Chicago Bulls Eddie Robinson Happy to Hoop Again but Hard Feelings About John Paxson Bulls Remain
Shazam! The Valley's original big-time pro sports squad is turning 50. tip off the flavor with this i-of-a-kind semicentennial salute.
Celebrated photos courtesy Phoenix Suns
Photography by Steve Fischer
Dawn of the Suns
past Douglas C. Towne
The 1968 NBA debut of the Phoenix Suns – then the Valley's sole major sports franchise – prophesied big things for the modest-size desert city. And and then came the coin flips.
As perhaps the greatest nigh-miss franchise in modern American sports – many winning teams, simply no championships – the Phoenix Suns provide their fans with plenty of grist for one of those "most heartbreaking moment" debates. Some would cite the infuriating 2007 playoff serial with the San Antonio Spurs, when Suns star forward Amar'e Stoudemire leapt to his feet to defend teammate Steve Nash during an on-court mugging, triggering a mystifying ane-game intermission that tipped the series to the Spurs. Others ruefully signal to Chicago Bulls baby-sit John Paxson's iii-betoken dagger with 4 seconds on the clock in the decisive Game 6 of the 1993 Finals. Still others think the 1987 drug scandal that effectively concluded the career of dearest Suns smashing Walter Davis.
All worthy of consideration. But what could be more heartbreaking than losing a championship dynasty with the flip of a money?
The year was 1969. Slam dunks were still chosen "stuffs" dorsum and so, Gatorade was the latest athletic fad and the Suns were limping to the finish line of a 16-66 season – their commencement in the NBA after joining the league the previous winter. But there was a 7-human foot-2 lollipop waiting for them at the end of the ordeal: UCLA center Lew Alcindor, who would afterwards cement his legacy as Hall of Fame superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The most celebrated player of his generation, Alcindor was so overpowering in higher that the NCAA briefly outlawed dunks to atmosphere his authority. It didn't work. He led the Bruins to three championships in three years.
To claim Alcindor, the Suns had but one hurdle: the Milwaukee Bucks, also an expansion franchise coming off a difficult year. Per the terms of expansion, the teams would flip a money to determine who would have the first selection – which would be Alcindor, all pundits agreed – in the spring'due south NBA amateur typhoon.
On a balmy March afternoon in Manhattan, the stage was set for a Suns victory, as NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy drew a piece of paper labeled "Phoenix" in front of three boob tube cameras in his high-ascension office. The draw allowed the Suns to call the coin flip via a 3-way telephone hookup from Phoenix. Suns President Richard Bloch called "heads" on the toss of a 1964 Kennedy one-half-dollar – a proxy decision made not by the Suns front office, only by the team's fans in an Arizona Democracy poll.
After the coin landed, Kennedy said, "Y'all should hear the cheering, it sounds similar election night." Unfortunately for Suns fans, the sound was coming from the telephone line connected to Milwaukee.
"It's not the stop of the globe," Suns General Manager Jerry Colangelo told the Arizona Republic. "It takes iv to five years to build into a contender. Merely Lew would have speeded up the process."
Two years later, Milwaukee would go the fastest NBA expansion franchise to win a title. The Suns, on the other hand, are withal waiting in the year 2018. What's often forgotten, however, is that the Suns had an unexpected shot at coin-flip redemption only two months after that fateful day in Manhattan – a turn of luck that would lead to their ain Finals appearance in 1975, and a 5-decade tradition of winning surpassed by merely three other franchises in NBA history.
Championship or no, Phoenix became a basketball game boondocks.
The Suns' story begins, strangely, with hockey. Opposite to popular perception, the Suns weren't the first "professional person" sports team to phone call Phoenix home. Prior to 1968, myriad minor league baseball teams played in the Valley. There was also a semi-pro football team – ironically, also named the Suns – also every bit a variety of fringy team sports. All professional, afterwards a fashion.
At that place was also the Phoenix Roadrunners of the now-defunct Western Hockey Association. Launched by Phoenix man of affairs Karl Eller in 1967, the minor league team played to a rabid fan base at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum and helped establish Phoenix – the country's 29th most populous city with less than 500,000 residents at the get-go of the 1960s – as a viable market place for professional sports.
The Roadrunners were also office of Eller's master plan for a large-league sports empire in Phoenix – a stepping rock that he hoped would lead to an NBA team and ultimately an NFL franchise. Hatching his plot while hosting potential investors at middle ice, Eller formed a partnership with Tucson attorney Donald Pitt and Beverly Hills investment banker Richard Bloch to put in a bid for an NBA franchise in tardily 1967.
The Suns/PHX Mag Connection
Founded in 1966, PHOENIX magazine was toddling through its starting time few years of existence when the Phoenix Suns came squawking to life in 1968 – and maybe that's why nosotros took such a shine to the "NBA's Newest Offspring," as our editors described them in an October 1968 encompass story. Over the years, we've profiled Suns players, coaches and owners so often – from Jerry Colangelo's family photos to Raja Bell's racecars – that their altogether feels similar ours. Anyhow, no fashion nosotros'd miss the political party. Salut!
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The NBA was in a growing style at the time. It had expanded in each of the two previous seasons, adding the Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder) and the San Diego (at present Houston) Rockets to bring its total to 12 teams.
Phoenix was in competition with Milwaukee, Kansas Urban center and Cleveland for ii expansion slots in 1968. "We're pretty confident," Eller told The Arizona Democracy. "I think the boondocks is getting more mature in its thinking toward sports and more sophisticated. The timing is right."
