier.

The Suns, who finished with the 13th-best record in the league last season, fell two spots from last month's rankings.

Murray wrote of the Suns:

"The Suns exceeded expectations because they played harder than their opponents most of last season, with a Dillon Brooks-sized chip on their shoulder. They got zero playoff wins out of it. They’re the most vulnerable of last season’s playoff teams, though they’re in the right conference to see how that works out.

"Phoenix upgraded by acquiring Miles Bridges in exchange for Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen. Kennard conveniently replaces Allen, but this deal only works if Bridges makes his 3s (he’s a worse shooter than O’Neale) and soaks up enough touches to allow Brooks to focus more energy on defending at a higher level with fewer touches (good luck with that). Drafting Koa Peat also gives Phoenix a size upgrade on Coffey.

"There are many ways the Suns could play, but many of them seem to lack efficiency offensively."

The Charlotte Hornets (19), Golden State Warriors (20) and LA Clippers (21) were the teams immediately following Phoenix in the rankings in the "Not the Tier to Fear" tier.

ESPN Predicts Suns to Be Play-In Team With Worse Record

ESPN's NBA Summer Forecast for the 2026-27 season had the Suns finishing with a 42-40 record, which they had as the No. 8 seed in the West.

There weren't a lot of changes in the standings around the Suns in this forecast, as the same eight teams from last season occupied the top-eight seeds with only the San Antonio Spurs jumping the Oklahoma City Thunder for No. 1 and the LA Lakers falling from No. 4 to No. 6 and the teams behind them (the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves) moving up one spot.

Last year, the Suns finished the regular season as the No. 7 seed, but fell to No. 8 for the playoffs after losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in the play-in.

Portland remained the seventh seed in this forecast, while the Utah Jazz (No. 10) were the only new addition to the play-in group, as the Los Angeles Clippers (No. 11) did not make it.

Our Take

Year 2 under Ott will be a big "prove it" season for the Suns if they can sustain the surprising 45-37 record they had in the 2025-26 season, and their poor finish to the season doesn't help how they're currently viewed.

Bridges is going to have to fit in well with the team if they want to improve, while Phoenix will hope for better injury luck after seemingly being beat up for the majority of the past three seasons.

Based on how well the Suns performed in Jordan Ott's system last year, there's over a 50% chance in our minds that Bridges will assimilate in well, but Phoenix is still going to need consistency and put the end of last season's mistakes behind them as they head into the new year.

We would not be surprised to see the Suns finish at the eight or nine seed in the West, but this is their floor in our opinion and if things go well, they could be a four or five seed, especially given the changes some of the other teams in the conference made.

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