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[Saba Sports News] Considering the relentless injury woes the Philadelphia 76ers faced, it’s still fair to say the Phoenix Suns were the NBA’s biggest letdown of the 2024-25 season.
With their high-profile roster and lofty expectations, their collapse wasn’t just disappointing—it was downright embarrassing. And with that comes the inevitable offseason shake-up.
The organization took a long, hard look at itself during the latter half of the season. What they likely found was a mix of confusion and concern. Of course, the first and most obvious question is, ‘How did a team led by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal fall so flat?’ But a secondary question quickly followed, ‘Why didn’t Bol Bol get more of a chance to prove himself?’
After being given a larger role in February, Bol Bol began to flash the potential that once prompted Shaquille O’Neal to compare him to Victor Wembanyama. In that stretch, the 25-year-old center averaged 12.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in just under 21 minutes per game, while shooting a strong 54.1% from the field and 37.9% from deep.
Then came March—and Bol’s role suddenly vanished. In the final two weeks of the season, he was virtually absent from the rotation, puzzling fans who believed the Suns should have taken a longer look at a promising young player entering free agency.
Now, it seems we may know why.
“His last day in the rotation was March 12,” reported NBA insider Chris Haynes on Friday. “The Suns were playing the [Houston] Rockets when Steven Adams and Mason Plumlee got into a scuffle on the floor. As players rushed in to break it up, Bol was seen in the background casually shooting layups. He didn’t move toward the altercation.”
“League sources told me Coach [Mike] Budenholzer was furious when he saw that Bol didn’t come to the defense of his teammates. After that, despite being part of the rotation for over a month, Bol was benched for the rest of the season.”
In NBA locker rooms, there’s an unspoken expectation: you stand up for your teammates. While players are discouraged from escalating incidents, coaches still expect solidarity. Ignoring the moment entirely—and opting to shoot layups while a scuffle unfolds—can send the wrong message to teammates and staff.
While it’s unclear whether Budenholzer’s decision to bench Bol was solely due to that moment, the timing certainly raises eyebrows. Adding to that, Bol was mired in a shooting slump around that time, dipping below 35% from the field in three of his previous five games, including the Houston matchup.
Regardless of the full reasoning, Bol Bol’s breakout was cut short—and just before free agency. That’s especially disappointing given that Kevin Durant publicly praised Bol’s work ethic less than two weeks before the incident.
The Suns could’ve used the final stretch of a failed season to evaluate Bol more thoroughly. Instead, they left a 7-foot-3 talent to fade away on the bench in a year that ultimately meant nothing in the standings.
One more baffling misstep in what became a long list of them for Phoenix. Add another L to the column.