While the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams.
In the following weeks, we will provide a recap for each team, starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June.
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Even if the weaknesses for the Suns were glaring from that start, the hope was that they had enough star power to make up for it. It crashed and burned, and now they enter the offseason with multiple stars and not much hope.
Phoenix Suns 2024-25 Season Recap
Record: 36-46 (11th, West)
Offensive Rating: 114.7 (13th)
Defensive Rating: 117.7 (27th)
Net Rating: -3.0 (23rd)
Pace: 98.31 (21st)
2024 Draft Picks: 29, 52
A team built around Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal sounds difficult to slow down in theory, but in practice, it was a red-hot mess. They hired Mike Budenholzer to take over as the head coach last summer, but just like Frank Vogel, Bud was only given one season before Matt Ishbia decided to move on. Next season, Phoenix will have their fourth head coach in four seasons.
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Booker and Durant and successful individual seasons, and Beal was decent when he was available. However, they missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, and they don’t even have their own draft pick to regain some hope for the future. In fact, they won’t have control of their own first-round pick until 2032. Ishbia went all in on building this team like a video game GM would, or like a dynasty manager that joins a league and trades all of their picks to win just to leave after two seasons. The difference here is that Ishbia didn’t get any rings, and he now has to make moves to drag this team out of the mud. They’re not entirely out of options, but there will likely be some major changes this offseason.
Fantasy Standout: Devin Booker
Booker’s points per game and field goal percentage took slight hits this season, which dropped his overall value. However, he set a new career high for assists per game and still provided third-round value in nine-cat leagues. He also played 75 games, which was his highest total since he played 78 games during the 2016-17 season, his second in the league. Booker will continue to be a superstar, and even with all the uncertainty in Phoenix, there isn’t much that will change that. He averaged 25.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.4 triples in 37.3 minutes per game this season.
His field goal percentage dropped from 49.2 percent during the 2023-24 season to 46.1 percent this year. It wasn’t a significant drop, but it bumped him down about a round of value in nine-cat leagues. However, there shouldn’t be any concern for Booker moving forward. He is the face of the franchise. Regardless of what other moves they make, there won’t be any that can take the ball out of his hands. Booker will continue to be a fantasy stud moving forward.
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Fantasy Revelation: Ryan Dunn
Though his rookie season was inconsistent, Dunn was one of the few glimmers of hope for the future in Phoenix. Drafted as a defensive stalwart, Dunn quickly showcased an improved jumpshot, which was his biggest weakness entering the draft. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 threes in 19.1 minutes per game across 74 appearances.
In his sophomore season at Virginia, Dunn averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. Surprisingly, the defensive production didn’t translate during his first season in the NBA, but we shouldn’t lose hope. Dunn was in and out of the starting unit throughout the season, but he was a consistent starter for the final month. During those 16 games, he averaged 11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.9 threes per game. The percentages were poor, but if he’s given the opportunity, Dunn has the tools to be a true stud in category leagues. The Suns will continue to try and build a winner around Booker, and Dunn fits in well as a two-way forward that doesn’t need the ball in his hands often.
Fantasy Disappointment: Bradley Beal
For both Beal and the Suns, this was a year to forget. Across 53 appearances, Beal averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.9 triples per game. His points were the fewest he has averaged in a season since the 2014-15 season. He fell short of his Yahoo ADP of 71.8, though not by much over the course of the year. What made this season so disappointing was that there were still flashes. He scored at least 25 points in 12 games, but he also had nine games where he scored less than 10 points.
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Beal’s days of averaging 30 points per game are behind him, and he seems content with the no-trade clause in his contract that will pay him nearly $54 million next season. He played well down the stretch of the 2023-24 season, so there was hope that he could carry that success into this past season. That didn’t happen, and unless Beal changes his mind, he’ll be back with Phoenix next season. If they trade Kevin Durant this summer, Beal could take on a larger role next season, depending on what the Suns get in return. However, it’s difficult to imagine Beal returning to All-Star form.
Fantasy Recaps/Look-AheadsÂ
Kevin Durant
KD put together another strong season, with averages of 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 2.6 triples per game in 62 appearances. He wasn’t able to match his 75 games played from the previous season, but it was still more than he had played in any other season since he suited up 78 times in his final season…
