About the Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns, are a professional basketball team and one of seven teams in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Suns play in America West Arena in Phoenix, and wear jerseys of purple, white, and orange. The franchises name refers to Phoenixs hot, sunny weather in the Sonoran Desert.

In just their second season (1969-70) the Suns made the playoffs behind the franchises early stars: forwards Connie Hawkins, Paul Silas, and Dick Van Arsdale and guard Gail Goodrich. Phoenix first made it to the NBA Finals in 1976, losing to the Boston Celtics. The franchise again went the NBA Finals in 1993, with a team led by forward Charles Barkley.

The Suns entered the NBA in 1968 as part of a league expansion that included the Milwaukee Bucks. Phoenix compiled a 16-66 record in their first season and earned the opportunity to flip a coin with the Bucks to determine which team would own the number-one pick in the 1969 NBA draft. Milwaukee won the toss and selected Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar); the Suns picked center Neal Walk.

Former University of Oklahoma coach John MacLeod became the Suns head coach in 1973 and led the team for more than 13 seasons. The teams most exciting season under MacLeod was 1975-76, when the Suns amassed a 42-40 record and finished in third place in the Pacific Division. In the playoffs, guard Paul Westphal and center Alvan Adams helped Phoenix beat the SuperSonics and the Golden State Warriors to advance to the NBA Finals. The Suns faced a strong Boston Celtics team led by center Dave Cowens and forward John Havlicek in the NBA Finals. Game five, which lasted three overtimes, is considered one of the NBAs most storied games. Boston won the game, by the score of 128-126, and went on to win the series.

In four out of five years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Suns registered more than 50 win. Forward Maurice Lucas and guard Walter Davis led the team to a 41-41 regular season in the 1983-84 campaign. The Suns rolled through the playoffs and advanced to the Western Conference championship series, where they lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Injuries and aging or inexperienced players led to four consecutive losing seasons and an overhaul of players and coaches alike. Beginning with the 1988-89 season, the Suns registered seven consecutive seasons with at least 50 victories. In 1992 Phoenix acquired Charles Barkley from the Philadelphia 76ers. He sparked the team to 62 wins and won the NBAs most valuable player (MVP) award. Along with forward Dan Majerle and guard Kevin Johnson, Barkley led Phoenix to the 1993 NBA Championship finals, where the team lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. The Suns won game three of the series in triple overtimethe first triple overtime game in the NBA Finals since the Suns fell to the Celtics in 1976.

Through the mid-1990s Phoenix stayed competitive, qualifying for the playoffs in 1994 and 1995. After the Suns finished 41-41 in the 1995-96 season, Barkley was sent to the Houston Rockets in a trade.