Despite Eller's confidence, a question loomed in sporting circles: Was Phoenix a big-league urban center? Some NBA executives idea the Wild West town was more suited for rodeo cowboys and clowns than for a professional basketball team. Thus, the Suns became a referendum of sorts for the Valley itself and its readiness to step onto the bang-up American stage.
NBA Commissioner Kennedy was so dubious most Phoenix's capacity to support a team that he fabricated an undercover visit in 1967. He defenseless a Roadrunners game and saw the energetic crowd. He chatted with barbers and cab drivers about sports. He saw the impressive 12,224-seat Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, completed for Country Fair events in 1965, which may have sealed the deal. Along with Milwaukee, Phoenix was awarded a franchise for $2 million in January 1968.
Reportedly, Eller and his partners wanted Alex Hannum, bus of the defending NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers, to serve as the team'due south founding floor leader. Hannum, all the same, wanted full command of the expansion squad as both coach and general manager. Balking at Hannum's ability catch, the owners instead hired 28-year-old Jerry Colangelo, formerly an executive assistant with the Chicago Bulls, giving him the cryptic title of "administrative manager." He was before long promoted to become the youngest full general manager in professional sports. When asked by the Republic if his youth was a liability, Colangelo replied, "On the opposite, I'thousand not then old that I take set ideas. I investigate every angle without preconceived notions."
Colangelo hired Johnny "Cherry" Kerr, the 1967 NBA Charabanc of the Year with the Chicago Bulls, to lead the team, which had been christened the Phoenix Suns – a proper noun selected from 28,590 competition entries in The Arizona Commonwealth, beating out such suggestions as "Desert Cats," "Peppers," and "Tarantulas." Selinda Rex, 1 of the 372 who suggested the winning name, had her name drawn to win $1,000, two flavour tickets and Stadium Guild privileges. Previously a Philadelphia 76ers booster, King said, "From now on, I'm rooting for the Suns!"
The Suns' moniker, equally noted previously, had been used past a Phoenix football game team in the Western Professional Football League more than a decade before. The football game squad's owner had copyrighted the name and received an out-of-court settlement for its use from the NBA team, co-ordinate to a 1981 Commonwealth article.
The Suns' first roster was stocked by drafting veteran players from the existing 12 NBA teams, each of which was allowed to protect seven players, with the rest exposed to Phoenix or Milwaukee. Dick Van Arsdale, chosen the "Original Sun" for being the outset pick, came from the New York Knicks, and time to come NBA Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich from the Los Angeles Lakers. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would come up out and so well," Colangelo told the Democracy. The team also participated in the regular NBA amateur typhoon, selecting Gary Gregor, a center who played one season with the Suns and was named to the NBA All-Rookie team.
The squad explored playing regular-season games in Albuquerque, El Paso and Tucson, thinking that a regional identity might provide a larger fan base. "We are interested in making Tucson a 2d home for the Phoenix Suns," Colangelo said to the Arizona Daily Star. Four habitation games were scheduled in Tucson high school gyms, though none in the other two cities.
Incredibly, the Suns' preseason debut was in Miami, Arizona, a small copper-mining town 80 miles east of Phoenix. The NBA team played the Seattle SuperSonics before 2,000 spectators in the boondocks's loftier school gym. While Suns fans are familiar with recent team catchphrases such as "Planet Orange," "Optics on the Prize" and "Seven Seconds or Less," this was the Swinging '60s, and Jitney Kerr preached "LSD" to his players in their opener. Kerr wasn't promoting psychedelics, simply a "Loose, Scrambling Defense," which precipitated a 104-99 victory over the SuperSonics. More than chiefly, the Suns had bonded every bit a team, as evidenced by a bench-clearing brawl in the Miami game'due south final moments.
The excitement surrounding the Suns enticed singers Andy Williams and Bobbie Gentry (of "Ode to Billy Joe" fame), actors Tony Curtis and Ed Ames, and composer Henry Mancini to become minority squad owners. Williams and Mancini performed a halftime concert at the Coliseum during the Suns' simply preseason game against the San Diego Rockets. After a 2-vi preseason record, the Suns tipped off for their kickoff official game, which featured a halftime concert by Gentry, on October 19, 1968. Van Arsdale scored the squad'south commencement points on a layup; the Suns notched 41 points to set an NBA record for most points posted in an opening quarter, building a xx-signal lead. The team beat out the SuperSonics 116-107 earlier vii,112 fans in seats priced between $two and $v at what became known as the "Madhouse on McDowell."
Ane of those spectators was long-time Suns broadcaster Al McCoy. "Goodrich had 27 points and 10 assists," McCoy says in his distinctive voice, recalling the stats as if the game was yesterday. "He was an excellent brawl-handler and the showtime of the Suns' many outstanding betoken guards." McCoy, who was the Roadrunners' journalist, impressed Colangelo with his circulate skills, and the squad fabricated him its play-past-play voice in 1970.
Despite the initial excitement of opening nighttime, the Valley was tiresome to warm to the Suns, and the squad averaged only 4,340 fans a game in its debut season. "When the Lakers or Celtics would come to Phoenix, they would draw the big crowds," McCoy says. "The Roadrunners hockey team initially outdrew the Suns at the Coliseum."
The squad's on-court performance cooled, too. After 7 games, the Suns posted a respectable four-iii tape but had fallen to 8-26 when they made their national television debut on Christmas Day 1968, losing to the Lakers before a season-high dwelling house crowd of 10,355. Although the team finished its inaugural season with a sixteen-66 record, Van Arsdale recalls the year as a wonderful time. "We always came to play hard, but some of the other teams were just loaded with talent."
