The Phoenix Suns were the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference during the 2021-22 season, and many expected them to win the title. They were a well-rounded team, spearheaded by top-tier shooting guard Devin Booker, and had some elite defensive players around him, such as Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton.
However, the Phoenix Suns were massively disappointing, getting eliminated in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks. They even got booed by their own fans for their performance in Game 7. Recently, Phoenix Suns legend Charles Barkley claimed that the team must have had “some friction going on” in the locker room for that to happen, saying that it was “the only” explanation he could “think of”. An article on Arizona Sports relayed the news.
“I was shell-shocked. I’m not normally shell-shocked in a game,” Barkley said of the Game 7 loss to Dallas where the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic equaled Phoenix’s 27 first-half points.
“Game 7 was probably the most crazy thing I’ve probably ever seen from an NBA team at home in a Game 7. Like, I know teams have lost Game 7 at home. That game was over at the half. We were sitting in the (TNT) studio and Shaq (O’Neal) and Kenny (Smith) and Ernie (Johnson) looked at me and I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m in total shock right now.’”
As for an explanation about what happened to Phoenix, Barkley’s guess is as good as yours. He thinks the Suns would have beaten eventual champion Golden State.
“They must’ve had some friction going on and it just balled to a head,” Barkley said. “That’s the only thing I could think of, to be honest with you.”
There is no doubt that losing in the second round, despite having a stacked team, was not the outcome that the Phoenix Suns were looking for. They were up 2-0 in the 2021 NBA Finals, and they were likely hoping to get back to the highest stage and finish the job.
The Phoenix Suns will have another chance to win the title next year. They are mostly the same squad, and they have shown that they can be elite in the regular season. Hopefully, we see them find success and win their first championship during the Devin Booker era.
