Mat Ishbia is trying his best to adopt an “us against the world” mentality this season.
The Phoenix Suns owner Ishbia called out Bill Simmons and The Ringer on Tuesday over a recent column that ran on their website. The column predicted that the Suns would have the worst defense in the NBA this season.
Ishbia was not happy about that prediction and ripped Simmons in a post to X.
“@BillSimmons You and your crew have some good takes and some that are terrible,” wrote Ishbia. “You’re the betting guru and even you know better than to actually take this bet. Tell you what, go put your money on this take. When you lose, I will donate the same amount to charity of your choice. Different culture and different team in PHX this year. Let’s go!”
.@BillSimmons, you and your crew have some good takes and some that are terrible. You’re the betting guru and even you know better than to actually take this bet. Tell you what, go put your money on this take. When you lose, I will donate the same amount to charity of your… https://t.co/dCLMUdtbMz
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) October 22, 2025
That led to a response from Simmons clarifying the details about the column.
“To be fair — this was from a Ringer piece called ‘Increasingly Bold Predictions,'” Simmons wrote. “My only Suns pick was UNDER 31.5 wins just FYI. Happy to wager on that. But you’re an NBA owner and… um…. you’re not allowed to bet? Maybe we should just bet Aspiration stock.”
To be fair — this was from a Ringer piece called “Increasingly Bold Predictions.” My only Suns pick was UNDER 31.5 wins just FYI. Happy to wager on that. But you’re an NBA owner and… um…. you’re not allowed to bet? Maybe we should just bet Aspiration stock.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 22, 2025
The column was not actually written by Simmons and was penned by writer Michael Pina of The Ringer instead. Meanwhile, the prediction about the Suns is probably pretty fair too after they ranked 27th in defensive efficiency last season and then lost some length by trading away Kevin Durant.
That said, it is pretty clear that nobody believes in Phoenix this year after they chose to hit the reset button by parting ways with both Durant and fellow multi-time All-Star Bradley Beal. But as for Ishbia, who took over as Suns owner in 2023, he is feeling defiant and even took a parting shot at Durant in the media a few weeks ago.