The Suns' prognosis was brightened by the possibility of drafting Alcindor – a possibility instantly dashed to $.25 with the team's "heads" phone call in New York the post-obit March. "It turned out to exist the almost costly lost money flip in sports history," Marshall Trimble, Arizona'south Country Historian, says. "Some claim it produced a expletive that has indomitable the Suns ever since."
In 1969, Connie Hawkins was perhaps the virtually talented basketball player on the planet never to step foot on an NBA basketball court. A svelte, electric, impeccably proportioned 6-foot-viii power forward, Hawkins was a playground fable from Brooklyn whose acrobatic drives to the hoop and bone-jarring dunks presaged Julius "Dr. J" Irving and other modern hoops stars. He was an evolutionary spring forrard. An archetype in waiting.
"I've seen the best in the NBA, simply I've never seen anyone better than Hawkins," Alcindor said of the futurity Hall of Famer.
Merely Hawkins was also a pariah to image-conscious NBA executives. Equally a star player for the University of Iowa in the early on 1960s, Hawkins was linked to a point-shaving conspiracy by federal investigators. Though he was never indicted and his part in the scheme was coincidental at all-time, Iowa yanked his scholarship and the NBA blackballed him from playing in the league. Faced with express alternatives, he performed with the Harlem Globetrotters (1963-67) before signing on with the upstart American Basketball Clan in 1967, leading the Pittsburgh Pipers to an ABA title during his 1968 MVP season.
Meanwhile, Hawkins' lawyers chipped away at the NBA with a $6 million civil lawsuit alleging collusion and unfair labor practices. Finally, just as Hawkins was entering his athletic prime number at historic period 27, the NBA settled, paying him $1.3 million and facilitating his entry into the league. The question was: Which of the NBA's 14 teams would get him? One time over again, it came down to a coin flip between the two teams accounted the weakest in the league: Seattle and Phoenix.
The toss took place in Detroit during the annual NBA owners' meetings in the summer of 1969. Current buying has no record whether the Suns called heads or tails, but ane thing is sure: Information technology was the correct phone call. Hawkins would exist playing in Phoenix. "It was a nifty comeback for the Suns," Colangelo told the Republic. "Not every order has a second hazard to get a superstar."
"The Hawk" immediately propelled the Suns into relevance, averaging 24.6 points and ten.4 rebounds a game during the 1969-1970 flavor while leading them to a 39-43 record and, more importantly, a playoff berth. Finally, the Suns were generating real buzz in the Valley – the kind of viral fan excitement that eluded them during their first yr. "I learned how to play basketball game by watching Hawkins, with his swoop shot, left-handed flip layup and finger rolls," says photojournalist Rick Davis, who played basketball game at Thou Coulee University in the 1980s and later covered the Suns for FOX ten News. He occasionally attended Suns games for complimentary, courtesy of his father, a Phoenix police officeholder who worked off-duty at the Coliseum.
"It was a happy time. Phoenix was a small boondocks, and everyone knew ane another and got forth," Davis says. "The guy who played the organ would become the crowd fired up. The biggest security upshot was streakers running across the courtroom later on."
Sometime Arizona Republic sports writer Tom Gibbons recalls that every Jack in the Box eating house featured a poster of Hawkins dunking on a Chicago Bulls player. "He had huge easily and could palm a basketball game," Gibbons says. "Anybody in Phoenix tried to do that; it was called 'Hawking the ball' in my neighborhood."
The Suns' popularity became apparent in some unexpected settings effectually Phoenix. "I was sitting on a barstool in a nighttime saloon, and this tall, cute woman walked over to me, smiled and asked if I was Dick Van Arsdale," Trimble recalls. "I was 5-foot-10-inches in cowboy boots. When I stood up and gave her my best Robert Redford smile, a wait of distressing thwarting spread beyond her face up as she slowly said, 'No, I judge you're not.'"
In the Western Division playoffs, the Suns opened a 3-1 semifinal lead on a star-laden Los Angeles Lakers squad – which included future Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor – before surrendering 3 straight games and the series. Colangelo, who by and then had also assumed head coaching duties, told the Commonwealth, "Nosotros went farther than we thought we always could, and nosotros'll be dorsum." Indeed, they would. The Suns had fabricated their mark in the NBA and their average omnipresence increased 75 percent to vii,617 in their second season.
The Suns remained competitive throughout the decade, culminating in the team's improbable 1976 playoff run backside the play of newly-acquired guard Paul Westphal – who would afterward coach the squad – and rookie center Alvan Adams. Barely a .500 team in the regular season, the Suns advanced all the way to the NBA Finals against the vaunted Boston Celtics. The series included the NBA's first Finals triple-overtime contest, which is sometimes cited equally the greatest game ever played. McCoy recalls the iconic game as his most unusual broadcasting moment, with Celtics fans having purchased the seats next to the Suns' broadcast tabular array. "The guy next to me was enjoying his beer and every time the Celtics fabricated a skilful play, he'd blindside my arm and say, 'How do you similar that?' During the 2d overtime when Garfield Heard hit his incredible shot, he passed out in my lap," McCoy says. "I'm trying to come across what'due south going on live on the air and at the aforementioned time get this guy out of my lap."
