phxgmizell

The NBA and your Suns are back, hungry and ready to rep the Valley once again.

From the roar of the crowd to the sounds of sneakers amidst crossovers and jump shots to the boom of the bass from the Suns DJs: there is no place like home – and we want you there.

The return of Suns basketball back to Footprint Center can only be brought to life by longtime partners of the team, who return once again to bring the Coca-Cola &amp; Fry’s Food Stores Tip-Off on October 20 to downtown Phoenix, officially beginning the team’s defense of its Western Conference Championship when the Suns take on the Denver Nuggets at home.

The arrival of NBA basketball presented by Coca-Cola and Fry’s Food Stores gives fans an exclusive offer to support their squad in person on opening night and pick up some preseason fuel at the Valley’s grocer staple.

Fans who spend $125 or more (including at least one Coca-Cola product) at any Fry’s Food Store in the Valley from now until October 17, will receive two (2) complimentary tickets to the Suns home opener on October 20 at Footprint Center.

Eligible receipts can be submitted via the Suns Mobile App, powered by Verizon, to redeem for two (2) complimentary tickets for Coca-Cola Fry’s Food Stores Tip-Off. For more information, visit Suns.com/TipOff.

As the Valley’s grocer, Fry’s Food Stores has continued to bring the latest offerings and savings to Suns and Mercury fans at Footprint Center and across the state, including the debut of the Fry’s Eatery, Grab and Go concession and a revamped Fry’s Rewards program last season.

As fans prepare to start the 2021-22 season by cheering on the Suns from home, shoppers enrolled in the free program can purchase participating products identified with special tags and earn Exclusive Suns Rewards. For every dollar spent on participating products, fans will earn one Suns Reward point. Points can be accumulated throughout the season to cash in on new merchandise, autographed memorabilia, experiences and more.

With the return of future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, two-time All-Star Devin Booker and a roster full of rising stars and steady-handed veterans, the Phoenix Suns are back and eager to make the Valley proud.

 Single-game tickets are now on sale at Suns.com/SingleGame. Take advantage of the best pricing offers and member-only opportunities by becoming a PayPal SixthMan Season Ticket Member today by visiting Suns.com/Memberships.

score-groceries-and-tickets-with-coca-cola-frys-food-stores-tip-off-promotion

SCORE GROCERIES AND TICKETS WITH COCA-COLA & FRY’S FOOD STORES TIP-OFF PROMOTION

Devin Booker emerges from the Footprint Center tunnel at exactly 5 p.m., and begins to dribble sharply on the far baseline.As the Phoenix Suns’ All-Star guard shifts the ball between each hand, player development assistant Corey Vinson slaps at his arms. At the same time, video room intern Jack Gentry leans on Booker’s thighs. Bookers eyes remain locked forward, unfazed by the deliberate attempts to disrupt his rhythm and create physical resistance.The 24-year-old Booker would go on to drop 40 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the second consecutive outing he reached that scoring threshold on the league’s biggest stage. He ultimately finished his first playoff run with 601 points, the most by any NBA player over the course of their postseason debut, while propelling the Suns into championship contention.Booker’s final appearance inside his home arena during the 2020-21 season was the precursor to a whirlwind week, as part of a whirlwind summer, as part of a whirlwind calendar year.About four days after the Finals ended in Milwaukee on July 20, Booker arrived in Tokyo for his first Olympic Games. Donning a white headband and fresh haircut, Booker played in Team USA’s opener against France less than 24 hours later. Then, he moved into the United States’ starting lineup, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and adding five rebounds and three steals in a dominant bounce-back victory over Iran.Booker has long emphasized that these are the games he has been waiting for, that he had visualized during solo offseason workouts with his father and King of the Hill bouts with veteran teammates. And this initial foray into basketball at the world’s highest ranks has proven Booker was built for these high-profile moments.“The goal was to always prepare him for every situation that he would see on the basketball court,” said Booker’s father, Melvin. “It’s always for the playoffs or the stage he’s about to go on now. … We always worked to get to this level.”  

Melvin’s phone calls with a young Devin, who at the time lived with his mother, Veronica Gutierrez, in Grand Rapids, Mich., often turned to basketball. Melvin had played in the NBA and overseas for 15 years. But when Melvin asked his son if he put up extra shots following a practice session, Devin was perplexed.That’s when Dad knew Devin would benefit from moving down to Moss Point, Miss., to live and train with him.Melvin calls his experience a bit of a blueprint or cheat code for Devin. But Dad also stresses that it did not take his son long to click into the work ethic, competitiveness and mental toughness required to continuously develop. Melvin believes those intangibles helped Devin go from newbie to high-school head-turner in Mississippi, from Kentucky bench player to lottery draft pick, from little-used rookie to 70-point scorer at 20 years old, and from overlooked multidimensional scorer to two-time All-Star.“We’ve done pretty much every workout you can think of,” Booker said of his father. “ …  I always had a love for the game of basketball. I was always a student of the game. But I wasn’t aware of the work that goes into it. I was always good, but he made me take it the extra mile.“He pushed me. I had never been pushed before. I had never had the truth told to me at all times. It was somebody that is telling the truth out of their goodness of their heart, to see you succeed. You can feel that. it just makes you want to be better every day.”To this day, Devin and Melvin focus on mastering fundamentals, such as the midrange game, finishing at the rim and catch-and-shoot jumpers. When Melvin says Devin must make nine out of 10 shots before moving on to the next spot on the floor, Devin will insist on going a perfect 10-for-10.The drills were always purposeful with a dash of childlike imagination, especially when reaching the NBA Playoffs felt like a distant goal.  “I don’t work out in the summer thinking that my season’s gonna be over after 82 games,” Booker said. “I put myself in a mental space where every shot counts. I try to envision the physicality, even when I’m out there by myself. …“You look up at the shot clock and you pretend it’s winding down. It’s just little things. That’s how you get the most out of your workout. That’s what me and my dad talk about all the time is being efficient with your work. When you’re in there taking every rep serious as if it is the playoffs or as if it is the Finals, you get some really good work in.”

Melvin’s presence has been one of the few constants throughout Booker’s NBA career. The Suns had a rotating cast of teammates and coaches — and far more losses than wins — during Booker’s first five seasons. Defenders regularly double-teamed him. He played through mistakes.And long before the video of Booker working out with Chris Paul immediately after Paul’s trade to Phoenix went viral, Booker battled 1-on-1 with former Suns on the old practice court in the arena’s basement.An early challenger was the much bigger P.J. Tucker, who confirmed their matchups got testy. Another was coach Earl Watson, whom Booker credits as “one of the early ones in the NBA industry to believe in me.” Then came the universally respected Jamal Crawford, who called Booker a “true hooper.”“Everything he's doing now,” Tucker said of Booker before Game 1 of the Finals, “ … We all knew that he was going to be really good. Like, he wasn't just good. He was really good. …“Being his teammate at that time and being the vet on the team, it was my job to make him better. I knew what I had to do for what he was going to see and what was coming and what he needed to be ready for. …“But he, like, showed that he was one of the ones. He just, like, took it, and he just elevated. He became who he is and who he's continuing to be.”Those life and basketball experiences turned Booker into “the oldest 24-year-old I’ve ever met in my life,” according to the 36-year-old Paul.Coach Monty Williams, meanwhile, says Booker “reminds me of a few of my uncles. If you walked into a room, you may think that they’re mad at you because they didn’t say anything or they may just deadpan you for about 15 seconds.” The coach also admires Booker’s blend of confidence and no-excuses attitude, along with the fact that he does not buy into the NBA’s new-school clique culture.

