It's August, so let's bring up beef with some silly power rankings.

-Gerald Bourguet

Ranking all 29 NBA teams as Suns rivals

The Phoenix Suns' schedule for the 2024-25 NBA season was released on Thursday, and while combing through the 80 revealed games, it was hard to ignore two prevailing thoughts:

Holy shit, there are a lot of good teams in the league now.
Holy shit, the Suns and their fans have beef with the vast majority of them.

So, since it's August and we have lots of time for pointless power rankings like these, why not rank all 29 NBA teams based on their rivalry with the Suns?

Before we get started (and I cannot emphasize this enough): These are NOT all-time rivalry rankings. We'll obviously pay attention to the history Phoenix has with each one of these teams, particularly when it comes to their playoff meetings over the years, but these will also be heavily weighted by recency bias.

In other words, these are current power rankings that could look very different a year from now. They're based on anything from recent matchups, to petty off-court beef, to fanbase hatred, to how good these opponents currently are, to everything else in between. Let's dive in!

29. Detroit Pistons

Potential sources of beef: Hater residue that has now evaporated

The Monty Williams angle is gone -- not that there ever should've been one in the first place. As much as that Isaiah Stewart-Drew Eubanks tunnel punch blew up, Eubanks doesn't play for Phoenix anymore (and some Suns fans might be more inclined to side with Stewart anyway). A Chimezie Metu Revenge Game might have made us feel something, but Metu's playing for FC Barcelona now. There's nothing here.

28. Charlotte Hornets

Potential sources of beef: Give the Suns Nick Richards already! Also, Grant Williams

There's not a lot here, which makes sense for a team that's been irrelevant in the Eastern Conference playoff picture since 2016. The Suns have also won seven straight games against Charlotte, with their last loss coming in February of 2021.

27. Orlando Magic

Potential sources of beef: Young team on the rise

The Magic were already a playoff team last year, and at a certain point, they're going to be good enough to start pissing people off. It's inevitable. Whether that leap happens in 2024-25 is anyone's guess, but for now, they're just a fun, young group without any substantial ties to Phoenix or legitimate reasons to hate them.

26. Toronto Raptors

Potential sources of beef: The Raptor

We haven't forgotten.

More seriously though, the Suns have split their regular-season series with the Raptors in each of the last three seasons, despite Toronto only winning 25, 41 and 48 games over that stretch. Taking care of business against a rebuilding Raptors squad in 2024-25 sounds like a better plan.

25. Atlanta Hawks

Potential sources of beef: The deep cut of Bogdan Bogdanovic's existence (and Olympic trash talk), a highly unlikely David Roddy Revenge Game, Trae Young's general fall in public approval

Only the true sickos remember how Bogdanovic should've been a member of the Phoenix Suns. Even so, it was easy for anyone to forget while Double Bogdan was lighting Team USA up for 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep and doing the patented Carmelo Anthony celebration during the Olympic semifinal against Serbia.

The Americans ultimately prevailed, but not without Devin Booker instructing Bogdanovic to "respect the legends."

Melo squashed the idea that there was any beef there, but that's kind of it here. The Suns don't have a game on the day of the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, which means the annual trade deadline ass-kicking Atlanta seems to serve up every season isn't on the menu this year!

24. Brooklyn Nets

Potential sources of beef: Lingering resentment between the fanbases over the Kevin Durant trade, KD Stans' insatiable desire to dump on the Twins

Cam Johnson is the only "twin" who's still in Brooklyn, but most (rational) Suns fans understand they can still appreciate him as an enduring fan favorite while also appreciating everything that KD brings to the table. It's okay to miss the Twins and still acknowledge the trade was the right call! But Mikal Bridges is gone now, the Nets will probably be even worse than last year, and at this point, the only bad feelings that remain are between the two fanbases.