The Suns ultimately lost the series in half-dozen games, but the squad'due south bonding process with Phoenix was complete. Over the subsequent decades, the Suns cemented their distinction as one of the league's nigh successful franchises – indeed, their current all-time winning per centum of .541 (2,146-1,866) is the 4th-best amid the xxx active NBA teams. Skeptics annotation the squad'southward lack of a championship, just their two nearly-misses in the NBA Finals united the Valley in heartbreak like few other recent events. Moreover, the Suns' relocation to the "Imperial Palace" – then America West Arena, at present Talking Stick Resort Arena – in 1992 helped reignite Downtown Phoenix as a truthful urban centre, and the team's success paved the way for the eventual arrival of the Cardinals, Coyotes and Diamondbacks.
And just think: The narrative may not accept come to pass without some dreamers 50 years ago and pair of fateful coin flips.
"I love our other pro teams, just the bottom line is the Suns were here kickoff and got the omnibus moving," Davis says. "They actually put a stamp on Phoenix."
Suns Timeline
Summer 1967
Billboard magnate Karl Eller forms ownership group to petition the NBA for ane of two expansion franchises.
Bound 1968
NBA awards expansion franchises to Phoenix and Milwaukee; Bulls talent scout Jerry Colangelo becomes GM.
Summer 1968
Tucsonan Stan Fabe designs the team's outset logo, which the team would utilize for 24 years.
Summertime 1968
Showtime home uni unveiled.
October xix, 1968
Opening nighttime: a 116-107 win over the SuperSonics.
March 1969
The Suns lose Lew Alcindor coin flip; draft University of Florida eye Neal Walk instead.
June 1969
Coin flip redux: team signs former ABA star Connie Hawkins, who scores 24.half dozen points per game (ppg) in his first season.
December 1969
After a 15-23 start, Colangelo fires head coach Johnny "Crimson" Kerr and takes over coaching; leads team to playoffs.
Summer 1970
Star guard Gail Goodrich is traded back to L.A. Lakers for center Mel Counts; Kansas State's Cotton wool Fitzsimmons takes over as caput autobus.
Spring 1970
The team hires Phoenix Roadrunners hockey broadcaster Al McCoy to be its play-by-play vox.
March 1971
The injustice: Suns get 48-34 but do not brand the playoffs.
February 1972
ABA star Charlie Scott joins the team; would log All-Star campaign (25.iii ppg) the post-obit season.
Summertime 1972
Squad unveils new "Western font" uniforms, which bask a 19-yr run.
Oct 1972
Seven games into the season, Colangelo replaces head bus Butch van Breda Kolff with his favorite interim autobus: himself.
March 1973
The team finishes 38-44 in Hawkins' last full season with the Suns.
Summer 1973
Oklahoma Sooners caput coach John MacLeod takes the reins – the starting time of fourteen seasons as head motorcoach; team finishes thirty-52.
October 1974
The Suns start their 7th flavor with their youngest roster ever. Avg. pro feel: 2.8 years.
May 1975
The Suns make Oklahoma eye Alvan Adams the 4th overall selection in the NBA Draft.
May 1975
Standout guard Scott is packaged to the Boston Celtics for future All-Star Paul Westphal.
Spring 1976
The "Sunderella" Suns squeak into the playoffs with a 42-40 tape, and advance to the NBA Finals.
Summer 1976
Adams wins NBA Rookie of the Year; Hawkins becomes first Lord's day to have his number retired (42).
Apr 1977
At the conclusion of a disappointing 34-48 season, "Original Sun" Dick Van Arsdale and his twin blood brother Tom retire together.
February 1978
Behind All-Star play from Westphal (25.ii ppg) and rookie Walter Davis (24.2 ppg), Suns bolt to 34-16.
Leap 1978
No playoff run, only record omnipresence (11,464 per game); Davis wins Rookie of the Year.
Fall 1978
Goodbye, hideous candy-striper warmups.
Bound 1979
Late-season acquisition of Leonard "Truck" Robinson from the Jazz helps the Suns advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Oct 1979
The Suns get-go the season with 5 quondam All-Stars as starters: Davis, Robinson, Adams, Don Buse and Westphal.
Bound 1980
Cooperative team play – iii players stop with 300 assists – propel the Suns to their best regular flavor record: 55-27.
Winter 1980
The Phoenix Suns gorilla debuts.
Spring 1981
Westphal to the Sonics for guard Dennis Johnson; Suns stop a briefing-best 57-25, merely are bounced in the kickoff round of the playoffs by the Chiliad.C. Kings.
Fall 1981
Davis suffers a fractured elbow in the pre-season; MacLeod adapts by using 21 different starting lineups.
Jump 1982
Suns limp into the playoffs with a 46-36 tape, get stomped by the eventual-champion Lakers.
March 1983
Second-year forrad Larry Nance blossoms, setting a team record for blocked shots (217); Suns go 23-7 later All-Star intermission, only to be upset by Denver in the opening round of the playoffs.
February 1984
Nance stuffs the competition at the inaugural NBA Slam Dunk Contest in Denver.
April 1984
The 41-41 Suns squeak into the playoffs, accelerate all the way to Western Conference Finals against the mighty Lakers.
Apr 1985
Five-time All-Star Davis obliterates his left human knee in the '84-'85 pre-flavour; Suns finish season 36-46.
February 1986
After an 0-9 start, Suns place no All-Stars – a franchise starting time. Squad misses '86 playoffs.
November 1986
Rebuilding Suns start the season with v rookies, including hereafter star Jeff Hornacek.