Booker, though, has developed deep trust with this version of the Suns.When he first met Williams at a Scottsdale restaurant in the spring of 2019, he told his new coach he will do “whatever it takes … let me know what I got to do. Let me know what I got to be better at, (and) be honest with me.” Booker jokes he sees head athletic trainer David Crewe more than his mother while concocting a recovery routine — with the help of an infrared sauna red light therapy bed in his home — that has made him stronger, more explosive and more durable. Booker constantly praises the Suns’ culture, calling it “an environment to get better in.”These days, Melvin will text Williams during the offseason to ask how he plans to use Booker for the upcoming season. Melvin will then implement appropriate drills into their workouts in Los Angeles. It’s a collaboration Williams appreciates, knowing overbearing helicopter parents exist even at the NBA level.“Melvin’s experience, his personality, the respect he has for the team and coaching,” Williams said, “I would imagine has allowed for him to continue to work with his son but also give us space and try to help him as well.“Because of what I knew about that relationship, it allowed for me to not even worry about Book. I knew he was getting the work in.”  During the past two seasons, Booker has blossomed into an efficiently silky scorer at all three levels and an excellent passer. He drew national acclaim during the Suns’ 8-0 Orlando Bubble run — including an iconic game-winner over the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and Paul George — that began one year ago Saturday. He flourished with a fellow backcourt star in Paul, illustrating he cares about winning over personal statistics. He has gained more respect as a defender, thanks to a willingness to get over screens, physically man up and fly in for the occasional chase-down block.Then, Booker emphatically answered any questions about how his game would immediately translate in the playoffs.His 34 points in Game 1 of the first round against the Lakers were the most by a Suns player in their postseason debut. He notched a 40-point triple-double, the first of his career, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Clippers, when Paul was in health and safety protocols. Two days later, Booker set the game-winning screen on Deandre Ayton’s “Valley-oop” with a broken nose, prompting Ayton to wear a shirt featuring Booker’s swollen face as a game-day fit. Rather than undergo anesthesia for the procedure to repair the break, Booker had his face numbed and fixed before the Suns’ charter took off for Los Angeles.“Now people know Book is tough,” Ayton said. “They knew he was a scorer, but he’s legit.”  

Melvin most saw the results of their tireless work whenever the Suns could eliminate their opponent.Booker scored 47 points — including 22 during an unconscious first quarter when he shot 8-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-6 from 3-point distance — at Staples Center to knock out the defending-champion Lakers in Game 6. He totaled 34 points, 11 rebounds and four assists as Phoenix finished off a four-game sweep of the Denver Nuggets.And when he flew down the lane for a dunk, flex and scream in the second half of Game 6 against the Clippers, which helped the Suns clinch their first Finals berth since 1993, Melvin knew “he’s trying to end this.”“This is our first time seeing this,” Melvin said. “ … but these are things we’ve talked about. If you have somebody on the ropes, go ahead and knock them out. In elimination games, he’s taken his intensity to the next level and his game to the next level.”  

Ahead of the Finals, Melvin said he had not seen this much basketball joy in Devin since his Kentucky team went unbeaten through the regular season and NCAA Tournament before losing in the Final Four. During the Suns’ struggles early in Devin’s career, they stepped back and set incremental goals, starting with making the playoffs and then making a deep run.“For some reason, we decide to do it all in the same year,” Melvin said with a laugh.  “ … He paid his dues. That’s the best way. You know the word they use now, ‘You get it out the mud’? He got it out the mud.”Booker’s record-setting individual playoff output combined with team success was perhaps only surpassed in NBA history by Magic Johnson, who won Finals MVP on a championship Lakers team during his rookie season’s postseason run in 1980. Booker was a huge reason why Phoenix took a 2-0 lead against the Bucks, combining with Paul to create the highest-scoring backcourt duo in the Finals’ first two games in NBA history.But that Finals series also included some important growth moments for Booker.Booker went 3-of-14 from the floor in Game 3. Though he responded with torrid shot-making in Game 4, foul trouble hamstrung a night that Williams believed Booker could have gone for 50 points. With a chance to take the lead in the final minute of a pivotal Game 5, Booker picked up his dribble in the lane and pump-faked, leading to a game-sealing Jrue Holiday steal.Though the playoffs largely felt as he imagined they would, Booker acknowledged before Game 6 that “experience is the best teacher.”“Getting the chance to be out there in the fire is what you're going to learn from most,” he said.Following an emotional Game 6 loss in Milwaukee, Booker shared a flight to Tokyo with the Bucks’ Holiday and Khris Middleton to fulfill an Olympic commitment and lifelong dream that he regularly reaffirmed throughout the Finals. Williams did not express concern about Booker’s workload and short turnaround, noting he “loves to hoop.”That Booker required the last-minute, across-the-world trip because he played in the NBA’s final game of the 2020-21 season illustrated his continued ascension into elite company. He combatted jet lag and significant time-zone adjustment by squeezing rest in whenever he could. He wore a Team USA hat to his postgame Zoom session following his strong performance against Iran, where he mixed jumpers and authoritative finishes with rebounds and steals.  

Though Booker fell two victories shy of an NBA title, a gold medal could be on the horizon.“When you're competing at the highest level, it doesn't always go your way,” Booker said of his transition from the Finals to the Olympics. “But I'm a forward thinker, and I move on to the next thing. Be able to take my ‘L’ and move on."No word on if Booker has recruited any Team USA staffers to slap at his arms and lean on his thighs as he warms up on the world’s stage. But this week, this summer and this year have proven Booker was built for the high-profile basketball he had always visualized.Then whenever this whirlwind finally settles down, Booker will be right back in the gym with his dad.“I don’t have to push him to work hard,” Melvin sad. “I think that comes back from his childhood, like, this is what it takes. The work that he put in, he saw he was successful with it, and I guess he feel like that’s the only way to do it. …“It became such a habit to work so hard, to put in all the extra work, that whenever he doesn’t do it, it just doesn’t feel right to him.”  

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BUILT FOR THIS

MILWAUKEE — The pause lasted nine seconds in the middle of answering the final question of a 10-minute postgame press conference. Then Monty Williams’ voice broke while trying to articulate what he learned from his Phoenix Suns team’s run to the NBA Finals.“I just don't take it for granted,” Williams said as he held back tears. “It's hard to get here, and I wanted it so bad, you know? It's hard to process right now. It's hard. That's all.”The pain, the disappointment, the heartbreak was raw and real after Phoenix fell two wins short of its first NBA title. This unbelievable 2020-21 Suns ride officially came to an end following a 105-98 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Tuesday night’s Game 6 of the seven-game series Phoenix led 2-0 only 10 days prior.Yet Williams emphasizes practicing gratitude so often that it is one of his team’s core values alongside showing up on time, competing, playing defense and sharing the ball. That was on display seconds after that final answer, when the coach stepped off the dais and wrapped a waiting Devin Booker in a giant hug.It’s important to maintain perspective on the Suns’ remarkable season, which sharply ascended to the NBA’s biggest stage for the first time since 1993. It was a triumphant and emphatic resurgence that rallied the Valley during a challenging time in society, and set the tone for long-term success for a team and fan base that has long waited to re-enter the territory of a consistent contender.“What a huge accomplishment by our players to get to the playoffs for the first time and get all the way to the Finals and have a chance to play for a championship,” Williams said.  “ … It's unreal, you know, that our guys did this. So, from that standpoint, I'm grateful and I feel for them. But I also expressed to them, now we know what it takes to get here.

“It's going to be that much harder to get past this point, and the reality is, you never know if you're ever going to get back here. That's why you have to take advantage of these opportunities, and they did. We just came up short.”

