Nothing ever breaks right for the Suns, and the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery proved it again.
Growing up a Phoenix Suns fan isn’t easy. It’s a test of patience, loyalty, and masochism. It’s not a path for the faint of heart. There are times when it feels like the universe itself has it out for this franchise. And other times, you wonder if the franchise is simply doing the universe’s work for it.
This team finally lands a big-spending owner, only for the league to implement punitive rules against big spenders. Of course. That’s how this story always goes. A new chapter in a never-ending novel of mismanagement, bad timing, and cosmically cruel luck.
Yes, these are the ramblings of a disgruntled Suns fan after another NBA Draft Lottery, one in which the Suns had no part. Not because they didn’t earn a pick. Oh, they did. Finishing with the ninth-worst record in the league should’ve placed them squarely in the lottery. But thanks to a deal made in pursuit of a window that never opened, that 10th overall pick now belongs to the Houston Rockets.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the lottery added insult to injury. The San Antonio Spurs landed the No. 2 pick, just two summers after winning the Wembanyama sweepstakes. The Dallas Mavericks somehow jumped all the way up and secured the No. 1 overall pick. Conspiracy theorists unite.
The Dallas Mavericks have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 12, 2025
If you’ve watched this team long enough, you start to feel it in your bones. That this franchise is cursed. That no matter the hope, the hype, or the headline-grabbing acquisitions, something will go wrong.
And just when you think it can’t, the lottery proves otherwise.
That’s right. The Western Conference just keeps getting stronger. Year after year, wave after wave, the influx of talent always seems to land in the same place: the side of the bracket the Phoenix Suns call home.
And it’s not a new phenomenon. It’s been this way for nearly three decades.
Back in the ‘90s, the Eastern Conference was the Chicago Bulls and everyone else. Michael Jordan carved through the East like a diamond-bladed knife through a Thanksgiving turkey. Suns fans know the story. We lived it in 1993. We watched from the front row as Jordan dropped an NBA Finals-record 41 points per game, a masterpiece in six acts.
But since then? The Bulls dynasty faded, and the balance of power shifted westward. The Western Conference has gone 17–9 in the NBA Finals since 1998. That’s who the Suns have been battling just to reach the championship round. The toughest road, nearly every time.
Did you know the Western Conference is 17-9 in the Finals since Jordan? And now the Mavs are getting Flagg. And Giannis might come to SA or HOU. Cool. Cool, cool, cool…
— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) May 13, 2025
So what would it take for Phoenix to finally break through? To win it all? As Coach Herman Boone barked in Remember the Titans: “Perfection!”
And in the Western Conference, that’s no exaggeration. It might just be the bare minimum.
Rumors are starting to percolate about the fate of Giannis Antetokounmpo, as he remains noncommittal about rejoining the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason. And wouldn’t you know it? Two of the Western Conference’s most asset-rich teams, the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, are reportedly circling. Fantastic. As if the West needed more firepower. Now, even Giannis might join the stampede.
Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has not made any firm decisions, but for the first time in his career, he is open-minded about whether his best fit is remaining in Milwaukee – or playing elsewhere, league sources told ESPN.
Story on ESPN: https://t.co/2aTg3Bq8o3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 12, 2025
Meanwhile, the only time a star heads east is when their prime is behind them. When they’ve cashed their checks, torched the Suns a dozen times, and are ready to ride off into the twilight. Dame Lillard. Paul George. Once they’ve done their damage out West, they drift eastward like aging gunslingers settling into retirement.
So here we are: staring down another loaded draft class and another generational prospect in Cooper Flagg heading to the Western Conference. Of course he is. Of course the Mavericks win the lottery with a 1.8% chance. The same Mavericks who just traded Luka Doncic in one of the most jaw-dropping deals in recent NBA history. And for what? To grease the wheels for a leaguewide narrative shift. To make the Lakers matter again. To feed the machine.
Super Bowl week was dominated by one thing: Luka talk. Dallas played their part. And now, as if sealed by some unspoken blood pact, they’re rewarded with the No. 1 overall pick. “You scratch our back, we’ll hand you Cooper Flagg on a silver platter.” That’s how it feels.
So yeah, the West might get Giannis. It will get Flagg. And the Suns? They’re over here trying to solve a 37-sided Rubik’s cube with no clear edges, praying it reveals a championship path when aligned just right. The odds of solving it? Less than 1.8%. But hey, just ask the Mavericks. That’s all it takes.
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