February 1987
Suns (22-34) office ways with MacLeod; "Walter-gate" cocaine scandal roils team.
Baronial 1987
Suns eye Nick Vanos and his fiancée are amidst 156 killed in the Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crash.
October 1987
Capping a tumultuous year, Colangelo-led group purchases the franchise for a and so-record $44.5 million.
February 1988
Blockbuster trade: Nance to Cleveland for rookie point guard Kevin Johnson, center Mark West and guard Tyrone Corbin.
Summer 1988
Fitzsimmons returns; All-Star Tom Chambers joins team as the get-go unrestricted free agent in NBA history.
April 1989
Quick turnaround: Led past iii 20-bespeak-a-game scorers (Chambers, Eddie Johnson, Kevin Johnson), the Suns finish 55-27.
June 1989
KJ guides squad to Western Conference Finals, where they're swept past MVP Magic Johnson and the Lakers. Fitzsimmons wins NBA Motorcoach of the Year.
Spring 1990
Chambers drops team-tape 60 on Seattle; Suns set a squad attendance record (578,661), including 26 sellouts.
May 1990
The 54-28 Suns upset the top-seeded Lakers in the playoffs – for the kickoff time, beating L.A. in a best-of-seven series.
April 1991
Tertiary directly 50-win flavour (55-27) sullied past opening round playoff loss to Utah.
Dec 1991
Later on an 8-nine start, team goes 11-1 in December backside the play of KJ and emerging guard Dan Majerle (17.3 ppg).
Spring 1992
Another 50-win flavour (53-29)… and some other early get out from the playoffs. Adieu, Coliseum.
June 1992
Stop the presses! Hornacek and others to Philadelphia for rebound-gobbling time to come Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.
Fall 1992
25th season brings new arena, logo, unis.
April 1993
Behind MVP Barkley (25.6 ppg, 12.two rpg), Westphal-coached Suns cease a franchise-best 62-20.
May 1993
Downwardly 0-2 to the viii-seed Lakers, the Suns rally back; advance to second NBA Finals.
January 1994
Injury bug strikes: Barkley (torn quad) and KJ (chicken pox) miss a month.
April 1994
The Suns terminate 56-26 but fall to Houston in the semifinals.
Summer 1994
Formal vesture? The Suns' new alternate road threads are the start black unis in team history.
Jump/Summertime 1995
Déjà vu. The second-seed Suns are stomped in the playoffs past eventual champion Houston. Fan-fave Majerle shipped to Cleveland.
January 16, 1996
Him again? Fitzsimmons replaces Westphal as motorcoach. 41-41 Suns squirm into playoffs, lose in the starting time round.
Summertime 1996
Out: Barkley, to Houston. In: get-go-round typhoon choice Steve Nash.
April 1997
Behind rookie coach Danny Ainge and new guard Jason Kidd, the retooled Suns go nineteen-6 over the final ii months, slide into the playoffs.
December 1997
The defense-minded Suns bound out of the gate with a 17-ix record.
May 1998
Danny Manning wins the NBA Sixth Man Honor, and Kidd is an All-Star, just the Suns (56-26) go an early offset-round playoff ouster.
January 1999
The lockout-shortened 50-game season begins; Phoenix adds All-Star forward Tom Gugliotta.
April 1999
Kidd leads league in assists (10.viii per game) and guides 27-23 Suns to playoffs.
Summer 1999
All-Star guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway joins Kidd to course "Backcourt 2000."
March 22, 2000
Kidd breaks his ankle; KJ comes out of retirement to run the point for kickoff-year coach Scott Skiles.
May 2000
Behind rookie forward Shawn Marion, the Suns concur opponents to a league-low 93.7 per game en route to 53-29 record.
Apr 2001
More of the same: 51 wins, killer defense, All-NBA pick for Kidd, early on playoff exit.
Summer 2001
Subsequently Kidd'southward domestic attack accuse, team ships him to New Jersey for All-Star guard Stephon Marbury.
Summer 2001
New "flaming ball" logo.
Feb 17, 2002
The newly free-shooting Suns struggle to a 25-26 tape, and Skiles is replaced by former Suns baby-sit Frank Johnson.
Leap 2002
Re-signed Majerle finishes his NBA career with a three-arrow – his 800th as a Sun; squad adds schoolboy draftee Amar'eastward Stoudemire.
January 2003
Marbury, Marion and future ROY Stoudemire (13.v ppg, 8.8 rpg) meld nicely, propelling the Suns to a 24-14 tape.
Summer 2003
The team's first orange uniforms debut.
Winter 2003
Mike D'Antoni replaces Frank Johnson as head bus; society dumps Marbury and Hardaway to Knicks.
April 2004
Following dismal 29-53 transition year, Colangelo and former star Hawkins are admitted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
June 2004
Arizona native Robert Sarver leads an investment group that acquires the club for a then-tape $401 one thousand thousand; Nash returns via free agency
May 2005
62-20 Suns accelerate to the Western Conference Finals, where they lose to the Spurs 4-1.
Summer 2005
Nash wins MVP; D'Antoni wins Coach of the Twelvemonth; Suns transport disgruntled shooting guard Joe Johnson to Atlanta for Boris Diaw.
Fall 2005
Stoudemire's genu explodes; makes "microfracture surgery" a household term.
January 2006
America West Arena is renamed Us Airways Eye.
April 2006
Career years from Nash (xviii.eight ppg, 10.five apg) and Marion (21.8 ppg, eleven.eight rpg) help Suns chip out 54-28 season.
