The Suns looked to improve on their league-best 62–20 record and a trip to the Western Conference finals in the 2004–05 season.
The Suns suffered a major setback before the season, when All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee.
With injuries to Stoudemire and backup forward-center Kurt Thomas, the Suns looked to second-year forward Boris Diaw to fill in the middle.
They became, at the time, the eighth team in NBA history to recover from a 3–1 deficit, winning the final three games of the series to advance to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, they defeated the Lakers' Staples Center co-tenants, the Los Angeles Clippers, in another seven-game series.