This organization’s turnaround has been drastic. Two seasons after winning 19 out of 82 regular-season games, the Suns won 14 during these playoffs alone. It has not even been one calendar year since they first took the floor at Walt Disney World as a relative Bubble afterthought with a 26-39 record, before ripping off the eight consecutive wins that created the momentum for this season’s massive leap. In fact, one year to the day from when the Suns’ plane departed for Orlando (July 6, 2020), they played Game 1 of the NBA Finals (July 6, 2021).Even Williams and Booker will acknowledge that these Suns skipped some of the traditional steps on their first postseason voyage together. The collective lack of experience did not seem to matter as they learned — and performed — on the fly. Their glorious showing during the past two months produced iconic playoff moments that will forever live in Suns lore.There was Booker pointing to Kobe Bryant’s retired numbers at Staples Center after channeling his idol by scoring 47 points in a knockout game against the defending-champion Lakers, taking the first-round series the Suns entered as underdogs despite holding the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed.And the dominant sweep of the Nuggets and newly crowned Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic.And Deandre Ayton’s jaw-dropping Valley-oop against the Clippers.And Chris Paul’s 41-point masterpiece and embrace with Williams in Los Angeles, where cameras caught the coach telling Paul, “You don’t need to calm down” on his way to the first Finals appearance of his Hall of Fame career.

And Cam Johnson’s one-handed dunk over P.J. Tucker. And Torrey Craig’s soaring alley-oop against the Nuggets. And Jae Crowder’s salsa dance.

Those flashpoints combined to create impressive statistical outputs.Booker’s 601 points, including back-to-back 40-point outings in the Finals, are the most scored by any NBA player during their first playoff run. The Suns’ won a franchise-record nine consecutive playoff games, a stretch peppered with the adversity of Paul’s shoulder injury sustained in Game 1 of the Lakers series and two-game absence during the Western Conference Finals against the Clippers while in COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Ayton recorded 14 double-doubles in his arrival as an efficient, often dominant, two-way force. Phoenix trailed a series only twice, and never faced elimination until Game 6 of the Finals.Yet the memorable moments did not only apply to the play on the court.Like when Alvan Adams, a star of the 1976 “Sunderella” Finals team who is now the organization’s vice president of facility management, stopped near the top of section 102 to soak in the empty gym ahead of Game 1.Or when a giddy Ayton’s eyes widened as he walked into his first press conference featuring the Larry O’Brien Trophy branding.Or when Booker paid homage to the Suns of the past by wearing vintage t-shirts on practice days.Or when fans wearing jerseys ranging from Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal, to Charles Barkley, to Booker and Ayton and Paul, all populated the same lower-level section, helping create a deafening homecourt advantage that became arguably the NBA’s best during the playoffs.The Suns earned this postseason opportunity after emerging as a consistently excellent team during a condensed-yet-grueling regular season played under strict restrictions in the middle of a pandemic.General manager James Jones constructed this roster by taking the exciting young core of Booker, Ayton, Johnson and Mikal Bridges and raising the bar by adding savvy, tough-minded veterans in Paul and Crowder. Those players were coached by the steady and thoughtful Williams, who fostered a culture that thrives on being relentless, understanding that everything counts and playing together. Thanks to a team makeup that combined competitive grit with endearing personality, the Suns became a popular team to cheer for across the country.  

After starting 8-8, the Suns finished with the NBA’s second-best regular-season record. They went nearly three months without losing back-to-back games, and lost three in a row only once over the course of 72 contests. They became one of two teams to rank in the NBA’s top 7 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, utilizing a “0.5” offensive system predicated on ball and body movement and a disciplined, team-centric approach on the opposite end of the floor.

By season’s end, Jones and Williams had been voted Executive and Coach of the Year, respectively, by their peers. Paul was a second-team All-NBA selection at age 36, proving his play and leadership remain as impactful as ever. Booker received his second All-Star nod, further cementing himself as one of the league’s top young stars.  “Guys wanted to be better,” Crowder said. “Guys wanted to be a respected team. Guys wanted to win. … We bought into each other. I think we bought into the coaching style. We bought into our coach, our leader. Guys just wanted to do better, wanted to win by any means necessary. I think that's what got us to this point.”Throughout the playoffs, Williams reminded that these results arrive when preparation meets opportunity. Doc Rivers, the Philadelphia 76ers coach who is one of Williams’ close friends and mentors, shared that “pressure is a privilege” in a recent text message. After a gutting Game 5 defeat put the Suns in a 3-2 deficit against the Bucks, Paul repeated Williams now-famous mantra that “Everything you want is on the other side of hard … and it don’t get no harder than this.”Following Game 6, there is still an additional level of “hard” the Suns must push through to reach the NBA’s mountaintop. Had Phoenix split Games 4 and 5, which both came down to the waning seconds, this series would still be heading back to Footprint Center for a decisive Game 7.For a postseason filled with lessons and growth, the way it all ended — with their first four-game losing streak of the entire season — was the toughest to stomach.  “This isn't something you want to feel,” Booker said. “I haven't felt a hurt like this in my life. So, that's what I say when I know we have a base and a foundation, just championship basketball at all times.”

That sometimes-bumpy road is relatable for the Bucks, a formidable opponent that overcame past playoff heartbreak to become a worthy NBA champion. Against the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals, they too won the first two games of the series as the higher seed before losing four straight to the eventual NBA champion. Last season, the Miami Heat upset the Bucks in the second round on their way to the Finals.

This year, Williams felt the Bucks’ experience from the sideline during Tuesday’s title clincher. Giannis Antetokounmpo capped a sensational series by totaling 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to become a unanimous Finals MVP. As the Bucks celebrated in their locker room, Williams stopped by to offer his congratulations.

“Because they have been in these moments before, it made up the margins for them,” Williams said of the Bucks. “Especially in those moments where you need a stop, you need a bucket, there was no panic. There was no lack of poise.

“And it's part of our journey. We have to go through it, and I've been telling our guys that for two years. You have to go through what have you to go through, and there's a deep hurt that you have to feel. (The Bucks) felt it before, and this is our first time.”

Williams was not sure how long it would take for him and the Suns to shift from processing that pain to engaging in thoughtful reflection. Their goal will be to channel all of those emotions into continuing to establish a championship culture. After all, there is still more to do and more to come from this team and The Valley it represents.

Still, remember this year’s stunning, emotional and unforgettable ride.

Remember that the Suns were one of two teams playing on the final night of the 2020-21 NBA season.

And, in looking toward this franchise’s future, remember the message Paul writes on all his basketball shoes.

“This is just the beginning,” Ayton said. “ … We know what it takes now.”

what-a-ride

WHAT A RIDE

The Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Real Mallorca announced today a new long-term partnership with Footprint, a material science company creating a healthier planet by reducing dependency on single- and short-term use plastics. The partnership will include naming rights and product integration, and it will exponentially amplify awareness and use of plant-based fiber alternatives to plastic and build toward a carbon-neutral, plastic-free arena. Over the next year, fans returning to the newly named Footprint Center for Suns and Mercury games or concerts and shows will begin to experience food served in Footprint’s biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable solutions as well as educational points about the positive impact of making a switch from single-use plastics in their everyday lives. Ultimately Footprint Center will become an immersive living innovation lab for fans, enterprising partners, and likeminded venue operators from around the world to visit.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Footprint to reduce the arena’s dependency on single and short-term use plastics by making Footprint Center a hub for sustainable products and packaging,” said Suns, Mercury and Real Mallorca Managing Partner Robert Sarver. “It was important to us to find a partner that could truly make a positive impact in our community and on the planet, and Footprint is a global leader that is also Arizona-based and therefore shares our commitment to the Valley. Integrating Footprint’s plant-based fiber technology into our core business functions will mobilize partners and fans to drive collective and systemic change, in our arena and beyond.”

