2021–22 Phoenix Suns season

2021–22 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	Monty Williams
General manager	James Jones
Owners	Robert Sarver
Arena	Footprint Center
Results
Record	45–10 (.818)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Bally Sports Arizona
Radio	KTAR
< 2020–21 2022–23 >

The 2021–22 Phoenix Suns season is their 54th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 29th season at the currently named the Footprint Center, 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.^[1][2] After working through many changes under their previous season due to many new rules and regulations taking place with the COVID-19 pandemic in mind at that time, especially in both the United States of America and Canada, the NBA and NBPA made sure fans were allowed back into each team's arenas while being at full capacity again moving forward. The Suns will enter the season as the defending Western Conference champions and attempt to return to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.^[3]

Off-season[]

Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position(s)	Nationality	College / Club
1	29	Day'Ron Sharpe	Center	United States	North Carolina

For the first time since the 2010 NBA draft period, the Suns did not have to worry about attending the NBA draft lottery and seeing where their first-round pick would go after that point in time. In fact, the Suns confirmed their entry for the 2021 NBA Playoffs early on by April 28 as one of the top two teams of the NBA the prior season, later making it to the 2021 NBA Finals.^[4] As such, the Suns were initially only left with their own late first-round pick before entering the day of the draft. Originally, the Suns also had a 2021 first-round pick from the Miami Heat (which became Tre Mann from the University of Florida) as a part of a multi-trade extravaganza in February 2015 involving multiple teams that year, with Phoenix basically acquiring the Heat's first-round picks from both this year's draft and in the 2018 NBA draft (the latter of whom became Zhaire Smith before being traded) alongside a 2016 first-round pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers (which became Skal Labissière, who later was traded on that draft night) and a bunch of other players from other teams that were either dead salary cap space for them or were otherwise barely worth the effort in the end in exchange for removing some key disgruntled players from their team that season, as well as their own second-round pick for this season's draft. However, while they were still under Ryan McDonough's tenure in one of his last trades as general manager of the Suns, both of the Heat's first-round picks from 2018 and 2021 were traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on the night of the 2018 draft, with Phoenix regaining their first-round pick that was originally meant to be conveyed by 2015, but got delayed until 2018 as an unprotected first-round pick that was initially a part of the Steve Nash sign-and-trade to the Los Angeles Lakers on July 11, 2012 (though was first agreed upon back in the Fourth of July that year under Lance Blanks' tenure as general manager),^[5] which then became key small forward Mikal Bridges for that year's draft.^[6] Also while under Ryan McDonough's tenure in his last season as general manager for Phoenix with his penultimate trade, the Suns agreed to trade their Top-35 protected second-round pick for this season (which became RaiQuan Gray from Florida State University) alongside Jared Dudley to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for the player rights of Darrell Arthur (who was eventually waived from the team after failing to acquire an injured player's exception from him that same season and then later unofficially retired from basketball altogether a few years later); Phoenix later tried to trade that pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in a future trade made with James Jones taking the role as general manager, but the pick was ultimately given to the Nets in the end without any hesitations due to the team's improved record from last season going into effect.^[7][8] Finally, on the day of the draft, the Suns agreed to trade their 29th pick and Jevon Carter to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Landry Shamet, though the deal wasn't made official until August 6. That left them with no selections for themselves in the draft by the time they made their pick of Day'Ron Sharpe from the University of North Carolina for the Nets.^[9]

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, Langston Galloway, Cameron Payne, Abdel Nader, Frank Kaminsky III, and Torrey Craig 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 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 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 Cameron Payne, but also All-Star point guard Chris Paul, both of which became official by August 6.^[10][11] 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 alongside Devin Booker) to a one-year deal for $5 million, though his agreement on August 2 was made official on August 16 instead.^[12] However, the Suns also lost Torrey Craig 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 Abdel Nader to a two-year deal worth $4,200,000 (second year being a team option), with his signing also being official on August 6.^[13] 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,^[14] while Payton's was completed a day later.^[15]

