👋 GOOD MORNING - Happy Wednesday and welcome to another day in the life of an Arizona sports fan.

It’s been an up-and-down year, to say the least, but as the final month of 2025 is upon us, there’s at least somewhat of an air of optimism with some of our teams — particularly the Suns.

Let’s take a look!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

The Phoenix Suns have played roughly a quarter of their 82 games this season, and they’re 13-9. That’s certainly much better than most fans would have expected after the brutal 2024 season, to be sure.

Phoenix just thrashed the Los Angeles Lakers (who were in the middle of a nine-game win streak) on the road, have won six of their last eight games, and are currently a seven seed. That’s a 48-34 final record pace, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.

Phoenix is scoring 117 points per game and allowing 113.7 to opposing teams — not bad for a squad that was supposed to have the worst defense in the league, huh Bill Simmons?

But numbers aside, something just feels different about this Suns team, in the best way possible. Basketball is fun again — something that just hasn’t been the case since perhaps as far back as the 2021 run. Seriously, watching them has felt like a chore at times.

But not under Jordan Ott. And not with this group of players.

And that’s perhaps the best part. Devin Booker (who left Monday night’s game with a groin injury) hasn’t been dominating or playing hero-ball. The roster hasn’t felt top-heavy or too dependent on veteran stars to lead the charge. Booker is day-to-day for now, and we don't have a definitive timeline on him yet, but the Suns do have three days off, so his missed time may or may not be minimal.

It just seems as if they’re playing hard, playing engaged and playing as a team. What a novel idea.

Regardless, there’s a culture of effort and selflessness that feels like a breath of fresh air. And it’s been partially due to some (surprise?) contributors.

Dillon Brooks - Averaging what would become a career-high 22.3 points per game, 1.8 assists and 4.3 total rebounds. On top of the numbers, he’s been a culture-setter, bringing a villainous edge to Phoenix that’s been lacking.

Collin Gillespie - Gillespie has truly burst onto the scene in Phoenix. So far he’s averaging 13.4 points, five assists and 3.8 total rebounds. A lot of that has come off the bench in limited minutes, but he’s since forced himself into a starting role — where he dropped a career-high 28 points with eight three-pointers on Monday night against LA.

Mark Williams - The Suns have been starved for quality center play, and Williams has provided just that. The big man is picking up nine boards per game and playing solid defense on top of his 12.7 points.

And it’s not just these guys. Booker has still produced, though he’s had some off games. Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro have contributed at times. Grayson Allen has even made some history (although he’s missed quite a few games recently). The depth has been stretched and tested, but they’ve been able to keep passing those tests.

And that’s been the beauty of the roster this year. They’ve been missing Jalen Green for most of the season, and could be without Booker for a handful of games, but the next-man-up mentality has allowed Phoenix to remain competitive, exciting and high-effort, night in and night out.

This team may not be finals-bound by any means, but they’ve sure been fun to watch. And in a year that was expected to border on abysmal, what else can you ask?

Moving Up: Wildcat football moved up to No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings — a seven-spot leap from their previous No. 25 ahead of the Territorial Cup. Next stop: a bowl game. We’ll have to wait and see where they fall on that one, but it’s certainly been an exciting year for Arizona football.

Arizona women’s hoops takes on the Southern University Jaguars at McKale Center tonight at 6:00 p.m. Becky Burke’s squad is still unbeaten at 6-0.

Net Gain: Arizona State women’s volleyball picked up some hardware yesterday. Junior Noemie Glover was named the Big 12 Player of the Year, while head coach JJ Van Niel won his third straight Coach of the Year nod. The Sun Devils went 26-3 on the year (17-1 in conference play) and will host Coppin State tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. to kick off the NCAA tournament.

Roster Moves: The Cardinals signed RB Corey Kiner from the Vikings practice squad and released RB Jermar Jefferson. They also signed LB Eku Leota, while releasing RBs Montrell Johnson and Sincere McCormick.

Great work donating yesterday everyone! This should be… interesting.