As part of the partnership, Footprint will bring its food and beverage solutions and a team of dedicated experts to help Footprint Center become carbon-neutral and single-use plastic-free while creating a living innovation lab for food and beverage suppliers to learn more about consumer sentiment and how they can transition away from plastic. Together, they will forge solutions that can be scaled outside Footprint Center and across the industry, helping companies concerned with ESG to integrate plant-based fiber solutions that are designed to be recycled and composted into their core product lines. The first change fans will see will be plates, packaging, utensils, coolers, and other single-use plastic items that can be replaced with Footprint’s innovative plant-based technologies. Footprint Center will also feature recycling and compost containers, not trash cans, which will be serviced to make sure the recycling loop is complete.

“We have a unique opportunity with the Suns, Mercury and Real Mallorca to transform sports and entertainment experiences where fans can enjoy their food and drinks in sustainable packaging and learn more about how they can make changes in their daily lives to get rid of single-use plastics,” Footprint CEO Troy Swope said. “Together we’ll create a living innovation lab of new ideas for consumer feedback, new opportunities for our customers, and we can educate fans in a way that will create a ripple effect outside the arena. Today is just the beginning.” 

Reducing dependency on single-use plastics is just one way brands and fans can take a stand for the environment. Footprint Center will set a new standard in sustainability and demonstrate what’s possible for other arenas around the world. Both organizations recognize the need for third-party vendors and suppliers to accept the challenge of eliminating single- and short-term use plastics and invite them to look to Footprint Center as a viable testing ground. 

In addition to supplying some of the world’s top food brands with sustainable plant-based fiber solutions, Footprint started the Footprint Foundation, and in 2021 initiated Pledge2050, a call to action encouraging people around the world to quit single-use plastic. Athletes, entertainers, and fans coming to Footprint Center or Mallorca Stadium to perform will be invited to take the pledge. Starting in single venues can be a gateway for others to understand how to make the switch from plastic to compostable and recyclable solutions. 

This partnership is a significant step forward building on the momentum of the arena transformation that began in 2020, and has included over 8,200 tons of material being diverted from a landfill, 757 tons of plastic and metal being recycled, new LED lighting in all finished spaces, new energy efficient mechanical systems with economizers for more fresh air, and reused and recycled materials used throughout the arena. Prior to the transformation, the arena transitioned to solar through partner APS in 2012; making it one of the first venues to take this step at the time. 

“We believe our partnership with Footprint will put Phoenix on the map for a more sustainable future,” said Suns and Mercury chief revenue officer Dan Costello. “Taking this step will position the Valley at the forefront of the sustainability movement. A local effort to eliminate plastic and become carbon-neutral will set a standard for innovation that can spread through the city and scale throughout the sports and entertainment industry. Sustainable business is good business for our teams, the community and the environment.”

Besides having a positive impact on the Valley, this partnership will have global reach as Footprint will bring its consulting services and sustainability products and options to Real Mallorca’s stadium as well. The European Union banned single-use plastics starting July 3, 2021, which makes the adoption of new solutions an imperative.

Footprint provides sustainable solutions that eliminate single-use and short-term use plastics. Footprint uses material science and process engineering to design, develop and manufacture plant-based biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable products that are on par with plastic’s cost and performance. These solutions, digestible by the earth, keep harmful chemicals away from consumers and have directly already led to a redirection of 61 million pounds of plastic waste from the environment. Footprint is rapidly expanding into new categories with differentiated solutions for customers and has 2,430 U.S and foreign issued and pending patent claims. Customers include Conagra, Sweetgreen, Beyond Meat, as well as Fry’s and other national and international retail chains.

Footprint was founded in 2014 by former Intel engineers, Troy Swope and Yoke Chung. The company employs more than 1,500 employees, with operations in the U.S., Mexicali, Europe, and Asia. Footprint was named to the 2020 Fortune “Change the World” list, is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community and was named a CNBC Disruptor 50 company in 2021.

For more information on Footprint’s sustainable solutions visit www.footprintus.com.

Led by Managing Partner Robert Sarver, Suns Legacy Partners, LLC operates the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and Footprint Center. The Suns are Arizona’s original professional sports franchise anchored by 2021 Coach of the Year Monty Williams, 2021 Executive of the Year general manager James Jones and a roster featuring future Hall of Famer Chris Paul and All-Star Devin Booker. The three-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury are celebrating its 25th season led by 2020 Tokyo Olympic-bound trio of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith. Footprint Center in the heart of downtown Phoenix, recently underwent a $245 million transformation, making it the preeminent destination for sports and entertainment in the southwest.

Dean Stoyer: dstoyer@suns.com / 503-847-0187

Mitch Germann: mitch.germann@fleishman.com / 916-207-3918

Heather Knox: heather.knox@footprintus.com / 425-295-5967

Cathy Planchard: Cathy@allisonpr.com / 480-236-9026

phoenix-suns-and-mercury-form-global-partnership-for-newly-named-footprint-center-to-become-a-transformative-venue-to-accelerate-a-plastic-free-future

Phoenix Suns and Mercury Form Global Partnership for Newly Named Footprint Center to Become a Transformative Venue to Accelerate a Plastic-Free Future

MILWAUKEE — As Chris Paul soaked in the fervor of finally clinching his first trip to the NBA Finals, he thanked the Los Angeles Clippers organization and fans that he represented for six seasons. He praised Monty Williams, the coach he went on a playoff run with more than a decade ago and has reunited with in Phoenix. He pointed up to a Staples Center suite, to his family that had been with him through injuries and crushing losses, along with the best moments of his Hall-of-Fame career.

But when ESPN’s Rachel Nichols asked Paul why he wanted to join the Phoenix Suns, without hesitation, he pointed to his left and proclaimed, “that light-skinned dude over there, No. 1.” 

That dude was Devin Booker, the rising All-Star aiming to propel the Suns back to prominence. And Paul’s gut was correct about how pairing them together would unfold.

Booker and Paul have created a lethal backcourt tandem in their first season, culminating in this magical playoff run that now stands two victories away from their first NBA championship. The 36-year-old Paul looks like an ageless wonder, while the 24-year-old Booker looks to be revving up for a dominant prime. 

Entering Sunday’s Game 3 against the Bucks, Booker and Paul are coming off scoring the most points by a starting backcourt in the first two games of an NBA Finals in league history (113) — a feat that left Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer unable to come up with an appropriate comparison. 

“I'm having a hard enough time trying to figure out how to guard those two,” Budenholzer said matter-of-factly and with a hint of exasperation. “I can't come up with a good comparison for you." 

Booker and Paul are both ferocious competitors and basketball junkies, making them kindred spirits despite the 12-year age gap. They are both maestros in the pick and roll and in the lost art of the midrange jumper, consistently getting to their spots with the ball in their hands without it feeling too “your turn, my turn.” And they’ve both displayed a willingness to sacrifice personal scoring or shine, because winning is all that matters at this critical juncture of their respective careers.

It’s a partnership that is both surreal and splendid, and that has the Suns on the verge of reaching the NBA’s mountaintop.

“They’re the perfect fit. They’re the perfect storm,” said Melvin Booker, Devin’s father and a former professional basketball player. “They’re the same person. They’re so competitive. As they said, they’re both dogs.”

Booker can still mimic how the public-address announcer would yell a high-pitched “C-P-threeeee!” whenever Paul made a shot from beyond the arc with the New Orleans Hornets. 

A teenage Booker and his dad used to make the 110-mile trip from Moss Point, Mississippi to New Orleans to watch Paul and the closest NBA action. Booker became such a “fan boy” that he wore Paul’s shoes throughout his whole high-school career.  