On August 26, the Suns announced that they had officially waived Ty-Shon Alexander from his second year of his two-way contract he had signed from his previous season with the team.^[16] On September 7, the Suns confirmed that they replaced Alexander's spot with that of former Washington Wizards (and technically San Antonio Spurs) player Chandler Hutchison 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 in Italy later on that same day.^[17][18] The next day, E'Twaun Moore 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 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.^[19] However, Randle was officially waived after their preseason ended on October 16. Then, on September 24, Langston Galloway 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 was given a 4-year, $90 million extension with the Suns on October 17,^[20] while Landry Shamet was given a 4-year, $43 million extension with Phoenix a day later.^[21] However, Deandre Ayton 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 two-way contract with small power forward Ishmail Wainright, a Ugandan-American that previously last played for the SIG Strasbourg in France before signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Toronto Raptors in the preseason.^[22]

Coaching changes[]

During the 2021 NBA Finals run on July 12, assistant coach Willie Green agreed to become the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans to enter this season.^[23][24] On July 25, the Suns agreed to hire Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Bryan Gates as a replacement to Willie Green going forward entering this season.^[25] 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 player Jarrett Jack and Oklahoma City Thunder player development coach to initially round out the rest of the coaching staff.^[26] 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's Wildcats men's basketball team.^[27][28] 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 and the Portland Trail Blazers' video coordinator and player development coach as a combination of video coordinator and player development coaches for the team.^[29] Not only that, but Fort Wayne Mad Ants assistant coach Michael Ruffin was confirmed to be the official assistant coach replacement for Steve Blake, with Jarrett Jack joining Steve Scalzi as player development assistant coaches going into this season.^[30]

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.^[31] With Larry Fitzgerald confirmed to not be playing in the NFL for at least the majority of the 2021 Arizona Cardinals season, it is presumed likely that Fitzgerald will be given a much greater role with the Suns franchise going into this season under Robert Sarver's ownership group. However, a report from Jordan Schultz on October 22, 2021 suggested that ESPN was going to release a major exposé piece on majority team owner Robert Sarver 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,^[32] the actual report on Sarver was released on November 4, detailing all the problems involved with the majority of his time there.^[33] While Sarver and a majority of team personnel released public statements on their official website in response to the allegations at hand,^{[34][35][36][37][38]} the NBA began their investigations on the team's executive conduct the same day ESPN's report was released.^[39]

Roster[]

Phoenix Suns roster

• v
• t

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From C 22 Ayton, Deandre 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1998-07-23 Arizona C 18 Biyombo, Bismack 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1992-08-28 Republic of the Congo G 1 Booker, Devin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1996-10-30 Kentucky F 25 Bridges, Mikal 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1996-08-30 Villanova G – Craig, Torrey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 221 lb (100 kg) 1992-03-25 USC Upstate F 99 Crowder, Jae 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1990-07-06 Marquette G – Holiday, Aaron 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-09-30 UCLA F 23 Johnson, Cameron 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1996-03-03 North Carolina F/C 8 Kaminsky, Frank  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1993-04-04 Wisconsin C 00 McGee, JaVale 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1988-01-19 Nevada G 3 Paul, Chris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1985-05-06 Wake Forest G 15 Payne, Cameron  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1994-08-08 Murray State G 2 Payton, Elfrid 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1994-02-22 Louisiana F 20 Šarić, Dario  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1994-04-08 Croatia G 14 Shamet, Landry  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-03-13 Wichita State F 12 Wainright, Ishmail (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1994-09-12 Baylor

Head coach Monty Williams Assistant coach(es) Kevin Young (associate) Randy Ayers Mark Bryant Bryan Gates Jarrett Jack Brian Randle Michael Ruffin Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: November 8, 2021

Salaries[]

Player	2021–22 Salary
Devin Booker	$31,650,600
Chris Paul	$30,800,000
Deandre Ayton	$12,632,950
Jae Crowder	$9,720,900
Dario Šarić	$8,510,000
Cameron Payne	$6,500,000
Mikal Bridges	$5,557,725
JaVale McGee	$5,000,000
Jalen Smith	$4,458,000
Cameron Johnson	$4,437,000
Landry Shamet	$3,768,342
Elfrid Payton	$2,389,641
Frank Kaminsky III	$2,239,544
Abdel Nader	$2,000,000
Chandler Hutchison	$462,629
Ishmail Wainright	$462,629
Total	$129,664,702

For this season, the salary cap was set at $112,414,000, with the luxury tax line now being set at $136,606,000.^[40][41]

Preseason[]

After dealing with some changes to the preseason format for last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.^[42] 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.^[43] Not only that, but on August 17, the Portland Trail Blazers 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.^[44] Then on August 19, the Sacramento Kings revealed they were the first opponent the Suns will have in the preseason with a road game in Sacramento to start things out there.^[45] The Phoenix Suns later revealed those four games of theirs were officially their preseason schedule on August 25.^[46]

Before the start of their preseason period, Devin Booker was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 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 against the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky 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.

