The 2021–22 Phoenix Suns season was their 54th season of the franchise in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA), as well as their 29th season at the currently named

Footprint Center Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...

, their first full season under that name after taking over the naming rights to the previously named Phoenix Suns Arena on July 16, 2021, during the

2021 NBA Finals The 2021 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2020–21 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks ...

. The Suns entered the season as the defending Western Conference champions and were attempting to return to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year. On March 24, with a win over the Denver Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns have clinched the #1 spot in the Western Conference and the league for the first time since 2005. With the Suns 63rd win over the Los Angeles Lakers on April 5, the Suns set a franchise record for most wins in a season, surpassing the

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

and 2004–05 teams with 62. In the playoffs, the Suns defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in six games in the first round. The Suns then faced the Dallas Mavericks, where they lost in seven games, becoming the third team to have 64 or more wins and not reach the Conference Finals after the 2006–07 Dallas Mavericks and 2015–16 San Antonio Spurs.

Off-season

Draft

The Suns agreed to trade their 29th pick and

Jevon Carter Leroy Jevon Carter (born September 14, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers. A point guard for ...

to the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

in exchange for

Landry Shamet Landry Michael Shamet (born March 13, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers. Early life Shamet was born ...

Free agency

For this season, free agency began over a month later than it usually does, starting on August 2, 2021, at 6:00 P.M. EST instead of by June 30 or July 1 like in previous free agency periods due to the aftermath of the 2019–20 NBA season suspension affecting some of the timing for a few things with this season's offseason period. However, instead of starting the free agency period to something like July 31 akin to last season's free agency period starting two days after the last season's draft back on November 20, 2020, free agency began on the proper five days off before free agency begins. Furthermore, official signings were made four days after the starting free agency period (which in this case began on August 6, 2021, instead of by late November like last season), which was on schedule for the five day moratorium period the NBA holds. For this season, the Suns had (starting with the most expensive players downward)

E'Twaun Moore E'Twaun Donte Moore (born February 25, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 2011 NBA draft after playing college basketball at Purdue University. In high s ...

Langston Galloway Langston Galloway (born December 9, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Saint Joseph's University. High school career Galloway attended Christi ...

Cameron Payne Cameron Payne (born August 8, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Murray State, and was selected 14th overall by the Oklahoma C ...

Abdel Nader Abdel Nader ( ar, عبد الرحمن نادر; born September 25, 1993) is an Egyptian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for ...

, Frank Kaminsky III, and

Torrey Craig Torrey Craig (born December 19, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Upstate Spartans, where he was named an honorable me ...

all entering free agency this year due to all of them signing (or agreeing to) their veteran's minimum salaries for their respective deals last season. In addition to them, superstar point guard

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

also declined his player's option that would have allowed him to get $44,211,146 in the final season of his massive contract he first signed back when he was with the Houston Rockets in 2018, though he's expected to receive a 3-year deal worth $90 million with the Suns in free agency. Not only that, in addition to all of these players, Ty-Shon Alexander's

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

was projected to go into its second year with Phoenix, which initially left them only one likely open two-way contract for the season earlier on. On August 2, the Suns agreed to new deals for not just back-up point guard

, but also All-Star point guard

, both of which became official by August 6. With Payne, his new deal gave him a three-year contract that's worth a total of $19 million, with his third year only guaranteeing him $2 million out of $6,500,000 that would be received there. However, with Chris Paul, his new contract allows him to receive a partially guaranteed four-year deal that would fully grant him up to $120 million, though only his first two years are fully guaranteed, with his third year being partially guaranteed (half of his salary is fully guaranteed for that season) and his final season in that deal being non-guaranteed. Not only that, but they also agreed to sign Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee (who was also a part of Team U.S.A. for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

alongside

Devin Booker Devin Armani Booker (born October 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the son of former basketball player Melvin Booker. After playing college basketba ...

