59 Fun Facts About Phoenix Suns

The Suns lost a 1969 coin flip for which UCLA centre?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then Lew Alcindor, went first to the team that won the flip after the Suns' league-worst 16–66 debut, and within two seasons he had led that team to the NBA title.

Which other franchise joined the NBA alongside the Suns in 1968?

The Milwaukee Bucks came in with Phoenix in 1968, beat the Suns in a coin flip for the top pick of the 1969 draft and were NBA champions by 1971.

Whom did the Suns draft second overall in 1969 after losing a coin flip for the first pick?

Neal Walk, a Florida centre, peaked at 20.2 points and 12.4 rebounds a game in 1972–73, yet the Suns traded him to New Orleans in 1974.

What entry fee did the Suns' owners pay the NBA for their expansion franchise in 1968?

$2 million bought the franchise in January 1968, and the singers Andy Williams and Bobbie Gentry were among the minority owners in the group that paid it.

Which of these names lost to 'Suns' in the 1968 name-the-team contest?

Scorpions was among the names passed over; so many fans suggested 'Suns' that the winner of the $1,000 prize and season tickets had to be drawn at random.

How much was Tucson printer Stan Fabe paid to design the Suns' original sunburst logo in 1968?

$200 was the whole fee for Stan Fabe, who ran a commercial printing plant in Tucson, and the Suns went on wearing his sunburst for 24 years.

Who became the Suns' first general manager at age 28 in 1968 and later owned the team?

Jerry Colangelo, hired at 28 as the youngest general manager in pro sports, twice stepped in as the Suns' head coach himself before leading the 1987 buyout.

What was the nickname of Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Suns' home for their first 24 seasons?

The Madhouse on McDowell took its name from the Coliseum's address on McDowell Road; the Suns played there from their debut until moving downtown in 1992.

Which broadcaster, 'the Voice of the Suns' from 1972 to 2023, is the longest-tenured in NBA history?

Al McCoy called Suns games for 51 seasons, won the Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2007 and made 'Shazam!' his trademark cry for a made three-pointer.

Which guard did the Suns get from Boston in a 1975 trade for Charlie Scott?

Paul Westphal arrived from Boston in the 1975 Charlie Scott trade, made four straight All-Star teams in Phoenix and later coached the 1993 Finals team.

Who hit the buzzer-beating turnaround jumper that forced a third overtime in Game 5 of the 1976 Finals?

Garfield Heard's turnaround at the buzzer tied Game 5 after Westphal had deliberately called a timeout the Suns did not have, which moved the inbound to half-court; the Suns nevertheless lost 128–126.

Which team beat the Suns in the 1976 NBA Finals?

The Boston Celtics beat Phoenix in six games for the 1976 title; the Suns had reached the Finals by upsetting the defending champion Warriors in seven.

A 1987 drug scandal saw three active Suns indicted partly on immunised testimony from which star?

Walter Davis, the Suns' leading scorer, testified to the grand jury under immunity; none of the players stood trial, and the franchise was sold six months after the indictments.

Which point guard did the Suns get from Cleveland in the 1988 trade that sent Larry Nance to the Cavaliers?

Kevin Johnson arrived from Cleveland in the February 1988 Larry Nance trade, began a run of 13 straight playoff appearances and later served as mayor of Sacramento.

Which forward, signed by Phoenix in 1988, was the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history?

Tom Chambers left Seattle in July 1988 as the NBA's first unrestricted free agent, then scored 60 points against his old team in March 1990, a Suns record at the time.

Which team beat the Suns 153–151 in double overtime in their last Coliseum game in 1992?

Portland won what was then the highest-scoring playoff game the NBA had seen, closed out the series in the next game and went on to the NBA Finals.

Which All-Star guard headed the three-player package the Suns sent to Philadelphia for Charles Barkley in 1992?

Jeff Hornacek went to Philadelphia with Andrew Lang and Tim Perry in June 1992, and Barkley answered by winning the MVP award in his first season in Phoenix.

Which team beat the 62-win Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals?

The Chicago Bulls won their third straight title, but the Suns had nearly gone out in round one, dropping the first two games at home to the Lakers before winning three in a row.

Roughly how many fans lined downtown Phoenix for a parade after the Suns lost the 1993 Finals?

About 300,000 fans stood along the route in triple-digit heat, six days after a late three-pointer had beaten the Suns by a single point at home in the deciding game.

Which team eliminated the Suns in seven-game conference semifinals in both 1994 and 1995?

The Houston Rockets trailed 0–2 in 1994 and 1–3 in 1995, came back to win both series in seven games and went on to take the title both years.

