Phoenix Suns make it official: Jordan Ott is the new head coach

The Phoenix Suns are betting on connection over clout with their latest coaching hire.

The Phoenix Suns are preparing to enter their 58th season as a franchise. Fifty-eight seasons of ‘almost’. Fifty-eight seasons of ‘what if’. A history steeped in heartbreak, defined by brilliance that always seemed to fall just short of glory.

Now, the team stands at yet another crossroads.

Since Mat Ishbia took the reins, stability on the sidelines has vanished. Monty Williams was shown the door. Frank Vogel followed. Mike Budenholzer didn’t last more than a year either. And so, as the Suns prepare to name their fourth head coach in as many seasons. This isn’t just about a clipboard and a whistle. It’s about vision. Identity. Alignment. The will to steer a franchise aching to matter again.

And into that void steps Jordan Ott, who was announced as the 23rd head coach in Phoenix Suns history on Wednesday.

The organization has made its call, and Jordan Ott is the choice. A decade of NBA experience accompanies him, carved out across multiple franchises and levels within the league.

Like so many coaches before him, Ott began in the dim-lit back rooms as a video coordinator, first at Michigan State (where he earned his master’s), then on to Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Atlanta. His climb was steady, not flashy. From there, Brooklyn came calling in 2016, where he worked alongside Kenny Atkinson and stayed through the opening act of the Steve Nash era, coaching stars like Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. In 2022, he shifted to Los Angeles, joining Darvin Ham’s Lakers staff, before reuniting last season with Atkinson in Cleveland.

The wrinkle, the one some fans can’t seem to let go of, is that Michigan State connection. The implication being…what? That a video coordinator gig and a graduate degree from the same university as Mat Ishbia somehow taints his résumé? I don’t buy it. And frankly, it feels like a hollow objection. It’s not a scandal for a team owner to want people in his organization who share his values, his approach, and his trust. That happens in every corner of professional sports.

And this isn’t some rinky-dink college program we’re talking about. This is Michigan State, a top-tier, well-respected basketball institution that churns out coaches and players at the highest level. If the loudest knock on Ott is where he cut his teeth, maybe what we’re really witnessing is generational skepticism. Maybe it’s the unfamiliarity of youth, of a new face, of a name without a championship ring already on his hand.

But for a franchise stuck in the rut of chasing yesterday’s names and yesterday’s narratives, maybe that’s exactly what this team needs.

Ott is a young mind with a well-earned reputation for building real, meaningful connections with players, a quality that’s no longer just a nice-to-have in the modern NBA, but a non-negotiable. In Phoenix, we’ve learned that lesson the hard way. The last two coaches who roamed the Suns’ sidelines reportedly struggled to forge that trust, loyalty, and connection within the locker room. And in today’s league — a players’ league through and through — that’s a death sentence.

The days of old-school, hard-nosed coaching have gone the way of the rotary phone. Direct feedback and tough love aren’t extinct, but they’ve been repackaged. You still have to hold stars accountable, but now it’s about delivery: couching critique in relationships, massaging egos while addressing flaws, and building enough equity with players so when the time comes to push, they don’t push back. Monty Williams once mastered that balance in Phoenix before his own favoritism and rigidity cracked the foundation.

Now, Jordan Ott steps in, and while the fanfare may not be deafening, the implications are real. His first order of business will be assembling a staff, a task as political as it is strategic. The irony, of course, is that he’ll likely have little to no say in shaping the roster he’s tasked with leading. The Suns are navigating a labyrinth of trade scenarios, cap constraints, and free agency puzzles that will leave Ott an NPC in the construction of his own team.

What this hire does signal is a philosophical shift. A recalibration. Phoenix isn’t chasing pedigree this time. They’re chasing fit, culture, and connectivity. And here’s the truth: it’s going to take time. This won’t be an instant turnaround. The road ahead will have potholes, speed bumps, and nights when the fan base wants to hit reset.

My advice? Resist the impulse. Give Ott a real chance. Not one season, not two. Give him three years to build relationships, implement his vision, and etch his identity into this locker room. It’s what this franchise needs. Patience. And the lack thereof is part of why they’re still chasing ghosts of the past.

Culture isn’t built in a press conference. It’s built over time, in film rooms, in off-day conversations, in moments of tension and triumph. Let’s not repeat the mistakes ownership has made. This hire is a good thing. And if we have the patience to let it breathe, it might just be the foundation this team’s been missing.

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