Look at the Phoenix Suns roster and you’ll see enough talent to win three championships on paper. But paper doesn't play 48 minutes at the Footprint Center. If you’ve been following the desert basketball scene lately, you know that the starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns isn't just a list of five names; it’s a constant experiment in chemistry, health, and whether or not having three of the best scorers in NBA history is actually enough to win a ring in the modern era.
Mat Ishbia didn't buy this team to be "pretty good." He bought it to be a juggernaut.
When you look at Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal, you're looking at a staggering amount of offensive gravity. It's ridiculous. Honestly, most teams would give their entire draft future for just one of those guys. The Suns have all three. But as we saw throughout the 2023-24 season and moving into the current 2024-25 campaign under Mike Budenholzer, the "Big Three" can only do so much if the guys surrounding them don't fit the puzzle.
The Big Three: Non-Negotiable Starters
You aren't benching Kevin Durant. Period. At 36, KD is still arguably the most efficient high-volume scorer the league has ever seen. He’s going to play 35+ minutes, he’s going to guard the opposing team's best wing when it matters, and he’s going to hit mid-range jumpers that make coaches want to cry.
Then there’s Devin Booker. He is the soul of the franchise. While there was a lot of talk about "Point Book" under Frank Vogel, it’s clear that Booker is most dangerous when he can balance playmaking with his natural scoring instinct. He’s the starting shooting guard, but in reality, he’s the primary engine.
Bradley Beal is the wildcard. His first year in Phoenix was a bit of a rollercoaster—mostly because of that nagging hamstring and the broken nose. When Beal is healthy and playing third fiddle, he’s the most overqualified third option in the league. He rounds out the backcourt, but it creates a massive defensive question mark. How do you hide three guys who aren't exactly "lockdown" defenders?
The Point Guard Problem (And the Tyus Jones Solution)
For months, everyone—and I mean everyone—screamed that the Suns needed a "real" point guard. The experiment of playing without a traditional floor general led to a staggering number of fourth-quarter turnovers. It was ugly. You’d see KD and Book playing hot potato with the ball while the shot clock wound down to three seconds.
Enter Tyus Jones.
Landing Tyus Jones on a veteran minimum deal was essentially a heist. Jones is the king of the assist-to-turnover ratio. By slotting him into the starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns, Coach Budenholzer fundamentally changed how this team breathes.
- Jones handles the "boring" stuff: getting the ball up the floor and initiating sets.
- He frees up Booker to hunt for his shot rather than worrying about the entry pass.
- He provides a steady hand when the game gets chaotic in the final five minutes.
Starting Tyus Jones means moving Bradley Beal or Grayson Allen to a different role. Most nights, Jones starts alongside Booker, Beal, Durant, and Jusuf Nurkić. It’s a small lineup. It’s a fast lineup. Is it a defensive lineup? Not really. But in the West, sometimes you just have to outrun the fire.
The Anchor: Jusuf Nurkić
Nurk is a polarizing figure in Phoenix. Some fans love his passing and his "Bosnian Beast" physicality. Others get frustrated when he misses bunnies at the rim or gets cooked in a pick-and-roll by a twitchy guard like Ja Morant or Steph Curry.
But here’s the reality: the Suns don't have anyone else who can rebound at his level. Nurkić is essential to the starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns because he’s the only one who can reliably screen for the shooters and vacuum up boards. He’s a high-post hub. If you watch closely, a lot of the Suns' best looks come from Nurkić hitting a cutting Beal or a curling Durant.
His health is the hinge. If Nurkić goes down, the Suns are forced to play Mason Plumlee or go "super small" with KD at center. While "KD at the five" sounds fun on NBA 2K, it wears down his body in the real world.
What About Grayson Allen?
Grayson Allen was the unsung hero of last season. He led the league in three-point percentage for a massive chunk of the year. In any other world, a guy shooting over 40% from deep is a lock for the starting five.
But with Tyus Jones in town, Allen has largely moved to a "Sixth Man" role. It’s a sacrifice. Honestly, it might be the thing that saves the Suns' bench. Having a starter-level talent come off the pine prevents those dreaded scoring droughts when Durant goes to the bench to catch his breath.