May 2006
Down i-iii to the hated Lakers, the No. 2 seed Suns rebound to win their first round playoff series; lose to Mavericks in the briefing finals.
April 2007
D'Antoni'due south "7 seconds or less," loftier-pressure offense yields 61-21 record.
May 2007
Hip-check-gate
Summer 2007
The Suns lure veteran Grant Hill to the Valley with a one-year contract.
February 2008
How-do-you-do, Large Cactus. Goodbye, 7 seconds or less. Suns trade Marion to Miami for Shaquille O'Neal.
April 2008
55-27 season completes winningest iv-year stretch in team history.
Summertime 2008
Following first-round playoff exit, D'Antoni exits. New autobus: Terry Porter.
February 2009
Alvin Gentry replaces Porter later on 28-23 get-go half.
Summertime 2009
Shaq, hacked. The Suns dump the fading center on Cleveland.
May 2010
Suns unveil "Los Suns" jerseys in the 2010 playoffs during SB 1070 protests; finally crush Spurs in the playoffs.
Summertime 2010
Major front-office shake-up; five-fourth dimension All-Star Stoudemire opts out and joins the Knicks.
April 2011
Final tape: 40-42. Brilliant spots: old-man-wonder Hill (13 ppg); Marcin Gortat (xiii ppg).
Dec 2011
Lockout-shortened season starts on Christmas Day.
Apr 2012
Nash passes Oscar Robertson for fifth all-time in total assists; can't quite volition the 33-33 Suns into the playoffs.
Summer 2012
Shakedown! Nash, Loma and Lopez are shipped out in a total-blown rebuild.
February 2013
Marcus and Markieff Morris become the first on-court twin tandem since the Van Arsdales – modest vivid spot in a 25-57 flavor behind new coach Lindsey Hunter.
Summer 2013
One-time Sun Hornacek replaces Hunter, and the team pries talented point baby-sit Eric Bledsoe from the Clippers.
Summer 2013
New super-sharp white home uniforms.
April 2014
Pegged to finish last in the Pacific Division, the fast-break-oriented Suns daze the league with a 48-34 record.
Summer 2014
PG Goran Dragic (twenty.3 ppg, five.9 apg) wins the NBA's Well-nigh Improved Actor Award.
Fall/Winter 2014
Suns make six trades, acquiring both Brandon Knight and Brandon Wright. Confusion reigns.
April 2015
The Morris twins are charged with felony assault for allegedly chirapsia a man who expressed adoration for their female parent.
Summer 2015
Silky-smooth 18-year-erstwhile draft pick Devin Booker joins the team from Kentucky.
September 2015
Out: Us Airways. In: Talking Stick Resort Arena.
February 2016
Earl Watson replaces Hornacek as head, instituting a defense- and rebound-oriented game plan.
Apr 2016
Capping an otherwise dismal 23-59 season, Booker averages 13.8 points and makes the NBA All-Rookie offset team.
March 2017
Longtime voice of the Suns McCoy is admitted into the Suns Ring of Honor.
Apr 2017
Another rebuilding year: 24-58. But at least Michael Beasley'south heinous contract is off the books.
Summer 2017
The Suns accept swoopy Kansas forward Josh Jackson with their first-circular pick. Nowhere to go but up!
Autumn 2017
l and counting. Squad commemorates its semicentennial with new logo and all-new, bold-font uniforms.
Suns All-Time Lineup
During its fifty-twelvemonth history, the Suns franchise has assembled a formidable pantheon of basketball game talent. We solicited input from our own squad of sports media all-stars to aid u.s. with the arduous task of selecting the Suns' all-fourth dimension team.
Console
Paul Coro
Longtime Arizona Republic Suns beat reporter
Dave King
Managing editor, Brilliant Side of the Sun fan site
Vince Marotta
Co-host, Bickley & Marotta, Arizona Sports 98.seven FM
Kevin McCabe
Long-fourth dimension Valley TV and radio sports broadcaster
Signal Guard
1: Steve Nash
Seasons: 10 (1996-98, 2004-12)
Primal accomplishments: Two-time NBA MVP; led NBA in assists 5 times; six-time All-Star
Suns stats: 14.4 ppg, ix.4 apg
The wily, ambidextrous Canadian is non simply the best point baby-sit in Suns history, just the best thespian in franchise history – and the goad for its most exciting, dominating teams. A unanimous choice by our panel. "His savant play changed the league'south mode," Coro says.
two: Kevin Johnson
Seasons: 11 (1988-1998, 2000)
The Berkeley product led the Suns to 11 playoff appearances. 3-time All-Star, 5-time All-NBA. Only injuries kept him from ranking amidst the game's all-time bang-up guards.
3: Jason Kidd
Seasons: 5 (1996-2001)
Spending his prime years in Phoenix, the gifted playmaker was named to the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams every year. He was besides a iii-time NBA All-Star and led the NBA in assists three times.
Bench: Dennis Johnson, Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic
Shooting Guard
i: Paul Westphal
Seasons: 6 (1975-80, 1983-84)
Key accomplishments: Four-time All-Star; iv-time All-NBA; first All-Star weekend HORSE champion
Suns stats: twenty.6 ppg, five.2 apg
"Westy" immediately turned the Suns into a championship contender following his arrival from the Celtics. A sharpshooter with mortiferous mid- and long-range bound shots, he was among the best guards of his era and led an improbable run to the 1976 NBA Finals. Later on returned to coach the team.