Which fan favourite did the Suns trade to Cleveland in 1995 for John 'Hot Rod' Williams?

Dan Majerle went to the Cavaliers in October 1995 for John 'Hot Rod' Williams, then came back as a free agent to play his final season in Phoenix in 2001–02.

Steve Nash, the 15th pick in 1996, came to the Suns from which California college?

Santa Clara sent Nash to Phoenix as the 15th pick; the Suns traded him after two seasons, re-signed him in 2004 and watched him win the next two MVP awards.

Which former Suns guard took over as coach during the team's 0–13 start to 1996–97?

Danny Ainge replaced Cotton Fitzsimmons eight games into the 0–13 start, and with Jason Kidd arriving in midseason the Suns finished 40–42 and reached the playoffs.

The 1998 trade of Steve Nash to Dallas brought Phoenix a future first-round pick used on which player?

Shawn Marion went ninth in 1999 with the pick Dallas gave up for Nash, became a four-time All-Star and was Nash's teammate when he came back to Phoenix in 2004.

Which guard joined Jason Kidd in 1999 to form the Suns' 'Backcourt 2000'?

Penny Hardaway arrived from Orlando in 1999, but injuries kept the pair apart: Kidd broke an ankle in March 2000 and Hardaway played four games the next season.

Amar'e Stoudemire became the first Rookie of the Year to have been drafted straight from what?

High school was Stoudemire's last stop: drafted ninth in 2002 out of Cypress Creek in Orlando, he beat out Yao Ming in the voting for the 2002–03 award.

Which banker led the group that bought the Suns for a then-record $401 million in 2004?

Robert Sarver, a Tucson-born banker, paid what was then the most ever for an NBA team and kept the Suns until a league suspension in 2022 led him to sell.

After a team-record 33-win improvement in 2004–05, the Suns lost the conference finals to which team?

The San Antonio Spurs needed only five games, ending a season in which Phoenix had jumped from 29 wins to a league-best 62.

Which coach won NBA Coach of the Year with the Suns in 2004–05?

Mike D'Antoni won the award in his first full season in charge, having taken over from Frank Johnson 21 games into a 29-win season the year before.

Steve Nash became the second point guard to win back-to-back MVPs, after whom?

Magic Johnson won back-to-back MVPs in 1989 and 1990; Nash matched him in 2005 and 2006, then finished second in 2007 to Dirk Nowitzki, his former teammate.

Which Suns guard was ejected and suspended for clotheslining Kobe Bryant in the 2006 first round?

Raja Bell was ejected for the Game 5 clothesline and suspended for Game 6; Phoenix nevertheless rallied from 3–1 down to win the series in seven.

Which team did the Suns beat in Game 7 of the 2006 conference semifinals, hitting 15 three-pointers?

The Los Angeles Clippers lost 127–107 in Phoenix on May 22, 2006, the Suns' second Game 7 win of those playoffs after a first-round comeback from 3–1 down.

Which book covers Jack McCallum's season embedded with the 2005–06 Suns?

Seven Seconds or Less took its title from the Suns' fast-break offence, and its subtitle, 'My Season on the Bench', says how close the team let McCallum get.

Which Suns player won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award for 2006–07?

Leandro Barbosa, the 'Brazilian Blur', averaged 18.1 points off the bench in 2006–07; another team had drafted him 28th in 2003 and traded his rights to Phoenix the same night.

Which former TNT analyst became Suns general manager in 2007 and signed Grant Hill?

Steve Kerr left TNT to run the Suns' front office in June 2007 and signed Grant Hill that summer; he stepped down in 2010 and went on to coach the Warriors.

The Suns' 'Los Suns' uniforms on Cinco de Mayo 2010 were widely reported as a protest against what?

An Arizona illegal-immigration law, SB 1070, had been signed that April, and the team wore 'Los Suns' in a Cinco de Mayo playoff game to show support for the state's Latino community.

Amar'e Stoudemire left Phoenix in 2010 for a five-year deal with which team?

The New York Knicks landed Stoudemire in a July 2010 sign-and-trade worth about $100 million; he was an All-Star in his first season there, but injuries cut him to 29 games by his third.

To which team did the Suns trade Steve Nash in 2012?

The Los Angeles Lakers gave up four draft picks for Nash in a July 2012 sign-and-trade, but injuries held him to 65 games over two seasons before he retired.

Which Kentucky guard did the Suns draft 13th overall in 2015?

Devin Booker was 18 on draft night, and in March 2017 he scored 70 points in a game the Suns still lost by ten.

Whom did the Suns select with their first-ever No. 1 overall pick in 2018?