23. Miami Heat

Potential sources of beef: General fatigue with "HEAT CULTURE," social media beef

Those premature comparisons to Devin Booker have quieted for Tyler Herro. The Heat aren't much of a threat. Erik Spoelstra and a bunch of underrated role players can still put on a shooting clinic on any given night, but in terms of an actual Suns-Heat rivalry? There's not much there, aside from the longstanding fact that their entire team name and logo were basically cheap knockoffs of the Suns in the first place.

Oh, and some very recent Twitter beef between the team accounts:

22. Utah Jazz

Potential sources of beef: Long live the Arizona Coyotes, Drew Eubanks

It's no secret how most Suns fans felt about Drew Eubanks and his incredibly disappointing season in the Valley, so don't be surprised to hear a smattering of boos -- even for a role player -- in his return to Phoenix on Jan. 11.

Beyond that, the Jazz are a non-threat. But the state of Utah wound up stealing Arizona's hockey team, and we do not forget. So yes, there will be plenty of jokes and insults to go around whenever the Suns and Jazz match up.

21. Washington Wizards

Potential sources of beef: The Suns are on a mission to steal every backcourt player the Wizards have had over the last half-decade

Bradley Beal, Tyus Jones and Monte Morris all played for the Wizards at some point over the last two years. They now all play for the Phoenix Suns! So aside from Washington fans keeping tabs on those first-round pick swaps in 2026, 2028 and 2030, it's kind of funny how many Suns guards could have potential "Revenge Games" on the horizon.

20. Indiana Pacers

Potential sources of beef: Tyrese Haliburton regret

The Pacers are undeniably fun. T.J. McConnell is a former U of A guy that the Suns have had their eye on for years, and Tyrese Haliburton is a guy the Suns should have had their eye on in the 2020 NBA Draft. Alas, Phoenix has to watch the guy who would've been the perfect Chris Paul successor thrive from afar, and that's really the only source of tension here.

19. Memphis Grizzlies

Potential sources of beef: The return of Grizzlies swagger

Truthfully, there hasn't been bad blood here since the days of Dillon Brooks. Ja Morant had a game-winner against Phoenix back in 2021, but that was a while ago. He and the Grizz have to prove that they can A) stay healthy, B) keep their heads on straight and C) challenge the top teams in the West again.

If they can do that, Memphis has had formidable swagger during Morant's time there (in the regular season, at least). Everyone knows Marcus Smart is a dog defensively, and there will probably always be resentment toward Jaren Jackson Jr. thanks to those 2018 NBA Draft debates over him, Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic.

For the time being, though, the Grizzlies will have to show they're relevant enough to be considered anyone's "rival."

18. Cleveland Cavaliers

Potential sources of beef: The never-ending Devin Booker vs. Donovan Mitchell discourse

Will this stupid conversation ever die? Or are we doomed to wander the earth for decades, debating whether Devin Booker or Donovan Mitchell is better? (Spoiler: It's Book.)

17. Portland Trail Blazers

Potential sources of beef: Deandre Ayton victory-lappers, jealousy over Toumani Camara

With the Deandre Ayton trade, we finally reached a point where saying that the Suns made a grave mistake with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft was no longer controversial. And after Ayton's up-and-down first season in Portland, followed by the Blazers drafting yet another center with a top-10 pick, it's the clear consensus.

But the trade is done, the past is written, and as much as passing on Luka Doncic will go down as an all-time draft blunder, rooting for DA to fail at this point feels like sour grapes. Victory laps can be fun, and there's no question these Suns-Blazers matchups will have some extra oomph as long as DA is there, but that draft remorse only carries this "rivalry" so far when one side is rebuilding.

16. Chicago Bulls

Potential sources of beef: The 1993 NBA Finals

The Zach LaVine comparisons to Devin Booker have died a horrible death over the last few years, the Bulls are a non-factor in the playoff picture out East, and they even have a few former Suns in Torrey Craig and Jevon Carter, both of whom are extremely likable. There's little bad blood for this newer generation of Suns fans.

But for those who are old enough to remember John Paxson's shot and those epic Finals duels between Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan, the Bulls could be a bottom-feeder for the next 50 years and never be forgiven for what happened back in '93.