) to a one-year deal for $5 million, though his agreement on August 2 was made official on August 16 instead. However, the Suns also lost

to the Indiana Pacers on August 2, with Craig agreeing to sign a two-year deal worth $10 million for Indiana, which was made official by August 20. A day after that, the Suns also re-signed

to a two-year deal worth $4,200,000 (second year being a team option), with his signing also being official on August 6. On August 5, Frank Kaminsky III agreed to another one-year deal worth his veteran's minimum to return to Phoenix, with former Suns point guard Elfrid Payton agreeing to a one-year deal worth his own veteran's minimum to reunite with the Suns, albeit as a third-string point guard this time around. Kaminsky's deal was made official by August 9, while Payton's was completed a day later. On August 26, the Suns announced that they had officially waived Ty-Shon Alexander from his second year of his

he had signed from his previous season with the team. On September 7, the Suns confirmed that they replaced Alexander's spot with that of former

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

(and technically

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

) player

Chandler Hutchison Chandler Hutchison (born April 26, 1996) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Boise State, and played four seasons in the NBA, most notably for the Chicago Bulls. High school career Hutchison l ...

as a two-way contract player for this season only due to it being his last eligible year for such a contract, with Ty-Shon Alexander confirmed to join the

Segafredo Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

later on that same day. The next day,

agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Orlando Magic after last playing with Orlando from 2012 to 2014. On September 22,

Chasson Randle Chasson Randle (born February 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal. As a senior in 2014–15, he was considered one of the to ...

was confirmed to be a training camp signing for the Suns that's looking to gain a spot on the roster properly in October, which was made official on September 26. However, Randle was officially waived after their preseason ended on October 16. Then, on September 24,

was confirmed to sign a training camp deal with the Golden State Warriors, though he was waived from the Warriors on October 9. With regards to rookie scale contract extensions,

Mikal Bridges Mikal Bridges (born August 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats, winning national championships in 2016 ...

was given a 4-year, $90 million extension with the Suns on October 17, while

was given a 4-year, $43 million extension with Phoenix a day later. However,

Deandre Ayton Deandre Edoneille Ayton Sr. (born July 23, 1998) is a Bahamian professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference in the 2017� ...

failed to get a contract extension of his own before the deadline passed, making him a restricted free agent entering next season. On October 22, the Suns filled their second

with small power forward Ishmail Wainright, a Ugandan-American that previously last played for the

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League, and ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

before signing a non-guaranteed contract with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

in the preseason.

Coaching changes

During the

run on July 12, assistant coach

Willie Green Willie Julius Green (born July 28, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played professionally in the NBA with the ...

agreed to become the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans to enter this season. On July 25, the Suns agreed to hire

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

assistant coach Bryan Gates as a replacement to Willie Green going forward entering this season. On August 7, the Suns officially announced not just the promotion of Kevin Young to Willie Green's former position of associate head coach and the confirmed hiring of Bryan Gates, but also hired former NBA and

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite is a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Based in Henderson, Nevada, the team was designed to play exhibition games outside the G League's traditional scheduling as part of a one-year development program for e ...

player

Jarrett Jack Jarrett Matthew Jack (born October 28, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended four high schools in N ...

and

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

player development coach Steve Scalzi to initially round out the rest of the coaching staff. On August 22, player development coach Riccardo Fois officially left his position with the Suns to become an assistant coach for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

's Wildcats men's basketball team. Finally, on September 24, the Suns confirmed that both Riccardo Fois and Ben Strong left their positions as player development coaches for the team, being replaced by the Suns' assistant video coordinator Corey Vinson and the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

' video coordinator and player development coach Jamal Gross as a combination of video coordinator and player development coaches for the team. Not only that, but

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Mad ...

assistant coach Michael Ruffin was confirmed to be the official assistant coach replacement for

Steve Blake Steven Hanson Blake (born February 26, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. After winning the 2002 NCAA Championship with Maryland, Blake was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the 2 ...

, with

joining Steve Scalzi as player development assistant coaches going into this season.

Front offices changes and Robert Sarver controversy

On July 24, Jeff Bower had a mutual agreement with the Suns to officially leave his position as Vice President of Basketball Operations for them going forward. With

Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. Fitzgerald played in the National Football League for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at University of Pittsburg ...

confirmed to not be playing in the NFL for at least the majority of the

2021 Arizona Cardinals season The 2021 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 102nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 34th in Arizona and their third under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. They improved from their 8–8 season from the previous year with a 23–13 vi ...

