PHOENIX — The Valley is often regarded as a basketball hotbed, home to many of the sport’s greatest talents, but the city’s beloved Phoenix Suns have never hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy. The Suns, established in 1968, are the oldest NBA franchise seeking its first title. A strong emphasis on player development spearheaded the launch of the G League’s Valley Suns, an in-house pathway initiative connected with the NBA Suns that opened their season Friday night on the road against the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The Valley Suns closed the two-game series with a loss to the Warriors on Friday, 135-121, followed by a 133-104 win on Saturday. For the home opener Monday night, they'll take on the Stockton Kings. Valley Suns coach John Little and general manager Brendan Sabean were tabbed to run the operation, serving in their respective roles for the first time at the G League level.
Little, a former disciple of Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer when the two were with the Milwaukee Bucks organization, emphasized the importance of continuity between the NBA Suns and G League Suns. “We want to be pretty much right in line with (The NBA Suns),” Little said. “We want to play fast, we want to play together, we want to be unselfish and compete at a high level.
Those are very important to the Suns’ core values. “Hands down you got to come in, and that’s what we are going to do.” The Valley Suns have the luxury of utilizing the Verizon 5G Performance Center, the state-.