Mat Ishbia to AP: Suns ‘will be one of the best places to work’

Mat Ishbia said his first big project as the owner of the Phoenix Suns will be to listen to employees and find out what problems they were facing.

Then he starts repairing it.

The tenure of the embattled Robert Sarver as owners of the Suns of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA officially ended Tuesday when Ishbia — the chairman, president and Managing Director of United Wholesale Mortgage, plus a member of Michigan State’s NCAA championship team in 2000 – took over. He will be governor while his brother Justin Ishbia will be deputy governor.

Justin Ishbia will become the team’s second largest shareholder after his brother. They acquired more than 50% of the franchise, which includes all of Sarver’s stake plus some interests from minority partners, and the sale valued Suns and Mercury at $4 billion.

“I’m going to spend a lot of time listening and learning, and then making the adjustments to make this not only one of the best organizations in the NBA, but also one of the best places to work,” Mat Ishbia told The Associated Press . “That’s a big part of my success here in Michigan and it will be a big part of our success now in Phoenix. I don’t have enough information to know exactly what it was, but I’m going to dig in and roll up my sleeves and find out over the next three, four, five months – plus -.”

Ishbia, 43, was announced as the Suns’ pending owner on Dec. 20, and the final hurdle before the purchase became official was cleared Monday night when it was announced that the NBA’s Board of Governors had approved him as the next owner .

The transaction was completed on Tuesday. Ishbia will hold a press conference in Phoenix on Wednesday.

Sarver was banned for a year by the NBA in mid-September after an investigation found he had engaged in workplace misconduct that included racist language and hostile behavior towards employees. About a week after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the suspension and $10 million fine — the highest allowable under the league rule — Sarver said he would begin looking for a buyer.

Ishbia’s name had been linked to other potential sales from professional sports teams in the past, including the NFL’s Washington Commanders. And the self-proclaimed basketball mom quickly jumped to acquire the Suns and Mercury.

“That’s what I wanted to do all along,” Ishbia said. “My name is associated with many things. That doesn’t mean it was actually necessarily right. In my opinion, The Phoenix Suns is one of the elite franchises in one of America’s elite cities. To have the chance to be one of the owners of the Suns and Phoenix Mercury is a dream come true.”

Ishbia’s UWM company employs approximately 7,000 people. In 2021, over $226.5 billion worth of mortgages was originated, which the company says is a record for wholesale volume.

“We’re all about culture,” Ishbia said. “For us, everything revolves around people. For us, everything revolves around the word “team”. It’s almost like a match made in heaven – the city, the place, the NBA, my love of basketball. And I can come in, take away some of the really good things that they’re doing, but maybe make some changes from a cultural point of view.”

There is an immediate agenda: The NBA trade deadline is Thursday.

The Suns — who reached the 2021 NBA Finals, lost a 2-0 lead and lost in six games to Milwaukee and had the league’s best regular-season record last season — find themselves in a muddled playoff race this season of the Western Conference.

Ishbia said he and team president of basketball operations James Jones, who is also general manager, have spoken and will continue to speak while Jones assesses the market to see what moves, if any, are right for the Suns.

“We have to make sure we put ourselves in a great position,” Ishbia said. “I think we have a great team and I think we’re in a great position at the moment. Will I be involved? Yes. Are we very active? Yes. But at the same time I think we have a team fighting for the championship without doing anything in the next two days.”

Ishbia played for Tom Izzo at Michigan State and ended up coming into the 2000 title game against Florida. He knew he was out when he caught a loose ball in the final moments, but no referee called. Ishbia saw the opportunity and attempted a reverse layup on the buzzer; it went wrong, but he celebrated anyway.

Now he senses another chance.

“It’s a lifelong dream for me,” he said.

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