“Somebody I’ve idolized for a very long time,” Booker said.

Booker eventually morphed into a one-and-done lottery prospect, the sixth man on a stacked Kentucky team. While Booker worked out ahead of the 2015 draft with close friends Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell in Los Angeles, Paul stopped by to train alongside them shortly after he and the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs.

Paul immediately noticed through drills that Booker had a smooth shooting stroke. But when the session shifted to 1-on-1 work, Paul got a taste of Booker’s edge. After the workout, Paul told then-agent Leon Rose (now the New York Knicks’ president), “Man, he good. He nice. He can play.”

“He didn’t care what it was,” Paul said of Booker. “He was competing. One thing you get a chance to see in this league is that a lot of guys that are like that go a lot further than guys who are just skilled." 

Later that day, Paul invited Booker, Towns and Russell to his home to talk about NBA life on and off the court. How seriously Paul took his craft — including hiring a personal basketball trainer, chef and someone to work on his body — immediately resonated with Booker.

“He pulled up fresh off the season, and that meant a lot for us,” Booker recalled, “for a Hall of Fame guy, an All-Star guy to come in the gym and work with us guys (who) hadn’t proven anything in our careers yet. …”

“He was giving us the breakdown of the business of the game. This was all at a time before we were in the NBA, so to see somebody have it all the way together (when it came to) professionalism at the highest level (was helpful).”

But when Booker and Paul began matching up against each other as NBA opponents, in Paul’s words, “we (were) damn near about to fight a lot of times.” Booker concurs, saying, “I started talking (expletive) to him right away.” Booker has pulled up clips on an app that compiles all shots taken against an individual matchup, when taking Paul into the post every time he would switch onto Booker resulted in a healthy dose of chriping.

“He would be, like, ‘I'm not going for that. I'm not going for that today,’” Booker said. “ … I scored on him a couple times, and he stopped me a couple times.”

But after games, Booker and Paul would always chat. When Booker made his first All-Star team last season, cameras caught he and Paul sharing a warm greeting in the locker room. Paul, who watches games around the clock, could see Booker was a promising player who, because of team struggles and organizational instability during his first five NBA seasons, had not gotten the chance to showcase his abilities on a meaningful stage. 

“I knew that,” Paul said. “It ain’t about noticing that. … Like, we know each other, know each other.”

When rumors began swirling that the Suns might trade for Paul following their stunning 8-0 Orlando Bubble run to close the 2019-20 season, Devin and Melvin immediately thought “we got a really good chance” to have a special season. Booker and Paul went through an on-court workout in Phoenix together hours after the acquisition became official, squeezing the session in before Paul was due on set to shoot a round of State Farm commercials.

During a 3-on-3 drill the first day of training camp, Booker said he and Paul “got into it … I don't think (we were) really about the throw hands, but the closest thing you can do to that without doing it.” Yet Booker also immediately praised Paul’s leadership style that demanded focus but also built camaraderie with new and younger teammates.

“That drives me,” Booker said during training camp. “You can feel his presence in the gym. It’s not necessarily you’re out there to impress him. You just know the level of play that he’s played at, the level of intensity, the level of competitive spirit that he’s always performed at.

“I’ve never dealt with it first-hand and being next to him, but just watching him from afar … it definitely holds me to a higher standard every time I walk in here.”

The on-court fit between two ball-dominant guards was not seamless at first. The Suns began the season 8-8 and, around that time, Williams shared in a meeting that their starting unit had the worst plus/minus in the NBA.

Williams believes today that he tried to force what worked during the 2019-20 season with Booker and Ricky Rubio. The coach vowed to get out of the way and allow Booker and Paul to figure out how to complement each other and enhance their teammates.

They focused on details such as screening angles, ball and body movement and pace. Paul, who missed a chunk of the preseason, got more comfortable running the Suns’ sets. They reminded the group that defense would fuel their offense. They sacrificed their own potential shots to elevate the play of Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.

“They see so many defenses and they don't force the issue,” Williams said. “That's the one thing I've noticed with those guys. Very rarely do they wave somebody out of their way, meaning their own teammate. They just make the next right play.”

The Suns’ offense steadily climbed into the top 10 and stayed there as the Suns posted the NBA's second best regular-season record at 51-21. Both players have been dangerously effective with the ball in their hands by deploying different styles. Booker is the crafty bucket-getter with a mix of “Point Book” distributing skills. Paul, meanwhile, is a clinical surgeon who manipulates the defense while rarely turning it over, and can get to his signature elbow jumper whenever he wants.

By midseason, Booker and Paul were both All-Stars. By July, Paul was a second-team All-NBA selection after averaging 16.4 points and 8.9 assists per game during the regular season, and Booker (25.6 points, 4.3 assists per game) a first-time Olympian.

They also give the Suns two knock-down clutch options. A prime example of the Booker-Paul tag-team occurred in the final seconds of a January game at Dallas, when Paul delivered a perfect bounce pass to Booker for a game-winning 3-pointer.

Meanwhile, Booker and Paul continued to build their off-court bond.

They live on the same Valley street, making it easy to get together to watch, rewind and dissect the nuances of games on any given night. Booker has observed the Paul’s diligent routine to take care of his body, calling it “inspiring.” He, Paul and Booker’s dog, Haven, regularly pile into the car to go to the 5G Performance Center for daily COVID-19 testing, or to go to Melvin’s house for chats that lasts hours.

Recent postgame news conferences have also given a rare public glimpse into their off-court dynamic. As Paul called Booker “the oldest 24-year-old I’ve ever met in my life” following Game 4 of the Clippers series, Booker slyly munched on sushi at the back of the room. When Paul spoke after the Suns won the West, Booker walked into the room unannounced, pulled up an extra chair and set the trophy next to Paul.

And Booker still has those moments when he reminds everybody around him, “That’s CP3!”

“There’s zero ego involved,” Booker said. “I think that’s the most important part. We both want to see each other succeed. We both want the team to succeed. We all want the team to succeed. So when you’re all on the same page in that way, the relationships tend happen.”

Added Paul: “That’s why I think this has worked — because there’s no ego from either one of us.”

On the night Booker dropped 47 points to help the Suns knock out the Lakers out in the playoffs’ first round, Melvin told the Pauls “you don’t understand how happy we as a family are to have the Paul family in Phoenix and on this team with us” while celebrating in their Staples Center suite. Paul was sensational in the close-out games against Denver (37 points) and the Clippers (41 points) — performances that sandwiched a Booker 40-point triple-double (the first of his career) in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

But the backcourt’s scoring punch has reached historic heights during the Finals.

In a 118-105 Game 1 victory, Paul scored 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting, while Booker collected 27 points including 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Two days later, Booker buried seven 3-pointers as part of his 31 points, while Paul added 23 points.

With less than eight minutes to play in that 118-108 victory, Booker set a screen for Paul and, when P.J. Tucker left Booker to double Paul on the right wing, Booker got free at the top of the 3-point arc. Paul flipped the ball to Booker for the wide-open look to push Phoenix’s lead back up to 13 points.

It was the type of sequence Paul envisioned when he signed off on joining the Suns, that he shared with the world minutes after reaching the Finals together.

Now, this lethal backcourt tandem, these competitively kindred spirits, these midrange maestros who just want to win at this critical juncture of their careers, are on the cusp of propelling their team to an NBA championship.

