Mat Ishbia Had Hilarious Reason for Ignoring 'Experts' Who Doubt Suns in 2025-'26

Mat Ishbia has had a wild run as owner of the Phoenix Suns. He officially bought the team early in 2023 and immediately traded for Kevin Durant. Ishbia then ended up making the most noise of anyone on the Suns in the postseason as he got into a courtside incident with Nikola Jokic during a loss in the conference semifinals.

Once that season ended the Suns traded for Bradley Beal, only to be swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Timberwolves. Last season was the biggest disaster yet as Durant and Beal missed a combined 48 games and the team missed the playoffs.

The splashy moves combined with Ishbia's insistence the team is trying to win championships (with an S) means that expectations were not met. And there were plenty of media members who thought the Suns would be good before those big moves ended up not working out.

And that's why Ishbia, who Stephen A. Smith recently said might be becoming the worst owner in the NBA, isn't listening to the experts this year now that everyone thinks the post-Durant Suns won't be very good.

I'm not worried about what the so-called experts think. They had us as a title contender the past two years and were wrong then. We're focused on making our fans proud by playing great as a team and building a brand of basketball that's tough and gritty. https://t.co/o9ysQlxW6r
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) August 27, 2025

Ishbia also had the Suns as title contenders the last two years, so it will be interesting to see if he or the experts are the ones who are perpetually wrong.