PHOENIX — This Phoenix Suns team started from the bottom and now they're here; heading into the NBA Playoffs as the #1 seed after a record-setting 64-win season. It's hard to believe that three of Phoenix's core players - Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges - were part of a Suns team that lost 63 games just three seasons ago. Even though the three Suns stars are just 16 wins from becoming NBA Champions, they haven't forgotten how far they've come.
"We'll randomly come up and talk about it, how tough of a year that was. But I think it kind of built us as well for where we're at right now," Mikal Bridges told 12 News.
Bridges blossomed into one of the best defenders in the NBA, earning praise from head coach Monty Williams, his teammates and his NBA peers. His Villanova teammate, Josh Hart, even took to Twitter to campaign for Bridges to win Defensive Player of the Year. Bridges has played in every Suns game since the start of the 2018 season when the Suns finished with a 19-63 overall record.
"It started from up top," Bridges said of the incredible turnaround this team's made since the 2018-2019 season. "It starts with Champion (Suns General Manager James Jones) and Mont. Then Mont comes in and does what he's doing. Bringing guys in like CP (Chris Paul), 99 (Jae Crowder), JaVale, all the vets we bring in now... Putting it all together, putting all the pieces together is amazing."
Booker, who thrust himself into the MVP conversation this season, has weathered a couple of storms since Phoenix drafted him in 2015. The two-time All-Star has played for five head coaches in his young NBA career but only one, Monty Williams, managed to take the Suns to the playoffs.
"I don't think about it much anymore," Booker said of the 2018-2019 Suns season. "I had a few years before that also where I was at the bottom. A lot has shifted since then. We've watched it grow, we've watched it develop."
After giving up a 2-0 series lead to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals, the reigning Western Conference champions feel they have unfinished business to take care of this summer in the Valley. Booker, Ayton, and Bridges have grown immensely since that 19-win season, but they're staying humble and hungry in their second straight postseason appearance.
"Obviously don't forget those days and all those times make now even better, make now even more important," Booker said.
The Suns will face either the L.A. Clippers or New Orleans Pelicans in the First Round. Game 1 tips off at 6 p.m. on Sunday at Footprint Center.
Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on Twitter: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, e-mail Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
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