2021 preseason game log Total: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
Preseason: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 4 @ Sacramento L 106–117 Landry Shamet, Jalen Smith (13) Jalen Smith (11) Cameron Payne (7) Golden 1 Center 17,583 0–1 2 October 6 L.A. Lakers W 117–105 Mikal Bridges (15) Deandre Ayton (11) Chris Paul (11) Footprint Center 12,434 1–1 3 October 10 @ L.A. Lakers W 123–94 Chris Paul (15) Deandre Ayton, JaVale McGee, Jalen Smith (9) Cameron Payne (7) Staples Center 13,844 2–1 4 October 13 Portland W 119–74 Devin Booker (17) Deandre Ayton (11) Elfrid Payton (9) Footprint Center 9,772 3–1
2021–22 season schedule

Regular season[]

After dealing with many questions and uncertainties surrounding how to start out their last season, the NBA made sure to get teams ready and prepared for a full 82-game regular season once again.^[42] Their goals this time are to make sure arenas are back to being fully packed again and were no longer required to be played either behind closed doors for a third straight season in a row or to be played under limited seating guidelines going forward, with the 2022 NBA All-Star Game also being played in Cleveland, Ohio at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with fans being allowed in to watch the event. Furthermore, the NBA expects this season to be more typical with a starting point beginning in late October before ending the regular season in April for the start of the 2022 NBA Playoffs, with that lasting until June like in other regular season periods before the last two seasons significantly derailed things with them. They also started implementing improvements on instant replay reviews and new shooting foul rules this season, preventing forced free-throw attempts for unnatural shooting results on certain players.^[47][48] On August 17, 2021, the NBA announced that the Suns will begin their regular season with a home game against the Denver Nuggets airing on ESPN for October 20, with a road game on ESPN against the Los Angeles Lakers airing on October 22 and a home game airing on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors on ABC for the first time since the 2009–10 season.^[49] For this season, the Suns were announced to have 34 nationally televised games for this season, which is both a franchise record for them and made them get into the Top 5 teams for the most nationally televised games on ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV.^[50]

Game log[]

