Jimmy Eat World originally hails from Arizona, and drummer Zach Lind is a big fan of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. Going into the 2023-24 NBA season, Lind tells ABC Audio he’s excited about the Suns’ chances to win a title, though he still has “some questions.”
The Suns had high hopes for last season, bolstered by a trade for former MVP and two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant. However, they only reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Denver Nuggets, who’d go on to win it all.
“[The Durant trade] was a very exciting moment in the Valley, for sure,” Lind says. “That was a pretty big deal. Although I think it was kind of a hard situation because I think they didn’t have a whole lot of time to get that team, the identity, figured out.”
Of course, as Jimmy Eat World will tell you, it just takes some time. And the Suns will have more of that leading into next season after hiring a new coach and making a splashy summer trade for three-time All-Star Bradley Beal, who joins Durant and three-time All-Star Devin Booker on the roster. Still, Lind is being cautious with his expectations.
“Just seeing how good Denver was in that whole playoff run, you’re kinda left wondering, ‘Are we gonna have a team that’s gonna be able to beat them?'” Lind says. “But I think things change quickly and maybe Denver won’t be quite as good, or maybe we’ll be better.”
He adds, “With the coaching change and adding Beal to the roster and not really having a lot of depth, I think there’s some excitement, but questions.”
Jimmy Eat World, meanwhile, is spending the summer on tour with Manchester Orchestra.
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