15. Philadelphia 76ers

Potential sources of beef: Paul George, and a potential Eric Gordon Revenge Game, I guess

Gordon declined his player option and joined the Sixers in the hopes of having a more concrete role, so maybe he'll be another source of competitive fire in this matchup. But Devin Booker routinely torches this Philly team anyway, and the arrival of Paul George breathes new life into their beef.

14. Sacramento Kings

Potential sources of beef: These two teams always seem to have bonkers matchups

House Sun-King was once united, but those days are gone. There's not much animosity here, even with two former Suns centers (JaVale McGee and Alex Len) in Sacramento, so this one mostly boils down to how many crazy, competitive games these teams seem to play every year. Last season alone, there was the unforgettable 17-point comeback in January and an epic late-game surge in the Suns' second-to-last game of the year.

13. Houston Rockets

Potential sources of beef: Dillon Brooks, but mostly, we didn't forget the '90s

Love him or hate him, Dillon Brooks leans into his villain role. Here in Phoenix, that role induces more eye rolls than anything else.

Houston is a younger team on the rise, but they rank just outside the top 10 because of the trauma of 1994 and 1995. Both years, the Rockets beat the Suns in 7 excruciating games in the conference semis, and both years, they went on to win it all. No one in Phoenix should forget the "Kiss of Death," even if the current rivalry lies dormant.

12. Boston Celtics

Potential sources of beef: Months of idiotic "Why is Steve Kerr playing Devin Booker over Jayson Tatum" dialogue, recent envy over the 2024 NBA Finals, lifelong envy over the 1976 NBA Finals

There's the obvious jealousy over the Celtics being a 64-win team that breezed its way to the title -- much like we thought Phoenix would do in 2022 when they won 64 games. There's also the less obvious resentment from Boston beating the Suns in the Finals back in 1976.

But mostly, people in the Valley (and around the country) are sick of listening to Celtics fans whine about Jayson Tatum's playing time for Team USA. That's especially true for Suns fans, who have had to endure years of Devin Booker slander and now had to do the same while Book was a key cog in the starting lineup of a gold medal team. Olympic basketball is very different from NBA basketball, but that won't stop Suns fans from feeling some type of way about all this when the two sides finally match up again.

Plus, if the Suns do come out of the West, there's a very good chance Boston will be the one waiting for them in the Finals.

11. New York Knicks

Potential sources of beef: Book loves Madison Square Garden, untrue Devin Booker "trade rumors," Jalen Brunson loves torching the Suns, and now, the possibility of revenge games from Mikal Bridges, Cam Payne and even Keita Bates-Diop

Suns fans are probably sick of watching Jalen Brunson torch them in their own building, like in the playoffs with the Dallas Mavericks, or just last season when he ruined Shawn Marion's Ring of Honor induction with a 50-ball. Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden are probably tired of Devin Booker masterpieces and game-winners on their home court.

Throw in the arrival of Mikal Bridges, not to mention his Big Apple reunion with another Suns fave in Cam Payne, and you've got a budding rivalry between two of the top teams in each conference. Don't sleep on these games getting a little feisty next season.

10. LA Clippers

Potential sources of beef: Recent playoff history

James Harden has had some great games in Phoenix, and watching KD and Kawhi Leonard go head-to-head has always been enjoyable, but most of the bad blood in this "rivalry" is on the Clippers' end. The Suns have knocked them out of the playoffs in two of their last three postseason appearances, and on LA's side, there will always be the lingering "what if?" since their stars were injured in both matchups.

That's basically the story of Kawhi and PG's entire tenure in LA, and now that both Paul George and Pat Beverley are gone, this rivalry has obviously lost some steam. But the resentment is still there on LA's end, and there are quite a few players from those playoff teams who will bring those grudges with them into each matchup.