, it is presumed likely that Fitzgerald will be given a much greater role with the Suns franchise going into this season under

Robert Sarver Robert Gary Sarver (born October 31, 1961) is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, and the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and RCD Mallorca. Early life and edu ...

's ownership group. However, a report from Jordan Schultz on October 22, 2021, suggested that

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

was going to release a major exposé piece on majority team owner

with regards to rampant racism, sexism, and misogyny involved with him on the team both on and off the court throughout his entire tenure as team owner. While Sarver and other front office members explicitly denied any problems in mind there before the report's release,STATEMENTS FROM ROBERT SARVER, JAMES JONES AND JASON ROWLEY
/ref> the actual report on Sarver was released on November 4, detailing all the problems involved with the majority of his time there.Allegations of racism and misogyny within the Phoenix Suns: Inside Robert Sarver's 17-year tenure as owner
/ref> While Sarver and a majority of team personnel released public statements on their official website in response to the allegations at hand, the NBA began their investigations on the team's executive conduct the same day ESPN's report was released.

Roster

Salaries

For this season, the salary cap was set at $112,414,000, with the luxury tax line now being set at $136,606,000.

Preseason

After dealing with some changes to the preseason format for last season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the NBA made sure to get their preseason period back into its proper starting point in early October going from this season onward, which includes a healthy amount of preseason games to start things out there.Back to normal? NBA plans to start 2021-22 season in October
/ref> While the Suns were still playing in the 2021 NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers revealed their preseason schedule on June 29, which included a match with the Suns at home on October 6 and a road match in Los Angeles on October 10. Not only that, but on August 17, the

revealed in their preseason schedule that the Suns would play at home against Portland on October 13, with them both revealing they were their final, respective preseason opponents this time around. Then on August 19, the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

revealed they were the first opponent the Suns will have in the preseason with a road game in Sacramento to start things out there. The Phoenix Suns later revealed those four games of theirs were officially their preseason schedule on August 25. Before the start of their preseason period,

was confirmed to be infected with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

despite getting the COVID-19 vaccine earlier in the previous season alongside the rest of the team playing there. Despite being able to return to practice early, Booker was held out for at least the majority of the preseason period, returning to play for only the final preseason game. Not only that, but the Suns' home games had to be moved to earlier times than originally scheduled due to the team focusing on their matches as doubleheader matches, with the Phoenix Mercury being considered the main events due to them competing in the

2021 WNBA Playoffs The 2021 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2021 season. The Chicago Sky won their first WNBA championship. Format Following the WNBA regular season, the top eight teams in the overall league standings, without regard ...

against the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...

and

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2 ...

after the Suns' respective matches against the Lakers and Trail Blazers on October 6 & 13. While their first and last preseason games on October 4 & 13 did not air on TV this season, the Suns had their preseason matches against the Lakers air on NBA TV and ESPN respectively for their October 6 & 10 games. After struggling against the Kings to start the preseason, Phoenix won both of their matches against the Lakers (even blowing the Lakers out 123–94 in their second match) before blowing out the Trail Blazers in a 119–74 win at home, finishing the preseason with a 3–1 record. , - style="background:#fcc;" , 1 , October 4 , @

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Golden 1 Center Golden 1 Center is an indoor arena, located in downtown Sacramento, California, United States. It sits partially on the site of the former Downtown Plaza shopping center. The publicly owned arena is part of a business and entertainment district ...

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L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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Regular season

Game log

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Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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18,997 , 1–1 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 3 , October 23 , @ Portland , ,

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Moda Center Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is used for basketball, ice hockey, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions. The arena h ...

18,558 , 1–2 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 4 , October 27 ,

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14,678 , 1–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 5 , October 30 ,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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14,516 , 2–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 6 , November 2 ,

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14,323 , 3–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 7 , November 4 ,

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15,058 , 4–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 8 , November 6 ,

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Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder (born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Technical ...

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15,412 , 5–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 9 , November 8 , @

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13,566 , 6–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 10 , November 10 , Portland , ,

Frank Kaminsky Francis Stanley Kaminsky III (born April 4, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. During his college basket ...