Deandre Ayton, the Arizona centre, was the franchise's first No. 1 pick in 2018, going ahead of Marvin Bagley III and Luka Dončić; he was traded to Portland in 2023.

Which Arizona Cardinals star bought a minority stake in the Suns in January 2020?

Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals' receiver, joined the Suns' ownership group as a minority partner in January 2020 while he was an active NFL player.

After their 8–0 bubble, the Suns traded for which guard?

Chris Paul arrived from Oklahoma City in November 2020 and led a team that had missed ten straight postseasons to the NBA Finals in his first season.

Which head coach led the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals?

Monty Williams took Phoenix to the 2021 Finals and was Coach of the Year the next season after a 64–18 record, yet was dismissed in 2023 after two straight second-round exits.

Which billionaire agreed in December 2022 to buy the Suns and Mercury at a then-record $4 billion valuation?

Mat Ishbia, a walk-on on Michigan State's 2000 national championship team, took control in February 2023 and traded for Kevin Durant within days.

Which two young wings went to Brooklyn in the February 2023 trade for Kevin Durant?

Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson went to the Nets with Jae Crowder and four first-round picks; Brooklyn later sent Bridges on to the Knicks for five more first-rounders.

Which coach beat the Suns in the 2021 Finals, then was hired and fired by Phoenix in 2024-25?

Mike Budenholzer, whose team beat Phoenix in 2021, lasted one 36–46 season: a roster built around three All-Stars missed the playoffs, and he was fired the day after it ended.

Which Suns player won NBA Rookie of the Year for the 1975–76 season?

Alvan Adams, the fourth pick out of Oklahoma, was an All-Star as a rookie and helped a 42–40 Suns team go all the way to the 1976 Finals.

The Suns' Gorilla mascot began when a worker from which type of business came to a 1980 game in a gorilla suit?

A singing telegram service called Eastern Onion employed Henry Rojas, who danced in a gorilla suit at a 1980 game and kept returning until the Suns hired him; 'Go' joined the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2005.

The Suns' Gorilla took a chokeslam and tombstone from Kane on which TV show in 1998?

WWE Raw, then billed as WWF Raw, aired the 1998 segment in which Kane chokeslammed and tombstoned the Gorilla; Bob Woolf, a former Arizona State gymnast, played the character for decades.

The Suns' 'The Valley' City uniform features a pixelated sunset over which Phoenix landmark?

Camelback Mountain anchors the pixelated sunset on 'The Valley' jersey of 2020–21, which the Suns kept for a second season while other teams switched to anniversary mash-up designs.

Which ABA star joined the Suns in 1969 after settling his antitrust suit against the NBA?

Connie Hawkins, long barred from the NBA over a college point-shaving probe in which he was never charged, settled his suit and joined Phoenix in 1969, making the All-NBA First Team that season.

Which Suns player won the NBA Most Improved Player award for 2005–06?

Boris Diaw came from Atlanta in the 2005 Joe Johnson deal and won the award after stepping in at centre when Amar'e Stoudemire's knee gave out.

Where did the Suns play their annual outdoor preseason game from 2008 to 2010?

Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California staged all three games; the first, in October 2008, was hit by the weather, with temperatures dropping into the 60s and gusts of up to 15 mph.

Which former Bulls Coach of the Year was the Suns' first head coach in 1968?

Johnny 'Red' Kerr had been Coach of the Year with the expansion Bulls, but in Phoenix he finished last in his first season and was asked to resign partway through his second.

Which future Hall of Fame guard, picked in the 1968 expansion draft, returned to the Lakers after two Suns seasons?

Gail Goodrich was an All-Star in his first Suns season, yet Phoenix traded him back to Los Angeles in 1970 for Mel Counts; two years later he was the top scorer on the Lakers' title team.

What nickname, a nod to a Suns team colour, do fans give the downtown arena opened in 1992?

The Purple Palace is the popular name for the arena that opened as America West Arena in June 1992; in their first season there the Suns reached the Finals, losing the deciding game at home by one point.

Which NBA team did the Suns face in their very first game in 1968?

The Seattle SuperSonics, a year-old franchise themselves, lost 116–107 to the Suns on 18 October 1968; the winning start did not last, and Phoenix ended its first season with the NBA's worst record.

According to the Suns Gorilla's tongue-in-cheek team biography, where did the mascot go to university?

Furman is the joke: the spoof biography lists his school as 'Fur-man University' and his home as the Banana Republic, playing on the mascot's coat and diet.

What colour was the base of the Suns' 2022-23 City uniform saluting Native American culture?

Turquoise, known as the protection stone, formed the base of the 2022–23 City jersey honouring Arizona's 22 tribal nations; each nation's word for 'sun' is printed down the side.