2: Dick Van Arsdale
Seasons: ix (1968-77)
Dubbed "The Original Lord's day," the lanky perimeter player "gave instant credibility to a new franchise with his clever scoring," Coro says.
3: Jeff Hornacek
Seasons: 6 (1986-92)
Forming a potent backcourt with Kevin Johnson, the second-round draftee was an integral part (xiii.seven ppg) of the first dominant Suns. Did it all – corking passing, iii-signal shooting, rebounding, defense.
Bench: Dan Majerle, Charlie Scott and Devin Booker, who "might ane 24-hour interval surpass them all. He definitely has the talent and moxie," King says.
Small Frontwards
1: Walter Davis
Seasons: xi (1977-88)
Key accomplishments: 1977-1978 NBA Rookie of the Year; six-fourth dimension All-Star; two-time All-NBA; leading scorer in franchise history (15,666)
Suns stats: 20.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, iv.4 apg
Affectionately known as "The Greyhound" for his sleek rim-to-rim offense, the fifth overall selection in the 1977 NBA Draft made an firsthand impact, and averaged more than 20 points a game during his Suns career. "He delivered with flawless shooting class," says Coro. Simply injuries and substance abuse prevented him from achieving Hall of Fame status.
2: Shawn Marion
Seasons: 9 (1999-2008)
"Probably the all-time defensive player in Suns history," Marotta says – maybe the nigh well-rounded, with an 18.4/x.0/ii.0 career Suns stat-line. "He should be in the Band of Honor. His numbers warrant it," McCabe says.
3: Connie Hawkins
Seasons: 5 (1969-74)
"He was Dr. J with a jump shot," McCabe says of the lithe Hall of Fame forwards, who averaged 20.5 ppg with the Suns. A tough call at No. 3 – blame his brief stay in Phoenix.
Demote: Cedric Ceballos, Grant Hill
Ability Frontward
1: Charles Barkley
Seasons: iv (1992-96)
Cardinal accomplishments: 1992-1993 NBA MVP; 4-time All Star; four-time All-NBA
Suns stats: avg. 23.4 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 4.4 apg
Sir Charles played only four seasons with the Suns, merely they were top seasons – and he was the Suns' first MVP. Challenges Nash as Suns' all-time greatest player. "He revitalized Phoenix with his burly athleticism, MVP skill and larger-than-Arizona personality," Coro says. "You lot can't have a Suns all-time team without Barkley as your ringleader," adds King.
2: Amar'due east Stoudemire
Seasons: 8 (2002-ten)
King chooses STAT as his offset pick, reasoning "his talent was undeniable and his domination was quite dominant." Splitting time between power frontward and center, Stoudemire was a 5-time All-Star while averaging 18.nine points and 7.viii rebounds per game as a Sun.
three: Larry Nance
Seasons: seven (1981-1988)
The able-bodied big homo was a force at both ends of the floor and edges the loftier-scoring Chambers for the final spot. "The Suns' best blocks leader gained fame for dunks, only was a classy All-Star with value for a vital (Barkley) trade," says Coro.
Bench: Tom Chambers, Cliff Robinson, Paul Silas
Middle
1: Alvan Adams
Seasons: 13 (1975-88)
Key accomplishments: Suns all-time leader in games, steals and rebounds; No. 2 in points and No. 3 in assists
Suns stats: xiv.1 ppg, 7 rpg, four.1 apg, i.3 spg
The lifelong Sun had longevity, versatility and productivity while filling the Suns record volume. "Alvan Adams did as much to carry the Suns to the 1976 Finals as Paul Westphal or Gar Heard. He was the original pocket-sized-ball center," King says.
2: Neal Walk
Seasons: 5 (1969-74)
"He was long considered the booby prize in the Lew Alcindor coin flip, but the furry center was a animate being," McCabe says. Averaged 14.7 ppg and eight.9 rpg with the Suns.
three: Mark Due west
Seasons: eight (1987-94, 1999-2000)
"A difference-maker on defense and fan favorite from the best era of Suns basketball game," Marotta says of the Former Rule product, who averaged half dozen.nine ppg and 6 rpg.
Bench: James Edwards
Top 10 Phoenix Suns Moments 1968-2018
by Ron Matejko
Sports has a unique chapters to compose spontaneous, unscripted moments into our memories – a mental SportsCenter highlight reel, which yous can replay at will. Here are the 10 greatest clips in the fifty-twelvemonth register of the Phoenix Suns.
#one Charles Barkley trade
June 17, 1992
A headline in The New York Times declared information technology "A Bright Day for the Suns." One calendar month after the Suns were eliminated from the NBA playoffs and assistant coach Lionel Hollins told owner Jerry Colangelo,"They need a Charles Barkley," they had him. The trade changed the franchise forever every bit the Suns immediately catapulted into the NBA title film later acquiring talented and charismatic all-star power forward Charles Barkley from the Philadelphia 76ers. During Barkley'southward starting time season in the desert, the squad posted its best 82-game stretch in franchise history, finishing 62-20 and taking home-court reward into the 1993 NBA Finals.
#2 Mail service-finals parade
June 26, 1993
On a 113-degree 24-hour interval, the hottest day of the year to that point, more than 300,000 fans lined the 2.five-mile parade route along Key Avenue and packed America West Loonshit Plaza to celebrate the Suns' run to the 1993 NBA Finals despite losing in half dozen games to the mighty Chicago Bulls. Fans were so fired up, they mobbed Charles Barkley's convertible, forcing police force to remove him from the parade before he was able to become two blocks. Barkley acknowledged the passionate crowd from a balcony overlooking America W Arena Plaza during a mail service-parade ceremony.