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15,672 , 7–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 11 , November 12 , @

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FedExForum FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home ...

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Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Hous ...

16,088 , 9–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 13 , November 15 , @

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Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, ...

16,279 , 10–3 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 14 , November 17 ,

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AT&T Center AT&T Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the east side of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is the home of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. The arena seats 18,418 for basketball, and 19,000 for concerts or ...

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(10) ,

15,292 , 20–4 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 25 , December 10 ,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, , JaVale McGee (21) , JaVale McGee (15) ,

(12) ,

17,071 , 21–4 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 26 , December 13 , @ L.A. Clippers , , Cameron Johnson (17) , JaVale McGee (13) ,

(8) , Staples Center
17,909 , 21–5 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 27 , December 14 , @ Portland , ,

(28) ,

(13) ,

(14) ,

16,184 , 22–5 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 28 , December 16 ,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, , JaVale McGee (17) ,

(10) , Cameron Johnson (5) ,

16,177 , 23–5 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 29 , December 19 ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, , JaVale McGee (19) ,

(15) ,

(9) ,

17,071 , 24–5 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 30 , December 21 , @

, ,

(24) ,

(11) ,

(9) , Staples Center
18,997 , 25–5 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 31 , December 23 ,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, ,

(30) ,

(12) , Booker,

(7) ,

17,071 , 26–5 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 32 , December 25 , Golden State , ,

(21) , Ayton. McGee (7) ,

(8) ,

17,071 , 26–6 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 33 , December 27 ,

, ,

(30) ,

(9) ,

(13) ,

17,071 , 26–7 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 34 , December 29 ,

, ,

(38) ,

(14) ,

(7) ,

17,071 , 27–7 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 35 , December 31 , @

, ,

(22) ,

(7) ,

(8) ,

TD Garden TD Garden is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after its sponsor, TD Bank, a subsidiary of the Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Ontario. It opened in 1995 as a replacement for the original Boston Garden and has been k ...

19,156 , 27–8 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 36 , January 2 , @

, ,

(24) ,

(12) ,

(16) , Spectrum Center
19,088 , 28–8 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 37 , January 4 , @

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(33) ,

(9) ,

(15) ,

Smoothie King Center Smoothie King Center (locally referred to as SKC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to Caesars Superdome. The arena opened in 1999 as New Orleans Arena and ...

15,158 , 29–8 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 38 , January 6 , L.A. Clippers , , Cameron Johnson (24) ,

(14) ,

(10) ,

17,071 , 30–8 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 39 , January 8 ,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, ,

(26) ,

(8) ,

(7) ,

17,071 , 30–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 40 , January 11 , @

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, ,

(19) ,

(9) ,

(12) ,

Scotiabank Arena Scotiabank Arena (French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rapt ...

0 , 31–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 41 , January 14 , @

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, ,

(35) , Ayton,

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

(12) ,

(9) ,

Gainbridge Fieldhouse Gainbridge Fieldhouse is an indoor arena located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It opened in November 1999 to replace Market Square Arena. The arena is the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and ...

14,019 , 32–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 42 , January 16 , @

, ,

(30) ,

(11) ,

(6) ,

Little Caesars Arena Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opened on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of ...

18,178 , 33–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 43 , January 17 , @

, ,

(48) ,

Bismack Biyombo Bismack Biyombo Sumba (born August 28, 1992) is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Sacramento Ki ...

(14) ,

(12) ,

10,422 , 34–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 44 , January 20 , @

, ,

(28) ,

(8) ,

(11) ,

American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association and the Dallas ...

19,584 , 35–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 45 , January 22 ,

, ,

(23) ,

(13) ,

(16) ,

17,071 , 36–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 46 , January 24 ,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, ,

(33) ,

(13) ,

(14) ,

17,071 , 37–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 47 , January 26 , @

, ,

(43) ,

(12) ,

(5) ,

Vivint Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Assoc ...