2021–22 game log Total: 45–10 (Home: 24–5; Road: 21–5)
October: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 20 Denver L 98–110 Mikal Bridges (16) Jae Crowder, JaVale McGee (8) Chris Paul (10) Footprint Center 16,074 0–1 2 October 22 @ L.A. Lakers W 115–105 Chris Paul (23) Deandre Ayton (15) Chris Paul (14) Staples Center 18,997 1–1 3 October 23 @ Portland L 105–134 Devin Booker (21) Frank Kaminsky III (5) Chris Paul (11) Moda Center 18,558 1–2 4 October 27 Sacramento L 107–110 Devin Booker (31) Deandre Ayton (21) Devin Booker, Chris Paul (8) Footprint Center 14,678 1–3 5 October 30 Cleveland W 101–92 Devin Booker (27) Deandre Ayton (12) Chris Paul (10) Footprint Center 14,516 2–3
November: 16–0 (Home: 8–0; Road: 8–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 6 November 2 New Orleans W 112–100 Mikal Bridges (22) Devin Booker, Jae Crowder (8) Chris Paul (18) Footprint Center 14,323 3–3 7 November 4 Houston W 123–111 Devin Booker (27) Deandre Ayton (11) Chris Paul (13) Footprint Center 15,058 4–3 8 November 6 Atlanta W 121–117 Devin Booker (38) Jae Crowder (8) Chris Paul (13) Footprint Center 15,412 5–3 9 November 8 @ Sacramento W 109–104 Cameron Payne (24) Devin Booker (9) Devin Booker (6) Golden 1 Center 13,566 6–3 10 November 10 Portland W 119–109 Frank Kaminsky (31) Devin Booker, JaVale McGee (8) Chris Paul (7) Footprint Center 15,672 7–3 11 November 12 @ Memphis W 119–94 Devin Booker, Jae Crowder (17) Cameron Johnson (7) Chris Paul (12) FedExForum 15,886 8–3 12 November 14 @ Houston W 115–89 Devin Booker (26) Javale McGee (14) Devin Booker (6) Toyota Center 16,088 9–3 13 November 15 @ Minnesota W 99–94 Devin Booker (29) Deandre Ayton (12) Chris Paul (8) Target Center 16,279 10–3 14 November 17 Dallas W 105–98 Devin Booker (24) Deandre Ayton (13) Chris Paul (14) Footprint Center 18,055 11-3 15 November 19 Dallas W 112–104 Booker, Bridges (19) Deandre Ayton (17) Chris Paul (14) Footprint Center 17,071 12–3 16 November 21 Denver W 126–97 Cameron Johnson (22) Deandre Ayton (8) Chris Paul (10) Footprint Center 16,072 13–3 17 November 22 @ San Antonio W 115–111 Devin Booker (23) Deandre Ayton (14) Landry Shamet (5) AT&T Center 14,715 14–3 18 November 24 @ Cleveland W 120–115 Devin Booker (35) JaVale McGee (12) Chris Paul (12) Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 18,055 15–3 19 November 26 @ New York W 118–97 Devin Booker (32) Deandre Ayton (13) Chris Paul (10) Madison Square Garden 19,812 16–3 20 November 27 @ Brooklyn W 113–107 Devin Booker (30) JaVale McGee (10) Chris Paul (11) Barclays Center 18,071 17–3 21 November 30 Golden State W 104–96 Deandre Ayton (24) Deandre Ayton (11) Chris Paul (5) Footprint Center 17,071 18–3
December: 9–5 (Home: 8–2; Road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 22 December 2 Detroit W 114–103 Johnson, Payne (19) Deandre Ayton (12) Chris Paul (12) Footprint Center 16,081 19–3 23 December 3 @ Golden State L 96–118 Deandre Ayton (23) JaVale McGee (7) Chris Paul (8) Chase Center 18,064 19–4 24 December 6 San Antonio W 108–104 Chris Paul (21) Ayton, Bridges (9) Chris Paul (10) Footprint Center 15,292 20–4 25 December 10 Boston W 111–90 JaVale McGee (21) JaVale McGee (15) Chris Paul (12) Footprint Center 17,071 21–4 26 December 13 @ L.A. Clippers L 96–111 Cameron Johnson (17) JaVale McGee (13) Chris Paul (8) Staples Center 17,909 21–5 27 December 14 @ Portland W 111–107 (OT) Deandre Ayton (28) Deandre Ayton (13) Chris Paul (14) Moda Center 16,184 22–5 28 December 16 Washington W 118–98 JaVale McGee (17) Deandre Ayton (10) Cameron Johnson (5) Footprint Center 16,177 23–5 29 December 19 Charlotte W 137–106 JaVale McGee (19) DeAndre Ayton (15) Chris Paul (9) Footprint Center 17,071 24–5 30 December 21 @ L.A. Lakers W 108–90 Devin Booker (24) DeAndre Ayton (11) Chris Paul (9) Staples Center 18,997 25–5 31 December 23 Oklahoma City W 113–101 Devin Booker (30) DeAndre Ayton (12) Booker, Paul (7) Footprint Center 17,071 26–5 32 December 25 Golden State L 107–116 Chris Paul (21) Ayton. McGee (7) Chris Paul (8) Footprint Center 17,071 26–6 33 December 27 Memphis L 103–104 Devin Booker (30) Jalen Smith (9) Chris Paul (13) Footprint Center 17,071 26–7 34 December 29 Oklahoma City W 115–97 Devin Booker (38) Jalen Smith (14) Cameron Payne (7) Footprint Center 17,071 27–7 35 December 31 @ Boston L 108–123 Devin Booker (22) Jalen Smith (7) Chris Paul (8) TD Garden 19,156 27–8