The Defensive Gap
Let’s be real for a second. This starting five has a ceiling, and that ceiling is dictated by defense.
Mike Budenholzer is a "system" coach. He wants his teams to protect the paint and concede the mid-range. That’s a tough sell when your starting guards are Tyus Jones and Bradley Beal. They try hard, but they are small.
To compensate, the Suns have to rely on Kevin Durant being an elite help-side rim protector. It’s a lot to ask of a guy in his 17th season. We’ve seen flashes of Ryan Dunn—the rookie who looks like a defensive savant—sneaking into different rotations. While Dunn isn't a permanent fixture in the starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns yet, don't be surprised if he starts getting "matchup starts" against teams with elite scoring wings like LeBron James or Luka Dončić.
Why This Lineup is Different Under Budenholzer
Frank Vogel was a defensive specialist who was forced to coach an offensive roster. It never quite clicked. Budenholzer is different. He emphasizes "letting it fly."
Under Bud, the Suns are shooting more threes. They are playing faster. They are trying to simplify the game. The starting lineup is designed to create maximum spacing. When you have Jones, Booker, Beal, and Durant on the floor at once, you literally cannot double-team anyone. If you double KD, Booker is open. If you double Book, Beal is attacking a closeout. It’s a math problem that most NBA defenses can’t solve.
The Reality of the "Closer" Lineup
The five guys who start the game aren't always the five who finish it. This is a crucial distinction. Depending on the night, you might see:
- The Offense-First Look: Jones, Booker, Beal, Durant, Nurkić.
- The Defensive Switch Look: Booker, Beal, Josh Okogie (or Ryan Dunn), Durant, Plumlee.
- The "Floor Spacers" Look: Jones, Booker, Allen, Durant, Nurkić.
The versatility is there, but the lack of a true, bruising power forward remains the Achilles' heel. Bol Bol is a fan favorite, and his length is "unicorn-ish," but he’s not a starter on a championship team. He’s a spark plug.
The Logistics of the Long Season
NBA seasons are wars of attrition. We have to acknowledge that the starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns is rarely the same for more than ten games in a row. Between Beal’s back/hamstring, Nurkić’s ankles, and the general "load management" for Durant, the Suns' depth is constantly tested.
Monte Morris was brought in to provide point guard depth, and Royce O'Neale is the ultimate "glue guy" who can start at either forward spot if KD or a wing needs a night off. O'Neale is arguably the most important non-star on the roster because he doesn't need the ball to be effective. He just defends, hits corner threes, and makes the right extra pass.
Actionable Insights for Suns Fans and Analysts
If you're trying to gauge how the Suns are performing based on their starters, stop looking at the total points. That’s a trap. Instead, watch these three specific things:
- Turnover Percentage: If the Jones/Booker backcourt is keeping the turnovers under 12 per game, the Suns are almost impossible to beat. When that number creeps to 15 or 16, they are beatable by anyone.
- Defensive Rebounding Rate: Nurkić and Durant have to close out possessions. If they give up second-chance points, the offensive brilliance of the Big Three is negated.
- Corner Three Frequency: Budenholzer's system lives and dies by the corner three. If the starters are generating those looks for Beal and Allen, the geometry of the court opens up for KD’s mid-range game.
The Phoenix Suns are in a "win now" window that is closing faster than people want to admit. The 2024-2025 season is the litmus test. They’ve moved away from the "no point guard" experiment and leaned into a more traditional, albeit small, lineup.
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Keeping an eye on the injury report is a part-time job for Suns fans, but when these five—Jones, Booker, Beal, Durant, and Nurkić—are on the floor together, they represent one of the highest offensive ceilings in the history of the sport. Whether that can stop a Nikola Jokić post-up or an Anthony Edwards drive in a Game 7 remains the $150 million question.
Check the local Phoenix sports updates or the official NBA box scores roughly an hour before tip-off. That is the only time the "official" starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns is set in stone, as late scratches have become a regular part of the modern NBA experience. Monitoring the "probable" versus "questionable" tags for Bradley Beal is usually the best indicator of how the rotation will shift on any given Tuesday night in January.