The Phoenix Suns led by Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are NBA Title contenders despite what projections and “experts” are saying. Thanks to new head coach Mike Budenholzer the narrative around the team has shifted and the chance to win with the Big 3, Tyus Jones, Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen are HUGE.

But what changed from last year to give them a chance.

Phoenix Suns Bench Depth

Compare the bench depth at the start of last season to this season. Monte Morris, Mason Plumlee, Ryan Dunn, Royce O’Neal, Grayson Allen and Oso Ighodaro compared to last year’s group of Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks, Jordan Goodwin, Eric Gordon, Saben Lee, Nasir Little, Chimezie Metu, and Yuta Wannabe. There’s no doubt this year is better purely for the fact that all but Eubanks and Gordon aren’t in the NBA.

Phoenix Suns Three Point Shooting

The Phoenix Suns simply didn’t attempted enough three pointers last season. They ranked 25th in attempts per game with just 32.6 of them. When their attempts were in the high 30s, league average, they won 74.3% of their games (26-9) with only the Celtics and Pelicans better than them.

In the preseason, the Suns showed the past is in their past. They averaged 44 attempts per game which was sixth in the league and shot 35.5% on all of them ranking 9th.

Welcome to the Purple Rain era where they’re going to shoot early and often.

Phoenix Suns Vibes Are Immaculate

Let’s not lie. Last season the entire attitude around the team felt…off. That changed this offseason as Frank Vogel was fired and NBA Champion and Valley Native Mike Budenholzer took the reins. Since then, the team has seemed lighter figuratively — and in Jusuf Nurkic’s case literally — and more focused on a common goal. That’s enough to change the fortunes of Booker, Durant and Beal and lead to an improvement on their 49 wins from last season.