Expectations were not high for the Suns coming into this season, but Phoenix heads into the All-Star break with a winning record and they're competing for an actual playoff spot instead of fighting to make the play-in.
On Tuesday they beat the Mavericks to win their 32nd game after they came into the season with an over/under of 31.5. Suns owner Mat Ishbia took the opportunity to tweet at Bill Simmons and try to rub it in his face. Ishbia previously targeted Simmons after someone else at The Ringer wrote that the Suns would have the worst defense in the NBA this season.
Ishbia obviously isn't ready to just let that go as he said, "You guys usually have great content and good stuff … thanks for all you do. But also keep your eye on the Suns, like I told you … we have a different culture and team in PHX these days. We still have a long way to go but we are working hard to get there. Go Suns!"
A half-hour later Simmons had the perfect reply.
Congratulations on a very good season so far. I’ve enjoyed watching you guys and think you picked a terrific coach. Fun league pass team,
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 11, 2026
For the record — I picked the Suns to win 50+ games last season and never heard a peep from you when you went 36-46. So I was wrong twice.
First Simmons complimented Ishbia for putting together a fun team and hiring a terrific coach before reminding Ishbia how badly last season went.
"For the record—I picked the Suns to win 50+ games last season and never heard a peep from you when you went 36-46. So I was wrong twice."
In an interesting twist, Simmons actually referenced something else Ishbia said earlier this season when presented with more doubt about the Suns upcoming season:
"I'm not worried about what the so-called experts think," Ishbia tweeted. "They had us as a title contender the past two years and were wrong then."
For once, you don't have to hand it to the haters.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bill Simmons Had Perfect Response to Mat Ishbia Pointing Out Suns Hit the Over.
