Taking a Look Ahead to Phoenix Suns' Opening Regular Season Stretch

Just over 40 days remain until the 2026-27 regular season comes into fold for the Phoenix Suns.

Now is the time to truly start to looking forward to the 82-game regular season - including the first stretch of the year at hand. 

Follow the October portion of Phoenix's regular season below.

Oct. 21: @Portland Trail Blazers

The Suns and Trail Blazers are meeting for the first time since the latter taking down Phoenix in April's play-in game. 

This marks the Portland debut for point guard Ja Morant, while the Suns are seeing the debut of forward Miles Bridges come into the fold.

This game will ultimately be a war of attrition, as both squads appear to be very deep from top-to-bottom. Expect this to be a gritty battle that comes down to numbers such as free throw attempts.

Oct. 24: Golden State Warriors

The division rivals are re-igniting their rivalry in Phoenix's home debut this season. The storylines will run abound, including Devin Booker taking on Stephen Curry yet again, as well as Suns forward Dillon Brooks lighting tensions on fire over the course of the offseason.

The back-and-forth nature of this series in recent years only raises intrigue. Expect the two teams to play a spirited game on this Saturday night.

Oct. 26: @Oklahoma City Thunder

Phoenix continues the early-season trend of opening the season against 2026 postseason opponents. 

This will be the first time the two franchises are facing off since the Thunder eliminated the Suns in four games in April's playoffs. 

The Suns did manage to take the Thunder down once in the 2025-26 regular season, but Oklahoma City is an extremely challenging environment to play in. The Thunder are also expected to head into the new season with a healthier roster, which only raises the stakes for the Suns. 

This game will be an uphill climb to come out victorious in.

Oct. 30: Denver Nuggets

This is the first NBA Cup group game for the Suns. It also happens to be against a team that Phoenix struggled greatly against last season. 

Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Cam Johnson form a core that will give the Suns challenges on paper, while the latter has a bench in tow that will give Denver fits in turn.

Expect this game to come down to late-game shot making, with the Suns and Nuggets both rostering clutch players that have a chance to create fireworks in this matchup.