As the Phoenix Suns start a new chapter following the departures of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Mike Budenholzer, we checked in on how training camp has gone so far.
Head Coach Jordan Ott’s coaching style & philosophy
“It’s four factors. Going to the glass, defensive rebounding, and turnover battle on both sides. We mentioned about the pressure defense…Offensively, we have a system in place to try to get extra possessions and taking care of the basketball. With multiple guards and multiple playmakers, I assume that’ll be tested at times. We’re cutting, so our spacing’s not perfect. We’ll probably go through some growing pains with that early. Every team wants more shots that the opponent, that hopefully is one of our competitive advantages.”
- Jordan Ott on team principles
“The biggest thing that we’ve talked about and focused on so far is winning the possession game. A lot of our drills and what we’re talking through is building towards that. Whether it’s how we’re crashing offensive boards, how we’re pushing the pace, how we’re managing clock…Trying to turn teams over, limiting the other team’s offensive rebounds.”
- Grayson Allen on what Ott emphasizes
“Now that we know our team…We are installing our style of play. We want to play fast to try to gain an advantage. If you don’t have an advantage, we want to move bodies to gain an advantage. Once the shot goes up, there’s still an opportunity because the offense is not done yet. We’re gonna play that offensive possession out until they get the rebound…We’re gonna play fast, we’re gonna move, we’re gonna try and get offensive rebounds. Gain extra possessions.”
- Jordan Ott on style of play
“He’s a very thoughtful and intentional guy. Everything we’re doing in here has a specific purpose to the overall identity of the team we’re trying to build. He’s very clear with the purpose and intention behind all the little drills we do. The style and why we want to play this way. First hour of practice each day we’ve had so far, the breakdowns have been really good.”
- Grayson Allen on Ott’s coaching style
“A lot of defensive lineups. Wreak havoc. Cause a lot of turnovers. Make others have a lot of trouble scoring on us. Myself, Dillon [Brooks], Ryan [Dunn]…we could go down the line of guys who actually want to take pride in playing defense.”
- Royce O’Neale on defensive expectations
New Additions
“Your elite players – you build a system around those guys. With Jalen, just give him space. He’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands. Just give him the gaps to play in space, to keep the decisions simple. We can put some pressure on the rim with a roller. Then, at times, where his outlets are. When he needs help when he picks up the basketball. He can be great on the ball and off the ball as a cover. Hopefully we’ll be able to take advantage of his overall speed, which is elite.”
- Jordan Ott on Jalen Green
“He’s another guy who uses his voice defensively. On the ball he’s obviously great and off the ball he’s talking everyone out, making sure they’re in the right spots. He has that competitive fire that raises the level of everyone around him. Makes everyone else better. He’s a good teammate. He’s a good you want on your side. I learned that quickly in Memphis. He’s just that kind of guy. The personality you see how he is with the people he’s gone up against is completely different than how he is with his teammates so I’m glad we have him in our locker room.”
- Grayson Allen on Dillon Brooks
#Suns Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie, Ryan Dunn getting shots up at training camp:@Sports360AZ pic.twitter.com/F6YEvo9xZP
— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) September 27, 2025
“He’s explosive, he can get out in the open court, he can push the ball up quickly. Even in the half court, the quick bursts on drives – it opens up the small stuff he can do with me, Book, Dillon…if you just give him a little bit of angle, he can explode and get down hill and put pressure on the rim…It’s tough when you have a guy that can get down hill like that and you also have five-men that can catch lobs and finish at the rim really well.”
- Grayson Allen on Jalen Green
“Picking his brain. One of the great players in this league. It’s always good to have someone like that. See what they see. Ask a lot of questions. In basketball, you try to get better each and every day.”
- Royce O’Neale on Steve Nash’s return as a Senior Advisor
Sophomores Stepping Up
“Oso’s a really intelligent basketball player. His voice is always there. He has all the right winning habits. Using his voice, picking guys up when they’re down, talking on the floor, communicating what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong.”
- Grayson Allen on Oso Ighodaro
“Ryan’s stepping up in a way with his presence. Last year he’s obviously a really talented defender and a great athlete offensively. His voice and his presence on defense, not only being a really good individual defender but commanding the team defense. He’s done a really good job of that. Off-ball, being a leader of a defense, calling out commands, telling guys where to go, got a lot of great stuff as a defender too.”
- Grayson Allen on Ryan Dunn
The Bigs
“Mark [Williams], Nick [Richards], Oso [Ighodaro], Khaman [Maluach], CJ [Huntley] all protecting the rim at the highest level. That’s just gonna make us on the wings take more pride in feeding to the bigs. Our defense all-around will benefit.”
- Royce O’Neale on the Suns’ newfound size
“They’ve been battling. Mostly Nick, Khaman, and Oso right now but they’ve all been good…We’ve played a lot of live screen action. The level of rebounding, both offensively and defensively was great…It started with our five’s grabbing some tough rebounds.”
- Grayson Allen on the big men
The first chance for Ott and the Suns to put these principles to the test if Friday, October 3 when they face the Lakers in Palm Desert.
The post Turning the page: 2025-26 Suns Training Camp first appeared on Sports360AZ.