18,306 , 38–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 48 , January 28 ,

, ,

(29) ,

(12) ,

(14) ,

17,071 , 39–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 49 , January 30 ,

, ,

(28) ,

(11) ,

(19) ,

17,071 , 40–9 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 50 , February 1 ,

, ,

(35) ,

(8) ,

(14) ,

17,071 , 41–9 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 51 , February 3 , @

, ,

(32) ,

(9) ,

(12) , State Farm Arena
16,958 , 41–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 52 , February 5 , @

, ,

(20) ,

(16) ,

(9) ,

Capital One Arena Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. It has been largely considered to be a commercial success ...

18,058 , 42–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 53 , February 7 , @

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, ,

(38) ,

(10) ,

(11) ,

United Center United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named ...

20,615 , 43–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 54 , February 8 , @

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, ,

(35) ,

(14) ,

(12) ,

Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: *Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California *Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California * Wells Fargo Cen ...

20,720 , 44-10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 55 , February 10 ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, ,

(27) , Crowder,

(8) ,

(19) ,

17,071 , 45–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 56 , February 12 ,

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, ,

(26) ,

(10) ,

(15) ,

17,071 , 46–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 57 , February 15 , L.A. Clippers , ,

(26) ,

(12) ,

(14) ,

17,071 , 47–10 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 58 , February 16 ,

, ,

(24) ,

(9) ,

(8) ,

17,071 , 48–10 , - align="center" , colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff",

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

, - style="background:#cfc;" , 59 , February 24 , @

, ,

(25) , Ayton, McGee (8) ,

(12) ,

Paycom Center Paycom Center (originally known as the Ford Center from 2002 to 2010, Oklahoma City Arena from 2010 to 2011, and Chesapeake Energy Arena from 2011 to 2021) is an arena located in Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It opened in 200 ...

14,176 , 49–10 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 60 , February 25 ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(30) ,

(11) ,

(6) ,

17,071 , 49–11 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 61 , February 27 ,

, ,

(30) , Ayton, Booker, McGee (7) ,

(7) ,

17,071 , 49–12 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 62 , March 2 , Portland , , Cameron Johnson (20) , JaVale McGee (9) ,

Aaron Holiday Aaron Shawn Holiday (born September 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The guard played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, where he earned All-American ...

(9) ,

17,071 , 50–12 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 63 , March 4 , New York , , Cameron Johnson (38) ,

(7) ,

(16) ,

17,071 , 51–12 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 64 , March 6 , @

, ,

(30) ,

(8) ,

Fiserv Forum Fiserv Forum (stylized as fiserv.forum) () is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball tea ...

17,495 , 51–13 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 65 , March 8 , @

, , Ayton, Shamet (21) ,

(19) ,

(12) ,

Amway Center Amway Center is an indoor arena located in Downtown Orlando, Florida. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, and the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League. Amway Center hosted the 2012 N ...

14,024 , 52–13 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 66 , March 9 , @

, ,

(23) , JaVale McGee (15) ,

(10) ,

FTX Arena FTX Arena (known as American Airlines Arena from 1999 to 2021) is a multi-purpose arena located in Miami, Florida, along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and designed by the architecture fir ...

19,600 , 53–13 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 67 , March 11 ,

, ,

(24) , JaVale McGee (8) ,

(7) ,

17,071 , 53–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 68 , March 13 ,

, ,

(30) ,

(16) ,

(11) ,

17,071 , 54–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 69 , March 15 , @

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(27) , Holiday, McGee (6) , Booker, Payne (8) ,

16,789 , 55–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 70 , March 16 , @

, ,

(36) ,

(14) ,

(11) ,

18,055 , 56–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 71 , March 18 ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, ,

(28) ,

(12) ,

(7) ,

17,071 , 57–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 72 , March 20 , @

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, ,

(31) , Ayton, Craig (10) ,

(7) ,

17,583 , 58–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 73 , March 23 , @

, ,

(35) ,

(14) ,

(9) ,

17,136 , 59–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 74 , March 24 , @

, ,

(49) ,

(7) ,

(13) ,

Ball Arena Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A lig ...