“It’s kind of strange that just growing up literally being a fan boy of him and now (I’m) right next to him in the backcourt,” Booker said. “It’s just crazy how life comes full circle. I’m blessed to be in this position.”

dynamic-duo

Dynamic Duo

Chris Paul and Devin Booker sat on top of a car as it rolled through the throng of outstretched arms, some holding smartphones to capture the encounter on camera and some with bare hands hoping to land a high-five.Paul recently recalled that “special” night, when thousands of fans gathered at Sky Harbor International Airport around midnight as the Phoenix Suns touched down with the Western Conference Championship trophy. Though it was a scene and accomplishment worth soaking in, Paul said, it was also fleeting.“Then after that it was like, ‘OK, cool,’” Paul said. “We still got work to do. I think we’ve got a really good team (and) really good leadership on our team where we understand that we lock back in.“That moment is over, and now it’s on to the next.”  “Locked in” is a popular phrase used across sports at all levels to describe being singularly focused on the immediate task at hand. After a grueling 72-game regular season and three thrilling playoff series, it has never been more important for these Suns to exercise that mental approach. They will open the NBA Finals Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, embarking on their last stretch toward the ultimate summit.The Suns are locked in on a formidable opponent.They are locked in on maintaining their style of play and everyday habits that got them this far.They are locked in on seizing four more wins, and clinching the first NBA title in franchise history.“This is nice and all,” Booker said while glancing and pointing at the West trophy following Phoenix’s series-clinching win at the Clippers. “But we’re going for Larry (the Larry O’Brien NBA championship trophy), for sho’.”

The concept of locking in goes hand-in-hand with the other pillars of the Suns’ culture. It requires a deep sense togetherness on and off the court. It requires a constantly relentless approach. And it requires a sharp understanding that everything counts. Unsolicited, Williams, Paul and Booker all uttered the phrase to describe how the Suns are preparing for the Finals.

Locking in does not only happen on game days. It happens every day, through detailed film sessions and practices, through nutrition and hydration, through rehab and recovery.

Williams said that, even when he gave players two days off after closing out the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals, many still showed up at the Verizon 5G Performance Center to work on their own. They all intently watched Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Bucks and Atlanta Hawks. Williams took notes on rotations and adjustments throughout the series, checked in with assistant coaches who scouted both teams during the regular season and talked with Paul.

Williams has praised his team’s mental stamina all season. It helped the Suns finish with the NBA’s second-best record during a regular season filled with constant COVID-19 testing at strange hours and little practice time. Phoenix lost three games in a row only once all season, and went nearly three months without losing back-to-back games. They were one of two NBA teams to rank in top 7 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and have boasted the second-best defensive rating during the playoffs (106.7 point allowed per 100 possessions). That ability to push through was perhaps most evident on a late-April trip against five East playoff teams, starting with a dramatic overtime win at Milwaukee.

Reserve wing Torrey Craig said it’s not difficult to find that inner motivation to prepare each day because “we all love our job … and to be on a winning team in the NBA Finals, that just adds the extra glamor to everything.” Starting center Deandre Ayton added another layer, that “when the city got you, that’s when you really locked in.”

“You’re playing more than just for your family and the organization and your teammates,” Ayton said. “You’re playing for the fans. You’re putting on a show for them. Get them something to talk about and have a little step when they walk.”

Yet Williams still needs to remind himself that less is more, that overloading himself or players can be more detrimental than beneficial. It’s a tactic he learned from his time working for legendary San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. So on the Suns’ off day between Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles, Williams “filled his cup” between film sessions with non-basketball conversations with his sons who also made the trip.“That’s a valuable time for me as a father and a husband,” Williams said, “to be able to talk to my boys about life and listen to their questions. Especially on the road, there’s nothing to do. I’m not going out to eat, so my time (in Los Angeles) has been with my boys in my room or watching film or just kind trying to get ready for the next thing in front of us.”  Then as game time approaches, players and coaches use a variety of ways to lock in.Craig takes a pregame nap. Williams purposely stays busy by leading staff meetings, watching television shows created by Dick Wolf (of Law &amp; Order franchise fame), listening to Christian rock band Casting Crowns and texting with his wife, Lisa, and children. In the minutes before tip-off, Paul sits by himself holding a ball on the opponents’ bench after making three free throws, wraps his arm around teammate Jevon Carter as they both walk to the line for the national anthem and bangs his back against the basket stanchion three times right before the jump ball.Those rituals create a sense of routine, calm the mind and prepare the Suns for the intense on-court battle to come.

Booker, in particular, frequently applies the “locked in” phrase to many scenarios.

It’s how he described the way Ayton attacked his matchup against NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic during the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets. It’s why, for Game 6 against the Clippers, Booker removed the mask that protected his nose broken in three places and dealt with the pain from being getting swiped across the face by Paul George. And when the Clippers staged a run that night to slice a 17-point Suns lead to seven, locking back in was the message in a timeout huddle.

“(We) said, ‘Don’t lose our head,’” Booker said. “Right there, you kind of have a decision to make, which way do you want to go. This group right here, I feel like we’re tested and we’ve been in those situations, especially Chris and Jae (Crowder). So we locked back in as a team, and we got it going.

“Chris hit a 3 to put us up 10 again and the rest was history.”

Paul then went into hyperdrive, scoring 24 of the Suns’ next 30 points to push Phoenix’s lead back up to an insurmountable margin. As that advantage grew, Crowder kept asking Paul, “You taste that?”

“I’m like, ‘No, no, no,’” Paul recalled, “I was like, ‘Nah, I’m gonna stay locked in.’”  

“He go back out, bang! Hits a top-of-the-key 3,” Crowder said. “I’m like, ‘All right, he’s still feelin’ it.’ …  It took us until getting subbed out of the game in the fourth quarter. He was like, ‘I taste it now! I taste it now!’”

Paul and his teammates celebrated in the postgame locker room, on the plane ride home and with the fans who gathered at the airport. Williams echoed his point guard’s appreciation for what that airport scene meant to the players and the city, saying it was “unlike anything I had ever seen before.”

“As soon as I got past the last person, my mind went right back to (that) we’ve got more work to do and more to come.”  

locked-in

LOCKED IN

LOS ANGELES — The emotions hit Monty Williams around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, when a reflective conversation with longtime assistant and confidant Randy Ayers brought the Suns' coach to tears.  

They hit Chris Paul when he unleashed a “YEEEES!” as he checked out with 2:01 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, after the greatest postseason masterpiece of his Hall of Fame career.  

They hit Deandre Ayton when he busted out dance moves on the Staples Center floor, then ran into the stands to give the commemorative cap to his mother, Andrea.  

And they hit Devin Booker when he set the giant ball-shaped trophy on a chair next to Paul, then reminisced about all he had been through with this organization to reach this point.  

This euphoric Suns season is about to hit its final push toward the franchise’s first NBA title. Phoenix is officially the Western Conference champion after blasting the Los Angeles Clippers 130-103 in Wednesday’s Game 6 to clinch its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1993. The Suns await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, which is tied 2-2 heading into Thursday’s Game 5.   

“Out there on the floor talking to a few of the guys, they were, like, trying to figure out the feelings we were all having,” Williams said. “I remember being in those moments when I was in San Antonio. It’s hard to describe. You’re just grateful for it. We know we have more work to do, but it’s hard to describe it in the moment. …  

“To be able to win a game like that is huge for the organization, the city, all of that stuff. That’s what I have in my heart right now, just a lot of gratitude.” 

The Suns got a blistering 41 points from Paul to tie his career playoff high, another double-double from Ayton and a second-half scoring avalanche to eliminate the gritty, resilient Clippers, who extended the series with an impressive Game 5 performance Monday in Phoenix. The Suns’ emphatic close-out victory in Los Angeles continues this organization’s dramatic revitalization, which has ignited The Valley and endeared the team to fans around the world because of its style of play, respected leaders and relentless mentality.  

