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The Phoenix Suns began playing in the NBA in 1968 and soon began a string of winning seasons after the typical struggle to compete endured by expansion teams subsided. Players like Connie Hawkins, Leaonard “Truck” Robinson, Alvan Adams, and Neal Walk helped the Suns announce their presence in 1976 with a surprise run to the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics defeated the Suns in six games, but the franchise proved that it had the potential to be more than just another guaranteed victory.
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About The Phoenix Suns
Times were good for the Phoenix Suns in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The team won 50 or more games four times in six seasons and played in the postseason from 1978 to 1985. The team could never get past the conference finals. Things took a turn for the worse for the Suns after three of their players were indicted on drug charges.
The troubled times led to a change in ownership of the team. Led by general manager Jerry Colangelo the team was purchased for $44 million. The new ownership began to assemble a new group of players to replace the roster. Walter Davis bridged the gap as Kevin Johnson, Tyrone Corbin, Tom Chambers, and Dan Majerle. By the late ‘80s the Phoenix Suns made a resounding comeback. They went from a 28-54 record in the 1987-88 season to a 55-27 record in the 1988-89 season and did not finish a season with less than 50 wins until the 1995-96 season.
A great regular season often led to deep playoff runs, but it was not until Charles Barkley arrived in 1992 that the team had the true star power to reach the finals. That season the Phoenix Suns went 62-20 and Barkley won the NBA MVP. The Suns returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1976, playing the Chicago Bulls. Barkley and the Suns became the last team the Bulls beat for in their first three peat in the ‘90s.
Jordan left the NBA for the 1993-94 and most of the 1994-95 seasons, leaving a two year window that for the Phoenix Suns to win the championship, but both seasons the Suns fell to the Houston Rockets, the eventual champions, in the conference semi-finals. The Phoenix Suns traded Barkley at the beginning of the 1996-97 season after a disappointing season the year before.
The Suns had future stars like Steve Nash and Michael Finley on those late ‘90s rosters, but traded them away as Jason Kidd became the star of a team riddled with injuries. Penny Hardaway and Cedric Ceballos were supposed to be part of a new winning formula, but injuries never allowed them to expand upon their regular season success. Soon Kidd was traded for Stephon Marbury and Amare Stoudamire was drafted straight out of high school in 2002. Marbury had impressive individual numbers, but did not quite have the effect the Suns envisioned.
Marbury was traded away to the Knicks and the Phoenix Suns signed Steve Nash to a long term contract. The contract was criticized because of Nash’s age, but the point guard became the facilitator for a high powered offense at US Airways Center. Amare Stoudamire and Shawn Marion had breakout seasons as all stars. Nash was a perfect fit for the Mike D’Antoni philosophy and the Phoenix Suns suddenly became annual contenders for the NBA Championship.
Phoenix always managed to come close, but they were thwarted often times by the San Antonio Spurs. In the offseason the Suns signed Grant Hill and in the middle of the 2007-08 season the Suns decided that they needed a big man and traded Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaq. In his first half season with the Suns the new dynamic failed and the Suns exited the first round. It was announced that D’Antoni was fired and Terry Porter would be brought in to take over as coach.
The Phoenix Suns of yesteryear, the team that threw up shots at will and constantly rant he court, is over. Terry Porter will come in and preach defense to a team that has not played any since 2003. The new offense will most certainly slow the pace of the scoring and probably be a better fit for a roster that now includes Shaq and Grant Hill. Steve Nash is still an offensive virtuoso, so there is still hope that the Phoenix Suns will be fun to watch, but a new era with a definitive shelf life has arrived.
Shaq, Hill, and Nash are well into their 30s and have a season or two to make good with the roster. The Phoenix Suns still have Amare Stoudamire and he will probably flourish in a system in which he no longer plays center. Raja Bell is a defensive star with a three point shot, so his place is safe. The team is still rather deep. Leandro Barbosa is a scoring threat from anywhere on the court and Boris Diaw can hit the midrange jumper. The front office went and signed Goran Dragic of international fame to give Nash some rest and Robin Lopez was drafted for his defense and rebounding.
This season the Phoenix Suns will play a much more deliberate style of basketball, but they will also play with a much better defense if the players buy into Porter’s system. The style of basketball may not be what fans want to see, but after the mid-season trade last season the team was not going to be able to find a place with Shaq in the lineup unless something drastic changed. The Western Conference is deep and a team changing its philosophy is not likely to make the playoffs, but a team this much talent and experience may be able to break through.