19,520 , 60–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 75 , March 27 ,

, ,

(35) ,

(12) ,

(14) ,

17,071 , 61–14 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 76 , March 30 , @ Golden State , , Booker,

(22) ,

(16) ,

(8) ,

18,064 , 62–14 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 77 , April 1 , @

, ,

(41) , Ayton, McGee (12) ,

(11) ,

17,794 , 62–15 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 78 , April 3 , @

, ,

(18) ,

(7) ,

(9) ,

17,078 , 62–16 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 79 , April 5 ,

, ,

(32) ,

(13) ,

(12) ,

17,071 , 63–16 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 80 , April 6 , @ L.A. Clippers , ,

Ish Wainright Ishmail Carzell Wainright (born September 12, 1994) is an American-Ugandan professional basketball player who last played for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the senior Ugandan national ...

(20) ,

(12) ,

(7) , Staples Center
19,068 , 63–17 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 81 , April 8 , @

, ,

(33) ,

(10) ,

(16) ,

18,306 , 64–17 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 82 , April 10 ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, ,

(27) , JaVale McGee (13) , Holiday, Shamet, Lundberg (5) ,

17,071 , 64–18

Standings

Playoffs

For the second straight year in a row, the Suns were in the NBA Playoffs after previously experiencing a decade-long drought from it that started back in the 2010–11 season. It is their first time they reached the Playoffs in back-to-back seasons since the Seven Seconds Or Less era from around the 2004–05 season until the 2007–08 season. The NBA also continued utilizing the play-in tournament set-up that first began in the

2020 NBA Bubble The 2020 NBA Bubble, also referred to as the Disney Bubble or the Orlando Bubble, was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its p ...

, with this season also being the second one in a row where the play-in tournament has the seventh and eighth best teams in each conference compete for the seventh seed in each conference and the ninth and tenth seeds compete for a shot at the eighth seed for each conference instead. However, this is the first full-length season that will feature the same play-in tournament experiment from the previous season at hand.

Game log

, - style="background:#cfc;" , 1 , April 17 ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(30) ,

(9) ,

(10) ,

17,071 , 1–0 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 2 , April 19 ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(31) ,

(9) ,

(14) ,

17,071 , 1–1 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 3 , April 22 , @

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, , Ayton,

(28) ,

(17) ,

(14) ,

18,962 , 2–1 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 4 , April 24 , @

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(23) ,

(8) ,

(11) ,

18,962 , 2–2 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 5 , April 26 ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(31) ,

(10) ,

(11) ,

17,071 , 3–2 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 6 , April 28 , @

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, ,

(33) ,

(7) ,

(8) ,

18,710 , 4–2 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 1 , May 2 ,

, ,

(25) ,

(9) ,

(8) ,

17,071 , 1–0 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2 , May 4 ,

, ,

(40) ,

(7) ,

(8) ,

17,071 , 2–0 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 3 , May 6 , @

, ,

(19) ,

(11) ,

(8) ,

20,077 , 2–1 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 4 , May 8 , @

, ,

(35) ,

(11) , Booker

(7) ,

20,610 , 2–2 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 5 , May 10 ,

, ,

(28) ,

(9) ,

(10) ,

17,071 , 3–2 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 6 , May 12 , @

, ,

(21) , Deandre Ayton (11) ,

(5) ,

20,777 , 3–3 , - style="background:#fcc;" , 7 , May 15 ,

, , Cameron Johnson (12) , Javale McGee (6) ,

(4) ,

17,071 , 3–4

Awards and records

*From July 23-August 7, 2021,

became the first Suns player to play for Team U.S.A. in an Olympiad setting since

Shawn Marion Shawn Dwayne Marion (born May 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Marion finished his career as a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All- ...

and

Amar'e Stoudemire Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire ( ; he, אמארה יהושפט סטודמאייר; born November 16, 1982) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a player development assistant for the Bro ...

in 2004. With the later agreed signing of center JaVale McGee on August 2 (which became official on August 17 after the branded 2020 Summer Olympics ended), Booker and McGee became the first Suns teammates (official or agreed upon) to play for Team U.S.A. since Marion and Stoudemire back in 2004 also. **With a 97–78 win over Australia on August 5 and an 87–82 win in their rematch against France, both Booker and McGee were named gold medalists for the branded 2020 Summer Olympics. They were not just the first medalists representing the Suns since

and

won their bronze medals in 2004, but they also became the first gold medalists while representing the Suns since