General manager James Jones, the newly minted NBA Executive of the Year, intentionally built a roster to advance the momentum from last summer’s Orlando Bubble run, including the big swing to trade for Paul. Williams’ steadying presence has fostered a culture that thrives on deep relationships, attention to detail and playing together and for each other.  

Booker, now being rewarded for his loyalty to Phoenix during a rocky first five NBA seasons, has proven he is a bona fide playoff star who can notch a 40-point triple-double one day and set a game-winning screen with his nose broken in three places the next. Ayton has emerged as perhaps the postseason’s premier breakout player, as a dominant force on both ends of the floor. Young complementary players such as Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne and Cam Johnson have stepped up in key moments.  

But this Finals berth is perhaps sweetest for Paul, one of the best point guards and leaders in NBA history who in Year 16 has finally reached the league’s biggest stage for the first time. The normally matter-of-fact 36-year-old even acknowledged the storybook nature of the scenario that unfolded Wednesday night, accomplishing this long-awaited career feat inside his home arena for six seasons, while playing against his former team, then savoring the postgame scene with Clippers staffers who feel like family and fans who stuck around to serenade him with chants of “CP3!”  

“(Equipment manager Jay Gaspar) texted me a couple days ago and said, ‘C, I got the t-shirt and the hat. All you gotta do is your part,’” Paul said. “That’s the only thing that I was thinking about, you know what I mean, was the process. Just getting us one step closer to where we want to be.”     

At times during this postseason, it looked as if the terrible playoff luck that has plagued Paul throughout his stellar career might squash another deep run with his new team.  

First, Paul sustained a shoulder injury early in Game 1 of the first round against the Lakers that hampered him for at least three games. Then, he missed the first two games of the Western Conference Finals while in COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the only player in the league to miss playoff time for that reason. Paul even revealed after Game 5 that he had partially torn ligaments in his hand, forcing him to wear “buddy tape” for the past couple games before ditching the protection for Game 6.  

But after recovering from the shoulder injury, Paul was brilliant in the second round against the Denver Nuggets, including going 6-for-6 on his signature mid-range jumpers in the third quarter of the series’ decisive Game 4. And though about 10 days isolated from his team at the start of the Clippers series clearly affected his shot rhythm, Paul went 5-of-6 from the free throw line to secure a slugfest win in Game 4, then totaled 22 points and eight assists in Game 5.    

The second half of Game 6 became the slingshot that catapulted Paul and his team to the top of the West, single-handedly answering the Clippers’ surge that cut a 17-point Suns lead to 89-82 with 1:43 to play in the third. He scored 24 of the Suns’ next 30 points, mixing his textbook elbow jumpers with pull-up 3-pointers and finishes at the basket to push Phoenix’s advantage to an insurmountable 119-92 with 5:49 remaining.  

And when Clippers instigator Patrick Beverley shoved Paul in frustration and was promptly ejected, that’s when teammate Jae Crowder knew “we broke them.”   

Throughout this run, Paul has gushed about his teammates and coaching staff. He has deep trust with Williams because of their season together in New Orleans a decade ago. He is a kindred spirit with Booker when it comes to competitive fire and work habits, a quality Paul first noticed when he joined one of Booker’s pre-draft workouts in 2015. Paul “genuinely loves” his latest pick-and-roll partner in Ayton, who now says Paul “is the best thing that happened to my career.”   

So when asked after Game 4 if there was extra motivation to propel Paul into the Finals, Booker responded with an emphatic “of course.”  

“He’s just a true professional at every level at all times,” Booker said. “I have a lot of respect for him as a man, not even as a basketball player. Just understanding how bad he wants this and how much time he’s put into it … we definitely have his back.”  

Added Williams when asked prior to Game 5 what helping Paul reach the Finals would mean to him: “This is one of the reasons why I do it. I wanted to be a part of coaching so that I can be in a position to partner with guys. … For me to be a part of that, I would be overjoyed and overwhelmed.” 

The Suns’ 2020-21 ascension was both abrupt and steady.  

After an 8-8 start, Phoenix finished with the NBA’s second-best regular-season record at 51-21 during a shortened 72-game season. The Suns’ balanced style made them one of two teams to rank in the top 7 of the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency, with a focus on sharing the ball and playing hard. On and off the floor, players successfully threaded the needle between intensely competitive and endearingly fun-loving, creating a unique chemistry while operating under strict everyday parameters while playing during the middle of a pandemic.  

“You look around the league at some teams, and not everybody has a vibe like this or an energy like this throughout,” Booker said. “I always say it’s a great environment to get better in. When you have everybody supporting you, everybody being honest with you — those are the same people that can give me constructive criticism at any point in the game, and I’m listening to them — that’s the name of our group, man.” 

By the end of the regular season, the Suns had become the third team since the NBA-ABA merger to jump from possessing a bottom-2 record in the league (Phoenix was 19-63 in 2018-19) to a top-2 mark in two seasons or less. Yet this group’s first postseason venture together presented a different level of challenges.  

The Suns were underdogs in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, an opponent other teams actively and strategically avoided down the stretch of the regular season because of the Lakers’ anticipated return to health for the playoffs (before Anthony Davis’ groin injury). Phoenix then swept the Denver Nuggets, who boasted NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and finished their season strong despite losing standout guard Jamal Murray to a torn ACL. Then the Suns knocked out a tough-minded Clippers team that had overcome 0-2 deficits to win each of their first two playoff series and pushed the Suns to six games, even with star Kawhi Leonard sidelined for eight consecutive contests with a knee injury.   

During the Western Conference Finals, the Suns got career nights from Booker (first-career triple-double in Game 1), Ayton (career-high 22 rebounds in Game 4) and Payne (career-high 29 points while starting for Paul in game 2). In 0.2 seconds, Ayton’s dramatic “Valley-oop” finish became an instantly iconic moment in Suns history. Throughout the series, Phoenix leaned on is defense that ranks second in the playoffs in efficiency, particularly when both teams went scoreless for an agonizing four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter of Game 4.    

Phoenix also continued its knack for bouncing back after defeats, a trait established during the regular season when it never lost consecutive games for nearly three months. 

After dropping Games 2 and 3 against the Lakers, the Suns ripped off a franchise-playoff-record nine wins in a row to finish off the Lakers in six games, sweep the Nuggets and take a 2-0 lead on the Clippers. Following losses in Games 3 and 5 to the Clippers, Phoenix refocused on maintaining an edge for 48 minutes and immediately won the next game.  

And after boasting the NBA’s best regular-season road record, it’s fitting the Suns have clinched all three playoff series away from home.  

"The process of this and the journey of it is second-to-none,” Booker said. “I said it after we lost the first one (to the Clippers), we don't want to lose any games, but coming back into the film session, getting together as a team and talking it out, that's part of it, too." 

"Once you start enjoying that and having fun with that, I think good things happen for our team. We've responded well all season."  

Paul stressed the job was not done when the Suns went up 3-1 on the Clippers, a clear allusion to when he hurt his hamstring and his Rockets fell short of the Finals while up 3-2 over the Golden State Warriors in the 2018. Phoenix’s players got a harsh reminder of that fact in Game 5, when the Clippers raced out to a 15-point lead and answered every Suns rally attempt.  

But prior to Game 6, Williams emphasized his team had “earned the right to be in this position. It takes a lot of hard work and mental stamina to overcome what we’ve overcome, and we’re going to use that to our advantage.”  

There is still one more step to fulfill on the Suns’ quest for their first NBA title. They will quickly lock in on their to-be-determined Finals opponent. During the on-court trophy presentation, managing partner Robert Sarver said “our goal is to bring that Larry O’Brien back to Phoenix.”   

Yet Wednesday marked another celebratory moment during this thrilling, sometimes unfathomable season.  

