Team:
Phoenix Suns
Sport: NBA Basketball
Background: The Phoenix Suns are
a National Basketball Association team based in Phoenix,
Arizona.
Founded: 1968
Home Arena: America West Arena
Uniform colors: Purple and Orange
Logo design: A burning basketball,
the letters "PHX" superimposed
Franchise history:
The Suns came to the Valley of the Sun in 1968. They
began with a victory over the Seattle SuperSonics
on opening night.
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, Len "Truck" Robinson, Alvan
Adams, and center Neal Walk, who sadly, in 1974 had
a car accident that left him paralyzed. 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 defending NBA champion 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 triple-overtime classic that is considered by many
to be the greatest game in NBA history.
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The next few years for the Suns weren't as good,
as a drug scandal rocked the organization in 1987,
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 Phoenix Suns 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 against the Houston Rockets and get eliminated
by them both years. In 1996, Barkley's relationship
with Colangelo grew sour and they trashed each other
publicly [1]. Barkley was traded and the Suns began
a downward 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.