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

won a gold medal back in the year

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. *On August 18, 2021,

was named a member of the All-Summer League First Team by averaging 16.3 points and a Las Vegas Summer League leading 12.5 rebounds in the four games he played for the Suns, with all four performances resulting in double-doubles for each game. *On September 11, 2021, former Suns head coach

Cotton Fitzsimmons Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, M ...

was posthumously inducted into the

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

as a contributor to the game of basketball. *Both former Suns players

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...

and Steve Nash were named members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team on October 19, 2021. **A day later,

joined Barkley and Nash as the only other Suns players at that point in time to join the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, as well as was the only current Suns player to join that team. A day after that,

joined Paul, Nash, and Barkley as the few Suns players, former or current, to join the NBA 75. *On November 2, 2021, former Suns player and coach

Paul Westphal Paul Douglas Westphal (November 30, 1950 – January 2, 2021) was an American basketball player, head coach, and commentator. Westphal played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1984. Playing the guard position, he won an ...

and current Suns broadcaster Ann Meyers Drysdale were both inducted into the

Arizona Sports Hall of Fame The Arizona Sports Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame in the United States honoring any athlete who has "merited recognition and distinction in sports and who has brought fame and honor to the State of Arizona through outstanding sporting acco ...

for their sporting contributions to the state of Arizona.

Awards

Week/Month

All-Star

– 12th

– third All-Star Game *

Monty Williams Tavares Montgomery Williams (born October 8, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and a former player and executive who is the head coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Williams played for five NBA ...

– first

NBA All-Star Game head coach This is a list of NBA All-Star Game head coaches. The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is an annual basketball exhibition game held during the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season. From 1951 to 2017, the All-Star Game ...

Records

*On October 22, 2021, the team's second game of the season,

became the 47th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points for their career. Not only that, but he became the first player in league history to ever get to both 20,000+ points and 10,000+ assists in a career, getting his first eight points off of free-throws alone. Paul finished up the night with a double-double of 23 points and 14 assists in a 115–105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. *On November 2, Chris Paul overtook both Mark Jackson and Steve Nash respectively to become the new third-highest assist creator of all-time, surpassing both former players in the second quarter of that game. Paul finished the night with another double-double performance, this time recording 14 points and 18 assists, in a 112–100 win at home over his first team, the New Orleans Pelicans.DEFINING CHRIS PAUL'S GREATNESS
/ref>

Team records

Milestones

*On October 30, 2021,

tied Antawn Jamison as the 46th highest all-time scorer in NBA history with 16 points scored alongside 10 assists recorded in a 101–92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. **Two days later, on November 2, Paul overtook not just Jamison, but also former Suns player Tom Chambers' position to become the 45th highest all-time scorer in NBA history. He also overtook both Mark Jackson and former Suns player Steve Nash's positions for the all-time assist leaders to become the new third highest assist creator in league history behind only former Suns player

and

John Stockton John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, a ...

, finishing the night with a double-double of 14 points and 18 assists in a 112–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Team milestones

*On October 30, 2021,

overtook

Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor The Ring of Honor is an award given to prominent players and employees of the professional basketball team, the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Awardees are selected to recognize the significant role the individual has had ...

member (and former assistant coach)

Dan Majerle Daniel Lewis Majerle (; born September 9, 1965), also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Associat ...

to become the second-greatest three-point shooter in franchise history, making two three-pointers to also break through the 800 made three-point shots barrier in a blowout loss to the

. *On November 6,

overtook

member (and former head coach)

to become the team's newest eighth highest scorer in franchise history. He finished the night off with a current season-high of 38 points in a 121–117 win over the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. **He also tied

for overall field goal attempts with the team by attempting 21 shots that night, tying Stoudemire at eighth for most field goal attempts in franchise history. Booker later surpassed him two days later on November 8 against the

, while also being the 12th player in franchise history to break the 14,000 minutes played barrier with the Suns.

Injuries/Personal missed games

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Re-Signed

Additions

Subtractions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Phoenix Suns season

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Phoenix Suns seasons Phoenix Suns Phoenix Suns 2020s in Arizona