On the sideline, Williams shared long embraces with Paul and Booker. When the Suns gathered at midcourt to don their Western Conference Champion shirts and hats, Dario Saric bounced up and down like a young boy on Christmas morning. Paul jogged over to the courtside seats to ask rapper and avid NBA fan Lil Wayne if he would like to join in on the party.  

Sarver quickly passed the trophy off to Paul, who handed it to Williams to hoist into the air with both hands. It was in Payne’s grasp as the team and staff gathered for a group photo a few minutes later. After Booker brought it into the interview room to set next to Paul, Ayton was eventually the last player to cycle through to take questions before departing for the plane ride back to Phoenix.  

“All right, baby. You ready?” Ayton said as he picked up the hardware. “All right, let’s go home.” 

next-stop-nba-finals

NEXT STOP: NBA FINALS!

LOS ANGELES — Deandre Ayton held back on celebrating, in case he had committed a “blooper” instead of an improbable game-winner. He had grabbed a pinpoint inbounds pass from Jae Crowder and plopped it into the basket while airborne in 0.2 seconds, so quickly that he could not even explain when the ball or his hands were on the rim.

“I wasn’t too sure what I did,” Ayton said. “I wasn’t too sure if it counted. … I was just so anxious. I was really stressed. It was a lot. I’m looking at the fans. I’m looking at the environment. It was a lot.”

After the lengthy officials’ review, the crowd’s roar upon confirmation that his finish was legal and the endless hugs from teammates and coaches, Ayton emphatically agreed when asked if that was the best play of his life. The “Valley-oop” to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 104-103 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals is already an iconic moment in Phoenix Suns history.

It was also the latest reminder that Ayton’s consistent — and often dominant — play unfolding bit-by-bit for a championship contender during this electrifying postseason run has rapidly vaulted him into the conversation surrounding the NBA’s top-tier centers.

“Every game really feels like my last,” Ayton said. “I’ve never played so hard from the jump ball to the end, 150 percent. Usually it’s like 110, but it’s 150 percent. And its 150 percent mentally, just the level of focus and the things you have to really pay attention to.

“It’s really intense, and (when) fatigue and stuff like that kicks in, especially, that’s when we know who really got your back and who’s locked in — and this team is it.”

Ayton’s 72.6 field-goal percentage on at least 100 attempts is the best by any NBA player over a 12-game span in the playoffs during the shot-clock era, according to Elias Sports Bureau. That efficiency has come from a bevy of athletic, authoritative dunks — including a soaring alley-oop slam from Crowder earlier in Tuesday’s game that foreshadowed what would come later — mixed in with soft-touch jumpers. 

Ayton is also grabbing 10.8 rebounds per game, helping him record eight double-doubles in those 12 playoff contests. Additionally, teammates praise Ayton for his more nuanced contributions, such as setting sharp screens in the pick and roll, running the floor hard, boxing out so others can snag rebounds and communicating as the anchor of a Suns defense that has been the NBA’s second-most efficient unit in the playoffs entering Thursday (106.5 points allowed per 100 possessions). 

During the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets, All-Star point guard Chris Paul said Ayton has “literally been our MVP in the postseason so far.”  

“I can’t say enough about DA and what he does for our team,” Paul added. “He does all the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. … He’s so selfless, man, and we’re on him a lot. But he’s showing you why he is who he is.”  

Ayton’s performances have largely occurred against challenging matchups.

He regularly guarded Anthony Davis prior to his groin injury in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers, helping hold him to 5-of-16 shooting in Game 1. Ayton made things tough over three-plus games on Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who received his NBA Most Valuable Player trophy during the series and later gave Ayton his jersey featuring the handwritten message “U ARE (A) BEAST!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!”

Williams called Game 2 of that Nuggets series a “huge growth moment” for Ayton, who committed two quick fouls, settled his heated frustration on the bench and came back to total 15 points and 10 rebounds without fouling again. Now in this series against the Clippers, their small-ball lineups are providing opportunity for Ayton to show how he can use his defensive footwork and lateral quickness when needed while still protecting the rim.

“I feel like he flipped the switch and he turned it on,” All-Star guard Devin Booker said of Ayton’s play. “He doesn’t want to look back, and he feels his confidence is there. He understands how much of a force he is, and I think he’s figuring out his capabilities.”

Former top-overall draft picks are always scrutinized, especially when All-Stars Luka Dončić and Trae Young were also part of Ayton’s 2018 class. Ayton has received outside criticism about his motor and engagement throughout his career, with some wondering if those inconsistencies would forever hold him back from reaching the potential his size and athleticism would provide.

Yet Williams has long emphasized patience with Ayton’s development, leaning on his experience working with a young Anthony Davis in New Orleans and LaMarcus Aldridge as an assistant in Portland as examples that it generally takes frontcourt players longer to adapt to the NBA level. 

The leap has arrived. And Ayton’s success on this stage can be traced back to incremental improvements to his daily work habits.

He acknowledges that, in the past, he may not have come to the facility on an off day and once had to turn his car around on the highway when Williams asked why he left a summer treatment session at the arena before checking in with him. Now, Ayton has adopted Williams’ daily “smell the gym” philosophy, while the coach has noticed Ayton implementing elements of Paul’s rigorous training regimen into his routine. 

“I constantly want to just sharpen my screws and just be the best I can be,” Ayton said. “Knowing the type of level and the type of play style we have to come in with night-in and night-out and to be consistent at what I do, I have to be in the gym.

“Just to see the results now at a high level and where we’re at right now, I don’t want to get out of the gym.”

Added Williams: “I just didn’t expect him, as young as he is, to be as locked in (as he is). He’s been listening to Chris and all of our older guys when it comes to the experience, the playoff mentality.” 

Additionally, when Ayton studied film as a rookie, he “was just really scared of the matchups, for real.” Now, those clips are his “favorite TV show,” dissecting opponent tendencies and critiquing his own play. 

Aiding that development is Ayton’s consistent willingness to absorb candid feedback from teammates.

Early in the Suns’ stay in the Orlando Bubble last summer, for example, Ayton and Booker sat face-to-face for a real-talk conversation he said made his stomach hurt and ended with “Bro, we’re gonna have to wake up and change what people think about us.” Being Paul’s partner in the pick and roll means the point guard is always in Ayton’s ear about minute details such as where and how long to set a screen and the angles to take on the roll and in transition.

“It’s just my instinct to just be humble and listen,” Ayton said back in January. “Anyone can teach me something. That’s why I learn. That’s the person who I am, where somebody else will say something and I’ll respect it and I’ll try to understand. …

“Nothing really hurts my feelings. It’s just me breaking down what the message is and trying to accomplish what the instruction is.”

The 22-year-old Ayton still has a goofy earnestness in his personality. Consider his ritual at the end of his pregame warm-up routine, when he stands at midcourt and heaves an underhand, granny-style shot at the hoop and runs of the court in delight when if falls through the net. Or after Game 3 of the Nuggets series, when Ayton’s eyes widened as he marveled at Jokic’s 32-point, 20-rebound triple-double and responded with “I tried” when a reporter pointed out it took 29 shots for the MVP to reach that point total.

Yet Ayton also now has the responsibility of being a father to a 3-month old boy who shares his name. He woke up ahead of Sunday’s Game 1 to a 7 a.m. text from Paul wishing him a happy Father’s Day, and it took a bit for the weight of that message to click.

Two days later, Ayton kept his game-worn jersey to give to baby Deandre as a keepsake that can remind them both of what the Valley-oop — and this playoff run — has meant for Ayton’s career and his team moving closer to the NBA Finals.

“Some people might say I ain’t did nothing or I ain’t won nothing,” Ayton said, “but that one meant something to me.”  