9. Oklahoma City Thunder

Potential sources of beef: OKC's status as Western Conference favorites

We're projecting a bit here, but OKC was a matchup nightmare for the Suns last season, and they're widely seen as the likely favorite to secure the 1-seed in the West next season. They shored up some of their remaining holes by adding Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, their young players are only going to get better, and now that they have some playoff experience under their belt, they'll be a problem for any opponent.

That includes the Suns, who are in the same group as the Thunder for the Emirates NBA Cup. The Kevin Durant-OKC storylines haven't lost momentum, and as a young team on the rise, the Thunder are going to rub quite a few fanbases the wrong way if they ascend without having to "pay their dues." It's on more experienced teams like Phoenix to make sure they do.

8. Golden State Warriors

Potential sources of beef: Draymond Green literally punched a Suns player last year

We could go with the generic "these two teams play each other four times a year as Pacific Division rivals," or the simple fact that the Warriors ruled the NBA with an iron fist for half a decade. But even though all of that is true, it's mostly the fact that Draymond Green punched Jusuf Nurkic in the face last year, and then they traded online barbs for weeks.

Green and KD have their own contentious history of smack talk too, and now that Booker, Durant and Steph Curry all played on Team USA together, that experience will add some friendly fuel to the fire. Golden State's dynasty is over, but those bad memories don't fade overnight.

7. New Orleans Pelicans

Potential sources of beef: Jose Alvarado, the 2022 playoff matchup, Jose Alvarado, Willie Green vs. Devin Booker, Jose Alvarado, overreactions to Zion Williamson's late-game 360 dunk, Jose Alvarado, Devin Booker torching NOLA for three straight 50-point games, and Jose Alvarado

That was a physical, contentious, heated six-game playoff series in 2022, and ever since then, these teams simply have not liked each other. Maybe it was the Pelicans' lingering anger over it. Maybe it was Zion Williamson's 360 dunk in the dying minutes of a big New Orleans win in 2022. Maybe it was Devin Booker dropping three straight 50-balls on the Pelicans' head. Or maybe it's just the presence of Jose Alvarado.

Or maybe it's all of those things! The Pelicans felt like a team on the rise when they pushed the (shorthanded) Suns to six games, and they've failed to live up to that billing since. But they've made some changes with the arrival of Dejounte Murray, and there's no question everyone on that Pelicans roster who was around two years ago wants to bring it whenever Phoenix is on the other side.

6. Milwaukee Bucks

Potential sources of beef: The 2021 NBA Finals, a fateful coin toss and Mike Budenholzer

This rivalry didn't hold as much weight last season, but we're not going to forget how the Bucks ended Phoenix's Cinderella Finals run and ripped away their best chance at a title, right when the stars seemed to be aligning. Giannis Antetokounmpo is supremely likable, but that doesn't change the fact that he almost singlehandedly prevented the Suns from winning their first championship, and he did so in devastating fashion after Phoenix went up 2-0 in the series.

Throw in the fateful coin toss back in 1969 that cost Phoenix a shot at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, plus Mike Budenholzer being the Suns' new head coach, and there's still plenty of juice to this matchup.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Potential sources of beef: The 2024 playoff sweep

The Timberwolves made sure the Suns' first season with their shiny Big 3 ended in a first-round playoff sweep. Anthony Edwards supplanted Devin Booker as the NBA's premier 2-guard in quite a few people's minds, and he did so while giving the entire Suns arena the DX crotch chop.

There's little history here beyond that, but recency bias -- and the sheer embarrassment of a first-round sweep -- weighs heavily on these power rankings. A year or two for now, Minnesota could drop down this list pretty quickly, but as a rising Western Conference foe that isn't going anywhere, they've pushed their way into the top five.

4. San Antonio Spurs

Potential sources of beef: Where do we even begin?

I don't have enough space to describe the Suns-Spurs rivalry, but if you're unfamiliar, just research the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Or the 2005 NBA Playoffs. Or the 2008 NBA Playoffs. Or simply Google "Tim Duncan highlights vs. Suns," "Tony Parker highlights vs. Suns," "Manu Ginobili highlights vs. Suns," "Robert Horry hip check"....the goes on and on.

