- Slug: Sports–Suns Photo Essay, 1,200 words.
- 17 photos available.
By Brendan Pricco
Cronkite News
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Mat Ishbia is known around Arizona as the billionaire owner of the Phoenix Suns, who open their season Wednesday night at the Los Angeles Clippers’ new Intuit Dome. However, if you travel across the country to the spirited and picturesque college town of East Lansing, Michigan, he is known for his connection with the Michigan State Spartans.
Before conquering the business world, Ishbia was a 5-foot-10, 175-pound walk-on point guard attending his home state university: Michigan State. In his three-year career, he appeared in 48 total games, often in garbage time when the game had already been decided. The most significant minute of his collegiate career came on April 4, 2000.
Tom Izzo called Ishbia’s name in the final minute of Michigan State’s national championship victory over Florida. Not only did Ishbia log a minute, he made sure to etch his name into the box score with a shot attempt: a miss.
During the three seasons Ishbia was on the team, the Spartans had one of the best stretches in program history. From 1999-2002, they won two Big Ten regular season championships and a Big Ten tournament championship, made two Final Four appearances and won the second national championship in program history.
Twenty-four years later, Ishbia was able to come full circle and arrange an exhibition game between his Phoenix Suns and his home state Detroit Pistons, on the same court he played on in college.
On Oct. 8, Ishbia wasn’t the only owner involved in the preseason game with Michigan State ties. Pistons owner Tom Gores graduated from Michigan State in 1986. Gores became the sole owner of the Pistons in 2015.
Gores and Ishbia aren’t the only MSU alums that own NBA teams. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State and bought the Cavalierss in 2005. Gilbert was born in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
Additionally Dan DeVos, owner of the Magic, and Steve Ballmer, owner of the Clippers, are from Michigan, but didn’t attend Michigan State.
The green-and-white connections extended outside of the owner’s chair in the exhibition game as well. Suns star Devin Booker grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, approximately an hour from East Lansing.
After high school, Booker chose to attend Kentucky and play for John Calipari rather than Tom Izzo, but now, as a professional, his love for MSU is stronger than ever.
Booker began his visit to East Lansing by debuting his new Nike Book 1 Michigan State “Sparty” PE shoes. The NBA star also gave out a free pair to each player on Michigan State’s basketball team before the game.
Not only did Booker wear his new green-and-white shoes on the court during the game, but he warmed up in Michigan State gear. The smooth scorer finished the night with 10 points, three assists and a rebound. He also led the Suns in +/- with a +17.
The game featured two organizations in very different spots. The Suns are in a prime position to not only contend in the Western Conference, but contend for the NBA Finals. On the other side are the Pistons, who are in a rebuild, and have been for over a decade. Since 2009, the Pistons have only reached the playoffs twice, and have not advanced in the postseason.
Ishbia’s home-state team features several young players with promising potential including Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey. Despite presenting a matchup that looks worse on paper, the Pistons put up a fight against the favored Suns.
Cunningham struggled, going 1-of-6 from the field with three points, but Ivey, with 16 points, and Duren, with 17, carried the load.
Detroit competed early, keeping it to a seven-point differential at halftime. However, in the third quarter, the Pistons were overmatched, trailing 84-66 when the third-quarter buzzer rang.
Despite their third quarter meltdown, the Pistons clawed back, outsourcing Phoenix 31-21 in the fourth, eventually losing 105-97.
The Suns received key contributions from several newcomers. Point guard Tyus Jones, a free-agent signing, controlled the offense nicely. Jones proved to be an efficient scorer, going 3-of-5 and scoring seven points. His most impressive aspect, however, is his passing skills. The veteran guard tallied seven assists in just 20 minutes of game action.
Phoenix also secured a pair of strong performances from rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. Dunn scored 10 points, with all of his field goals coming from beyond the arc. He shot 3-of-5 from deep and added a point at the free throw line. Dunn’s well-rounded effort included blocking two shots, forcing a steal and hauling in three rebounds.
Ighodaro, a Chandler native and Desert Vista High School alum, was equally impressive. Expectations are usually low for second round picks, and Ighodaro was taken No. 40 overall in the 2024 draft.
The second-rounder led the Suns in rebounds with seven and added six points. Not only was he a problem for Detroit on the glass, he dished out four assists.
While many players stood out for Phoenix, Kevin Durant stole the show. The superstar is coming off a strong performance in the Olympics. In Paris, Durant averaged 16 points per game in just three appearances while being on a minutes restriction due to a calf injury. The 36-year-old shot a blistering 63% from the field and 71% from 3-point range in the Olympics.
Durant continued the lights-out shooting on Tuesday night, scoring 21 points, going 8-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3.
Ishbia’s homecoming ended in a Suns win while reconnecting with his former coach, Tom Izzo. Michigan State students welcomed their alumnus home by donning purple “Sunzzone” shirts, a nod to their normal “Izzone” name.
It was a full-circle night.
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