#3 Steve Nash comes home
July xiv, 2004
News that free amanuensis Nash would be rejoining the team that drafted him back in 1996 garnered tepid reactions at the time – a "homecoming" headline here, a "solid signing" op-ed there. Ultimately, it became the greatest free amanuensis signing in franchise history. During 10 seasons, Nash won two NBA MVP Awards, made half dozen All-Star teams, was selected to the All-NBA First or 2d Team five times and ranks first all-time in franchise history in numerous offensive categories.
#4 The shot Heard Effectually the Earth
June iv, 1976
The Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics played what is widely considered the greatest game in NBA Finals history. Gar Heard's high-arcing jumper as time expired in the second extra menstruum sent the competition into triple OT – a first for professional basketball'due south signature effect. The upstart Suns lost Game 5, 128-126 in 3OT, but their place in NBA Finals lore is secure.
#5 Game One
Oct 18, 1968
Every story has a beginning. For the expansion Suns, it was the moment their sneakers first christened the hardwood at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum – a metaphorical olfactory organ-snubbing at the critics who said the NBA didn't belong in Phoenix. The Valley'due south starting time pro franchise vanquish the Seattle SuperSonics, 116-107, in their debut in front of seven,112 at the "Madhouse on McDowell," a rare victory during a sixteen-66 inaugural season.
#6 Devin Booker's 70-point game
March 24, 2017
Guard Devin Booker put himself in the record books by dropping 70 points on the Boston Celtics, merely the sixth player to eclipse that milestone in an NBA game, and the youngest in league history. The scoring outburst past the twenty-year-old budding superstar provided an unforgettable performance, fifty-fifty if he couldn't legally buy a celebratory beer after.
#7 Acquiring rights to Connie Hawkins
June 20, 1969
Not long after losing a money flip and the rights to draft Lew Alcindor, the Suns won a lesser-known 2nd coin flip for the rights to sign its first superstar, Connie Hawkins. The electrifying high flyer – blackballed for many years by the league later a college point-shaving scandal – made his NBA debut in Phoenix and put the squad on the map by averaging 24.half dozen points, x.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists while earning All-Star and First Team All-NBA honors.
#8 Dodging the "Goliath" label
May 9, 1993
Sixty seconds from being the first No. one seed ever eliminated by a No. 8 seed, the Suns rally to strength overtime before pulling off the 112-104 win over the hated Los Angeles Lakers. Ultimately, the Suns achieved a far more cheering "first" – being the first team to rally from an 0-ii deficit at abode to win an NBA playoff series, fulfilling a comeback guarantee by head coach Paul Westphal.
#9 Trading for Paul Westphal
May 23, 1975
By trading Charlie Scott to Boston for Paul Westphal, the Suns gave upwards a talented scorer merely acquired arguably the greatest shooting baby-sit in franchise history. During his half dozen seasons in Phoenix – including the NBA Finals team of 1976 – Westphal was a four-fourth dimension All Star and four-time All-NBA option, later returning to motorcoach the team. Westy'southward number 44 is retired, and he's in the Band of Laurels.
#10 Reaching start NBA Finals
May 16, 1976
The underdog Suns reached their first NBA Finals afterwards eliminating the defending NBA champion Golden Land Warriors in seven games. The stunning upset led Sports Illustrated to dub the squad the "Phoenix Sunderellas." The victory also put Phoenix on the route to another historic game three weeks later (encounter #four).
And 50 More?
Q&A with Robert Sarver
"This team is your team – and this is your court!" Suns owner Robert Sarver tells several dozen assembled youngsters at a refurbished Downtown Phoenix basketball court on the concluding truly sweltering twenty-four hour period of the twelvemonth in September. The boss looks hot, and the Phoenix Suns Gorilla is taking oxygen in a nearby Escalade, only the scene is plumbing fixtures – afterwards all, it'southward the Suns. Dedicating the court on an clouded day would seem like sacrilege.
This court volition be i of 50 that the Suns will build or rehabilitate this season all over Arizona, role of the squad's effort both to honor its past and consecrate its hereafter. Sarver, the Tucson native ace developer who led a group acquisition of the franchise in 2004, took a few moments to give us a preview of the celebratory season.
Where did the idea to refurbish fifty courts come from?
It was an thought nosotros had early in the process, when we sabbatum downward to retrieve of ideas to commemorate this smashing milestone. This volition happen to courts all over the state, because we see the Suns as a statewide team – something that all Arizonans can dearest.
Do you think the Suns occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of phoenix sports fans?
We were the first major sports franchise in Arizona, so that's something special and unique. But all the sports teams are beloved hither in the Valley – the Cardinals, the D-backs, the Coyotes. All are nifty.
Looking forward to the next 50 years, do you come across the suns as a family concern – ane that you lot'll pass to your heirs?
I meet the Suns every bit belonging to the city of Phoenix. They'll stay hither and remain an of import part of the metropolis's culture.
What'due south the latest word on the new arena? Would you consider a move to Tempe or elsewhere in the Valley?
Our kickoff priority is to stay in Downtown Phoenix, and [the city] knows our thoughts on that. If [replacing Talking Stick Resort Arena] isn't something they desire to do, we'll look at other options. But it's 1 of the oldest [arenas] in the league correct now. We demand a modernistic NBA facility.
Source: https://www.phoenixmag.com/2017/11/01/50-years-of-the-suns/
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