It's been quite a while since both of these teams were good at the same time, but sometimes that doesn't matter. Case in point: The Spurs only won 22 games last year, but three of them came against the Suns. Victor Wembanyama feels like the spiritual successor to Tim Duncan, and by that, we mean he will be terrorizing Phoenix and the rest of the league for years to come.

Adding a Point God and former Sun like Chris Paul into the mix only expedites that process. The Spurs probably won't be a playoff team next year, but they'll be even peskier than before, and that pick-and-roll between CP3 and Wemby will be problematic. It won't be long before that Suns-Spurs rivalry storms its way even further up these rankings.

3. Denver Nuggets

Potential sources of beef: "Suns in 4," the 2023 NBA Playoffs, jealousy over Denver's title run, Nikola Jokic's uncalled-for swipe at Cam Payne, "if we had Jamal Murray," Mat Ishbia taking a charge on Jokic, and both teams' upward trajectory over the last five years

The Suns swept the shorthanded Nuggets in 2021 on their way to the Finals. When they met again in 2023, Denver beat a shorthanded Phoenix side in six games on their way to a championship. All the while, the presence of Jamal Murray was an obnoxious talking point, but that Game 6 beatdown in 2023 was hard to forget, regardless of who was or wasn't available.

Since then, Suns fans have had to endure relentless trash talk from Denver fans, who clearly weren't going to forget what happened two years prior. The fact that both teams became title contenders in the West around the same time added fuel to the fire, but now that the Nuggets have lost Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in back-to-back seasons, the door to the Finals is open again.

May the best team in the West battle their way through it.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

Potential sources of beef: Years and years of Suns resentment and playoff battles

Let's be real: The multiple playoff clashes between these two teams has contributed to this rivalry, but from Phoenix's end, a lot of it stems from wanting what they have. The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships; the Suns would love to get their hands on their first.

Unfortunately, it's the ultimate trump card for LA fans, but don't let anyone tell you they were fine with getting unceremoniously bounced from the 2021 NBA Playoffs in the first round by a Suns team with limited playoff experience. Don't believe them when they say Devin Booker's 47-piece in Game 6 left them unaffected, or that Phoenix's reign over LA for the next year-and-a-half was okay in their book.

The Lakers are nowhere near title contenders anymore, but as long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis stay relatively healthy, they'll remain a playoff threat. Between that, and decades of playoff history, this rivalry can't drop any lower on the list. In fact, if the Lakers were more of a threat, they'd probably claim that No. 1 spot. Alas....

1. Dallas Mavericks

Potential sources of beef: Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Doncic and the 2022 Western Conference semifinals

Let's ignore the past history of Suns-Mavs and the 2006 Western Conference Finals for a minute.

Now let's pretend there was an incredible basketball player who was passed up for the top pick in the NBA Draft. Let's imagine he flourished on another team, and years later, faced the very team that passed on him in the playoffs. And let's pretend that player not only beat that team (and the player they chose instead), but also ended the greatest season in their franchise's history in biblical fashion, thrashing them on their own court in a Game 7 while matching the entire team's point total at halftime.

That's what Luka Doncic did to the Phoenix Suns, and it's (unfortunately) the stuff of legends. It sounds more like a Hollywood script than a real thing that happened in the NBA. And Suns fans, rightfully, have not forgotten.

There's a certain level of toxicity, anxiety and passion to watching these two teams play, especially between two fanbases that genuinely don't like each other. The Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving relationship just enhances it, and even if Devin Booker and Luka both speak fondly of each other, there's real heat to their on-court matchups. Even if they are truly friends now, nobody will ever forgive or forget that Game 7, and sometimes, facing your friends brings out more competitive fire than anything else.

The Spurs and Lakers have historically been the Suns' biggest rivals, but in the here and now, Dallas and Phoenix are the biggest adversaries that seem to bring out the best -- and the worst -- in each other.