Record run by west rival, a warning shot against the Suns’ chances of success

After the trials and tribulations of last season, even the most optimistic of Phoenix Suns fans could not have predicted the 6-1 start the organization has jumped out to. There have been many factors at play for this to happen – and some things actively working against them – which is a good sign for this group.

It’s not just a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer, or Kevin Durant’s continued stellar showings, or even a rookie in Ryan Dunn who was the perfect addition to this roster. It’s not even that Devin Booker is rounding off midseason form and looking as effective as ever. It’s all of these things combined, and then some.

The Thunder are currently the only team looking down on the Suns in the Western Conference, with a perfect 7-0 record. Even more damaging to the hopes of The Valley, the Thunder also had a chastening postseason experience of their own last season when they were bumped by the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals.

In another key difference to the Suns, they had the financial flexibility to go out and make changes to their roster to improve, signing Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein this summer to compliment an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. So they now have some hurtful playoff experience to draw on, plus the necessary reinforcements to improve in 2025.

All of this has combined to give the Thunder a fearsome record that should have the Suns concerned. No team has ever won their first seven games – without a single loss – by more than 10 points. That is, until the Thunder did just that with their 102-86 win over an out-of-shape Orlando Magic outfit almost as terrifying as they did a week ago.

The level of opposition the Thunder has faced throughout this record-breaking streak is quite impressive – even if it’s on par with the Suns – whose only loss has come at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Thunder have beaten the Denver Nuggets, and while they don’t look like they used to, it’s not nothing.

They’ve also taken on an LA Clippers team that the Suns have already enjoyed two wins over, though the win over the San Antonio Spurs may have been the most impressive of all so far. They may be a rebuilding list, but it was the way they managed to reduce phenom Victor Wembanyama to six points in 28 minutes that would have caught the eye.

The Suns dropped a few games to the Spurs around this time last year — it really set the tone for the entire season — and it was revealed early on that they struggled to contain bigger players who had the potential to dominate inside. Not that center Jusuf Nurkic has doubled that area of ​​the court so far this season.

By keeping Wembanyama quiet, the Thunder have shown they have the players in Caruso, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams (Hartenstein has not played yet due to injury) to keep any kind of opponent quiet. The sample size is small, but not surprisingly, their defensive rating of 93.8 is not only the best mark in the league, it would go down just as easily as the best ever.

Which makes the meeting between the Suns and Thunder later this month such an important matchup. It has the added spice of being an Emirates NBA Cup game – and if the Suns can pull off a win against the hottest team in the West so far this season – they really will be.