Mat Ishbia Pledges Suns Will Make NBA Playoffs, Win a Series After Getting Swept by Thunder

Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia says he has faith his team as a playoff contender despite watching them get swept from the first round of the 2025 postseason.

"We're going to be better than we were last year," Ishbia told CNBC's Alex Sherman in a Thursday appearance on CNBC Sport.

Ishbia continued, "We're going to make the playoffs. We're going to win the first playoff series... We're an ascending young team getting better every day."

Phoenix hasn't won a playoff game since 2023. The Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024, missed the postseason altogether in 2025 and were swept again last spring by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Suns made it clear the franchise still sees itself as a win-now team by sending out an unprotected first-round pick in order to acquire Miles Bridges from the Charlotte Hornets this summer.

Phoenix now does not hold a first-round pick free of any protection or swap conditions until 2032.

The Suns also sent out Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale this offseason while adding Luke Kennard and Mark Williams as well as drafting Koa Peat.

Those additions put the Suns on track to boast the third-highest payroll in the NBA this season, per Spotrac.

That is currently projected to put the Suns over the first luxury tax apron. The Suns spent four of the last five seasons as a taxpayer, racking up a $152 million 2025 tax bill before dipping below the limit last season, according to Spotrac.

Given the draft capital and salary the Suns have invested in building a roster around Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, the franchise will hope to prove Ishbia's predictions right starting with the tip-off of the regular season next Wednesday a the Portland Trail Blazers.