Phoenix Suns

Founded: 1968

Formerly known as:

Home Arena: America West Arena

Uniform colors: Purple and Orange

Logo design: A burning basketball, the letters "PHX" superimposed

NBA Championships:

Franchise history

The brainchild of former Chicago Bulls assistant coach and Arizona sports magnate Jerry Colangelo, the Suns in the 1970s had mild success, combining the talents of such players like Dick Van Arsdale[?] (The Original Sun), his twin brother Tom Van Arsdale[?], Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins[?], Truck Robinson[?], Alvan Adams[?], and center Neal Walk[?], who sadly, in 1974 had a car accident that left him paralized. In 1976,the year the movie Rocky was released, the Suns proved to be a real-life, basketball version of Rocky.They finished the season with 40 wins and 42 losses, but shockingly they beat the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs and went on to play the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals[?], giving the Celtics[?] a tough battle before falling in 6 games. Game 3 was a classic that is considered to be the greatest game in NBA history.

The next few years for the Suns werent as good, as a drug scandal rocked the organization in 1982, and the franchise was having a hard time putting wins together. That all began to change in 1987, though, with the acquisition through a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers of Kevin Johnson and Mark West[?]. In 1988, Tom Chambers[?] came over from Seattle, Jeff Hornacek[?] was signed, and the team began a 13 year playoff streak. Kurt Rambis[?] was added from the Charlotte Hornets[?] in 1989, and the team caused a shocking upset by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games that season before falling to the Portland Trail Blazers in the western conference finals.

Hornacek was traded to Philadelphia in 1992 along with Andrew Lang for the flamboyant but productive Charles Barkley, probably a future hall of famer himself. Former Boston Celtics member Danny Ainge[?] was added to the mix and the Suns had a dynamic team that would be hard to stop. They won 62 games that year, advancing to the NBA finals[?] for the second time ever, where they lost in 6 games to the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen[?]-led Bulls. The next couple of years saw the Suns waste 3 to 1 leads vs the Houston Rockets and get eliminated by them both years. In 1996, Barkley's relationship with Colangelo grew sour and they thrashed each other publicly [1]. Barkley got traded and the Suns began what has been a down-spiral that has continued to this day. While this was going on, Johnson retired, but he attempted a comeback to try to help the Suns during the 1998 playoffs.

The Suns kept making the playoffs until the 2001-2002 campaign, when they fell short for the first time in 14 years. That season marked the trade of Jason Kidd[?] to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury[?]. Lottery-bound, however, the Suns were able to draft Amare Stoudemire.

The 2002-2003 has seen the emergence of the rookie player, who many have likened to future Hall of Famer and current Utah Jazz power forward Karl Malone[?]. His size and athleticism, along with a strong work ethic, have many anticipating him to join the ranks of Tracy McGrady[?], Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett[?] as the best NBA players to have jumped from high school to the pro ranks. He was named, on April 25, as the NBA's Rookie of The Year for the 2002-2003 season, when the Suns posted a record of 43-39 and returned to the playoffs.

It is worthy to note that every single Suns game in history has been covered both on local Phoenix tv and Radio by the legendary broadcaster, Al McCoy, who has battled every kind of situation imaginable to keep doing his job every time his beloved Suns play. He even travelled to Japan in 1991, when the Suns kicked off the 1991-1992 NBA season there with 2 games against the Jazz.

Players of note

• Connie Hawkins[?]

• 34 Charles Barkley
• Neal Walk[?]
• Jeff Hornacek[?]

• 5 Dick Van Arsdale[?]
• 6 Walter Davis[?]
• 7 Kevin Johnson
• 24 Tom Chambers[?]
• 33 Alvan Adams[?]
• 42 Connie Hawkins[?]
• 44 Paul Westphal
• Joe Proski[?] (trainer)
• 9 Dan Majerle[?]

Current stars:

• Stephon Marbury[?]
• Shawn Marion[?]
• Amare Stoudemire
• Anfernee Hardaway[?]
• Tom Gugliotta[?]
• Casey Jacobsen[?]

Phoenix Suns official web site (http://www.nba.com/suns/)

[1] Their feud has since been repaired, however, and Barkley appeared at a Suns home game in 2003. His jersey should soon be retired.