January: 13–1 (Home: 5–1; Road: 8–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 36 January 2 @ Charlotte W 133–99 Devin Booker (24) Jalen Smith (12) Chris Paul (16) Spectrum Center 19,088 28–8 37 January 4 @ New Orleans W 123–110 Devin Booker (33) Devin Booker (9) Chris Paul (15) Smoothie King Center 15,158 29–8 38 January 6 L.A. Clippers W 106–89 Cameron Johnson (24) Jalen Smith (14) Chris Paul (10) Footprint Center 17,071 30–8 39 January 8 Miami L 100–123 Devin Booker (26) Deandre Ayton (8) Chris Paul (7) Footprint Center 17,071 30–9 40 January 11 @ Toronto W 99–95 Jae Crowder (19) Deandre Ayton (9) Chris Paul (12) Scotiabank Arena 0 31–9 41 January 14 @ Indiana W 112–94 Devin Booker (35) Ayton, Smith (12) Chris Paul (9) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 14,019 32–9 42 January 16 @ Detroit W 135–108 Devin Booker (30) Jae Crowder (11) Chris Paul (6) Little Caesars Arena 18,178 33–9 43 January 17 @ San Antonio W 121–107 Devin Booker (48) Bismack Biyombo (14) Chris Paul (12) AT&T Center 10,422 34–9 44 January 20 @ Dallas W 109–101 Devin Booker (28) Mikal Bridges (8) Chris Paul (11) American Airlines Center 19,584 35–9 45 January 22 Indiana W 113–103 Mikal Bridges (23) Bismack Biyombo (13) Chris Paul (16) Footprint Center 17,071 36–9 46 January 24 Utah W 115–109 Devin Booker (33) Bismack Biyombo (13) Chris Paul (14) Footprint Center 17,071 37–9 47 January 26 @ Utah W 105–97 Devin Booker (43) Devin Booker (12) Chris Paul (5) Vivint Arena 18,306 38–9 48 January 28 Minnesota W 134–124 Devin Booker (29) Bismack Biyombo (12) Chris Paul (14) Footprint Center 17,071 39–9 49 January 30 San Antonio W 115–110 Devin Booker (28) Bismack Biyombo (11) Chris Paul (19) Footprint Center 17,071 40–9
February: 5–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 50 February 1 Brooklyn W 121–111 Devin Booker (35) Mikal Bridges (8) Chris Paul (14) Footprint Center 17,071 41–9 51 February 3 @ Atlanta L 115–124 Devin Booker (32) Deandre Ayton (9) Chris Paul (12) State Farm Arena 16,958 41–10 52 February 5 @ Washington W 95–80 Deandre Ayton (20) Deandre Ayton (16) Chris Paul (9) Capital One Arena 18,058 42–10 53 February 7 @ Chicago W 127–124 Devin Booker (38) Jae Crowder (10) Chris Paul (11) United Center 20,615 43–10 54 February 8 @ Philadelphia W 114–109 Devin Booker (35) Jae Crowder (14) Chris Paul (12) Wells Fargo Center 20,720 44-10 55 February 10 Milwaukee W 131–107 DeAndre Ayton (27) Crowder, Johnson Chris Paul (19) Footprint Center 17,071 45–10 56 February 12 Orlando Footprint Center – 57 February 15 L.A. Clippers Footprint Center – 58 February 16 Houston Footprint Center – All-Star Game 59 February 24 @ Oklahoma City Paycom Center – 60 February 25 New Orleans Footprint Center – 61 February 27 Utah Footprint Center –
March: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 62 March 2 Portland Footprint Center – 63 March 4 New York Footprint Center – 64 March 6 @ Milwaukee Fiserv Forum – 65 March 8 @ Orlando Amway Center – 66 March 9 @ Miami FTX Arena – 67 March 11 Toronto Footprint Center – 68 March 13 L.A. Lakers Footprint Center – 69 March 15 @ New Orleans Smoothie King Center – 70 March 16 @ Houston Toyota Center – 71 March 18 Chicago Footprint Center – 72 March 20 @ Sacramento Golden 1 Center – 73 March 23 @ Minnesota Target Center – 74 March 24 @ Denver Ball Arena – 75 March 27 Philadelphia Footprint Center – 76 March 30 @ Golden State Chase Center –
April: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 77 April 1 @ Memphis FedExForum – 78 April 3 @ Oklahoma City Paycom Center – 79 April 5 L.A. Lakers Footprint Center – 80 April 6 @ L.A. Clippers Staples Center – 81 April 8 @ Utah Vivint Arena – 82 April 10 Sacramento Footprint Center –
2021–22 season schedule

