Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia spoke to reporters after the NBA officially awarded the team rights to host the 2027 NBA All-Star Game.
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00:00 First off, thank you guys for being here. We really appreciate it. It's a really exciting day here in the Valley.
00:05 Really, really proud. You know, before I get into it, you know, it's just an honor.
00:09 We got Commissioner Adam Silver here. The welcome that he's been for me joining this league and being part of it along with other owners has been phenomenal.
00:17 I want to thank him for, and the NBA, for allowing us to showcase this beautiful city, this beautiful state of Arizona here in a couple years.
00:26 So I'm really honored to be part of it. Governor does an amazing job. Mayor Gallego, Governor Hobbs, like they make an impact.
00:33 And it's really a team effort, to be honest with you, you know, with the city, the state, and Josh Bartleson.
00:38 Give him credit and all of our team members here at the Suns, Suns and Mercury, getting Mercury and the Suns, the WNBA and NBA All-Star Games here.
00:45 It was a bit of major focus and really kudos to Josh, his team, the governor, the mayor, and of course, we appreciate Adam Silver and the NBA giving us this opportunity.
00:55 So thank you guys first and foremost, because it's not possible without that.
00:59 Second big thing I want to talk about is, you know, really big on what we talked about from the very beginning here.
01:06 Talk about four things I took over back in February of last year, which was, you know, we're going to focus on culture, team member experience, right?
01:15 We're building a new facility for our team members. We've got a lot of our great team members here watching.
01:19 We try to change the culture and make it an amazing place to work for the best franchise in sports, for places to work in all aspects of it.
01:26 We're doing a lot of things on that. We talked about fan experience, making the fan experience better from the food to being in the TV so everyone could watch the games.
01:33 We've worked on that. We talked about winning. Hopefully you see every day with the Mercury and with the Suns, we're trying to do everything we can to affect winning in a positive way.
01:40 And then the biggest one that we're talking about today is community, community impact.
01:43 And so bringing the WNBA and NBA All-Star Games is a team effort. I'm all about team and everyone's played a part in making these things happen and hopefully the whole community.
01:51 I think they say it's going to be 400 million plus of economic impact for the NBA All-Star Weekend to this city, to this great state.
01:58 And I'm so proud to be able to be part of that. And I'm honored that I've had a chance to be part of it with these great people.
02:03 And so that's a big part. And at the same time, with that being said, we get a chance to really showcase this city for the WNBA All-Star Game here.
02:11 And then the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2027. And we're going to make it hopefully the best All-Star Weekend of all time. That's the goal.
02:18 And what we're going to do, we're going to steal great things from what Herb Simon in Indiana did.
02:21 And then we're going to steal great things from what Joe Lacob in Golden State is going to do next year.
02:25 And Ballmer and LA Clippers. We're going to steal all the great ideas and try to add on to it.
02:29 Because All-Star Weekend is something special. I've been to a couple myself. One before owning a team and the last two with my kids.
02:36 And it's a special weekend having the best 24 basketball players in the world in one location.
02:42 It's going to be an amazing weekend and a phenomenal time. So I'm really excited about that.
02:46 And then the last thing or so I'll say before turning it back over is, you know, we've done a lot in 13 months.
02:52 We've done a lot. And at the same time, you know, I said when I took over as the governor, Stuart, like it's not my team, it's the city's team.
03:00 And it's my honor to work for the city and work for everyone to make this the best franchise in sports.
03:06 We're going to work very hard. The suns and the mercury and making it better every single day.
03:09 And that's what we're working on. And we're not there yet. But I'll tell you, we're just getting started.
03:13 We're just getting started. It's not like we're doing a bunch of stuff in 13 months and not do anything.
03:17 We're going to keep going, keep improving every single day. We're not going to be perfect.
03:21 I'll make mistakes. We'll make mistakes. But we're trying to make this the best franchise.
03:24 And that's what we do. We care about it. We're involved with the community, the fan experience, the team members.
03:28 And of course, we're all about winning. And hopefully you'll be able to see the game tonight.
03:31 Hopefully we'll win tonight and keep working towards the playoffs and hopefully work towards an NBA championship.
03:35 And then, of course, a WNBA championship as well. So thank you for the time. Thank you for being here.
03:40 It's such an honor. We appreciate you showing up. And we're really excited to have the NBA All-Star Game here in the Valley.
03:45 Thank you.