Some NBA owners stay out of the spotlight, preferring to let their team do the talking for them. Others, like Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, seem to revel in being front and center. Ishbia has received a lot of attention — for good reasons and bad — since buying the Suns from disgraced former owner Robert Sarver in 2023.
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On the negative side, his win-now push saw future assets get traded away to build a Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. That backfired spectacularly. On the plus side, he’s since pivoted to a younger rebuild, and the team is defying expectations with an 11-6 record.
Ishbia was also in the news for the wrong reasons after a confrontation with Nuggets star Nikola Jokic in the 2023 playoffs. He has faced multiple lawsuits as well.
This includes several cases from former team employees who allege discrimination and wrongful termination. One of the cases is from the team’s two minority owners, which alleges that he’s kept the team’s internal records from them. Another one is from Diamond Sports Holdings over Ishbia’s decision to broadcast Suns games for free to all Arizona residents.
The 45-year-old billionaire has fought back in all the cases, and he’s even boasted that he’s yet to lose a judgment in court. This week, he appeared on The Draymond Green Show and spoke about some of the things he’s done as an owner that he believes other teams should be doing, too.
“It’s so much fun to invest and do good things,” said Ishbia, before talking about how he built a new practice facility for the Phoenix Mercury, which he also owns. He claimed that he has turned them from a league-worst team into a WNBA Finals team in just over two years.
“We put the TV out for free for people in the whole state. You can watch the NBA games for free,” continued Ishbia while also mentioning how he lowered concession prices to improve the fan experience. “I love doing these things, and it’s like, why don’t you do that?
“Crazy enough, I got partners from the old owner that are still in there suing me for doing the right thing and investing in the team, and I love it. I actually enjoy those lawsuits, because to me, it’s like doing the right thing by people, by the fans, be the right steward, that’s my job,” added Ishbia.
It may seem odd that he appeared on the podcast of a rival team’s player. But he and Green both played for Michigan State once upon a time. So they share that tie. Green has also had Mark Cuban on before, so this isn’t totally unprecedented.
Ishbia made his fortune as CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, helping turn it into the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the country. He’s hoping to have the same success with the Suns and Mercury, and he seems to really be relishing every aspect of the job.