Standings[]

Pacific Division v t	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
Phoenix Suns	45	10	.818	0.0	23–5	22–5	5–4	55
Golden State Warriors	41	15	.732	4.5	25–5	16–10	8–1	56
Los Angeles Clippers	27	30	.474	19.0	16–13	11–17	4–5	57
Los Angeles Lakers	26	30	.464	19.5	17–13	9–17	2–7	56
Sacramento Kings	21	36	.368	25.0	15–17	6–19	5–7	57

Western Conference v t
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Phoenix Suns *	45	10	.818	–	55
2	Golden State Warriors	41	15	.732	4.5	56
3	Memphis Grizzlies *	39	18	.684	7.0	57
4	Utah Jazz *	34	21	.618	11.0	55
5	Dallas Mavericks	33	23	.589	12.5	56
6	Denver Nuggets	30	24	.556	14.5	54
7	Minnesota Timberwolves	29	26	.527	16.0	55
8	Los Angeles Clippers	27	30	.474	19.0	57
9	Los Angeles Lakers	26	30	.464	19.5	56
10	New Orleans Pelicans	22	33	.400	23.0	55
11	Portland Trail Blazers	22	34	.393	23.5	56
12	Sacramento Kings	21	36	.368	25.0	57
13	San Antonio Spurs	20	35	.364	25.0	55
14	Oklahoma City Thunder	17	37	.315	27.5	54
15	Houston Rockets	15	40	.273	30.0	55

Awards and records[]

• From July 23-August 7, 2021, Devin Booker became the first Suns player to play for Team U.S.A. in an Olympiad setting since Shawn Marion and Amar'e Stoudemire 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 Shawn Marion and Amar'e Stoudemire won their bronze medals in 2004, but they also became the first gold medalists while representing the Suns since Jason Kidd won a gold medal back in the year 2000.
• On August 18, 2021, Jalen Smith 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.^[51]
• On September 11, 2021, former Suns head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game of basketball.^[52][53]
• Both former Suns players Charles Barkley and Steve Nash were named members of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team on October 19, 2021.
  • A day later, Chris Paul 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, Jason Kidd 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 and current Suns broadcaster Ann Meyers Drysdale were both inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame for their sporting contributions to the state of Arizona.^[54]

Awards[]

Week/Month[]

All-Star[]

• Chris Paul – 12th All-Star Game
• Devin Booker – 3rd All-Star Game
• Monty Williams – 1st NBA All-Star Game head coach

Records[]

• On October 22, 2021, the team's second game of the season, Chris Paul 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.^[55]
• 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.^[56]

Team records[]

Milestones[]

• On October 30, 2021, Chris Paul 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 Jason Kidd and John Stockton, 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, Devin Booker overtook Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor member (and former assistant coach) Dan Majerle 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 Portland Trail Blazers.
• On November 6, Devin Booker overtook Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor member (and former head coach) Paul Westphal to become the team's newest 8th 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.
  • He also tied Amar'e Stoudemire for overall field goal attempts with the team by attempting 21 shots that night, tying Stoudemire at 8th for most field goal attempts in franchise history. Booker later surpassed him two days later on November 8 against the Sacramento Kings, while also being the 12th player in franchise history to break the 14,000 minutes played barrier with the Suns.

Injuries/Personal missed games[]

Player	Duration		Reason(s) for missed time	Games missed
	Start	End
Dario Šarić	July 6, 2021	Unknown	Tore the ACL in his right knee during Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals.	??
Cameron Payne	October 23, 2021	November 6, 2021	Right hamstring strain during the road Lakers game.	5
Deandre Ayton	November 2, 2021	November 4, 2021	Right leg contusion during the home Cavaliers game.	1
Deandre Ayton	November 6, 2021	Unknown	Lower right leg bruise during the home Rockets game.	?

Transactions[]

Trades[]

July 29, 2021

To Phoenix Suns Landry Shamet

To Brooklyn Nets Jevon Carter Draft rights to #29 pick Day'Ron Sharpe

Free agents[]

Re-Signed[]

Player	Signed	Date
Chris Paul	Signed 4-year partially guaranteed deal worth $120 Million[a]	August 6, 2021
Cameron Payne	Signed 3-year partially guaranteed deal worth $19 Million[b]	August 6, 2021
Abdel Nader	Signed 2-year partially guaranteed deal worth $4,200,000[c]	August 6, 2021
Frank Kaminsky III	Signed 1-year deal worth $2,239,544	August 9, 2021
Mikal Bridges	Signed 4-year contract extension worth $90 Million	October 17, 2021
Landry Shamet	Signed 4-year contract extension worth $43 Million	October 18, 2021

^ a: Despite the length of the deal, only the first two years of Chris Paul's deal fully guarantee him up to $60 million total. However, his third season in that deal is only partially guaranteed for him, while his fourth and final season includes a team option that is not guaranteed for Paul.
^ b: For Cameron Payne's third year, he is only guaranteed $2,000,000 out of the $6,500,000 he could receive that season.
^ c: Abdel Nader's second year has a team option on whether he'll be back by then on that same deal (which will have a value of $2,200,000 in that season) or not.

Additions[]

Player	Signed	Former team(s)
Elfrid Payton	Signed 1-year deal worth $2,389,641	New York Knicks
JaVale McGee	Signed 1-year deal worth $5 Million	Denver Nuggets
Chandler Hutchison	Signed a two-way contract worth $462,629[d]	San Antonio Spurs / Washington Wizards[e]
Ishmail Wainright	Signed a two-way contract worth $462,629[d]	SIG Strasbourg / Toronto Raptors[f]

^ d: As of the 2020–21 season, two-way contracts now have their salaries at six-digit figures instead of the initially planned five-digit salaries planned back when two-way contracts were first created. That means instead of earning $84,414 for only 45 days in the NBA (excluding the early and later parts of the regular season, regardless of whether they played or not) this season, two-way contracts like Chandler Hutchison and Ishmail Wainright can now earn half of this season's rookie scaled minimum contract (which is $462,629 for this season) while being eligible to play for the entire regular season (but not the NBA Playoffs this season). Players like Hutchison and Wainright are also eligible to play for the 2021–22 NBA G League season for the affiliate team they've signed up for. However, since the Suns officially joined the Portland Trail Blazers as the only team without an NBA G League affiliate team as of this season, any team that isn't the NBA G League Ignite will be eligible for Hutchison and Wainright to join up with for the NBA G League this season, so long as the Suns themselves agree to the team(s) they join up with for this season.
^ e: Chandler Hutchison was originally last a part of the San Antonio Spurs from August 6 to September 4, 2021 as a part of a very rare five-team trade that also featured the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, and Los Angeles Lakers. However, he last played for the Washington Wizards as a part of the squad that made it to the 2021 NBA Playoffs after once being considered the worst Eastern Conference team earlier in the season. Even so, because his final year on his previous contract was fully guaranteed due to him being a first-round draft pick back in 2018, he will still receive the full $4,019,459 he was originally going to receive from San Antonio in addition to the two-way contract salary Hutchison is going to get in Phoenix.
^ f: Ishmail Wainright previously last officially played for the SIG Strasbourg in France's LNB Pro A league before signing a two-year non-guaranteed deal with the Toronto Raptors on August 7, 2021, though he was later waived by the end of the preseason on October 17. Wainright was then given a two-way contract with the Suns five days later on October 22, giving him his best chance to play in the NBA for the first time ever with Phoenix.

Subtractions[]

Player	Reason left	New team(s)
Jevon Carter	Traded	Brooklyn Nets
Torrey Craig	Unrestricted free agent	Indiana Pacers
Ty-Shon Alexander	Waived two-way contract	Segafredo Virtus Bologna
E'Twaun Moore	Unrestricted free agent	Orlando Magic
Langston Galloway	Unrestricted free agent	Golden State Warriors[g]

^ g: Langston Galloway originally signed with the Golden State Warriors on September 24, 2021. However, he was waived from the team on October 9, failing to join them officially during the preseason period.

References[]