The Suns began play as an expansion team in 1968. The franchise owns the NBA's fourth-best all-time winning percentage, winning 56 percent of its games, as of the end of the 2010–2011 season. In forty-three years of play, they have made the playoffs 29 times, posted nineteen seasons of 50 or more wins, made nine trips to the Western Conference Finals, and advanced to the NBA Finals in 1976 and 1993. As a result, based on their all-time win-loss percentage, the Suns are the winningest franchise to have never won an NBA Championship.
After continual prodding by Bloch, the NBA Board of Governors finally decided that on January 22, 1968, Phoenix and Milwaukee were granted franchises in their respective cities. They paid an entry fee of $2 million to enter the league. The Suns nickname was among 28,000 entries that were formally chosen in a "Name the Team" contest sponsored by the ''Arizona Republic''; the winner was awarded $1,000 and season tickets to the inaugural season. Suns was preferred to Scorpions, Rattlers, Thunderbirds, Wranglers, Mavericks, Mustangs and Cougars. Stan Fabe, who owned a commercial printing plant in Tucson, designed the team's first iconic logo for a mere $200; this was after the team paid $5,000 to a local artist to design the team's logo, but to disappointing results.
In the 1968 NBA Expansion Draft, notable Suns' pick-ups were future Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale.
Jerry Colangelo, a then-player scout, came over from the Chicago Bulls (a franchise formed two years earlier) as the Suns' first general manager at the age of 28, along with Johnny "Red" Kerr as head coach. Unlike the first-year success that Colangelo and Kerr had in Chicago, in which the Bulls finished with a first-year expansion record of 33 wins and a playoff berth (plus a Coach of the Year award for Kerr), Phoenix finished its first year at 16–66, and finished 25 games out of the final playoff spot.
Both Goodrich and Van Arsdale were selected to the All-Star Game in their first season with the freshly minted Suns. Goodrich would return to his former team, the Lakers, after two seasons with the Suns, but Van Arsdale would spent the rest of his playing days as a Sun and even become a one-time head coach for Phoenix.
The Suns' last-place finish that season led to a coin flip for the number-one overall pick for the 1969 NBA Draft with the expansion-mate Bucks. Milwaukee won the flip, and the rights to draft UCLA center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), while Phoenix settled on drafting center Neal Walk from the University of Florida. While the Bucks went on to win the NBA Finals in 1971 and reaching the Finals again in 1974, the Suns would not go to the Finals themselves until 1976. The 1969–70 season posted better results for the Suns, finishing 39–43, but losing to the eventual Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. The next two seasons (1970–71 and 1971–72), the Suns finished with 48 and 49-win seasons, however they did not qualify for the playoffs in either year, and would not reach the playoffs again until 1976.
Phoenix had an "up-and-down" regular season, starting out at 14–9 (then the best start in team history), then going 4–18 during a stretch of which the team went through injuries (including "Original Sun" Dick Van Arsdale breaking his right arm in a February game), but the Suns caught fire of sorts, going 24–13 in their final 37 games to finish 42–40 overall, clinching their first playoff spot since 1970. The Suns faced the SuperSonics in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, winning the series four games to two, and beat the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, four games to three, to advance to their first-ever Finals.
The Suns faced a battle-tested Celtics team, led by eventual Hall of Famers Dave Cowens and John Havlicek. The crucial Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals took place at Boston Garden, where the Suns came back from a 22-point first-half deficit to force overtime. Havlicek made what was supposed to be a game-winning basket, but due to fans rushing the floor before time officially expired, officials put one second back on the clock with Phoenix having possession of the ball. The Suns' Westphal called a timeout to advance the ball to half-court even though the Suns had no timeouts left. They were assessed a technical foul, in which Celtics guard Jo Jo White made the technical free throw to take a 112–110 lead for the Celtics. Once the Suns had possession, Heard made a buzzer-beating turnaround jump shot to force a second overtime. However, the Suns' hard-fought battle would be short-lived, as Boston's little-used reserve player Glenn McDonald scored six of his eight points in the third overtime to lead the Celtics to a 128–126 win. Boston eventually won the series in six games, clinching the championship at the Coliseum, defeating Phoenix in game six, 87–80, and White was named Finals MVP.
With a drug scandal and the loss of promising young center Nick Vanos, who was killed in the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, the franchise was in turmoil both on and off the court. A sex scandal involving then-coach John Wetzel involving child molestation distracted the team, and led to a poor performance that season. The Suns' luck began to turn around in 1987, however, with the acquisition of Kevin Johnson from the Cleveland Cavaliers, along with Mark West and Tyrone Corbin for popular All-Star power forward Larry Nance. In 1988, the beginnings of a franchise-record 13 consecutive playoff appearances happened for the Suns. All-Star Tom Chambers came over from the Seattle SuperSonics (the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history), 1986 second round draft pick Jeff Hornacek continued to develop, and "Thunder" Dan Majerle was drafted with the 14th pick in the 1988 draft, (obtained via the trade involving Kevin Johnson). Kurt Rambis was added from the Charlotte Hornets in 1989, and the team (coached by Fitzsimmons), in a shocking upset, beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games that season, before falling to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals. In 1991, the Suns stormed to a 55–27 record, however lost in the first round to the Utah Jazz, 3–1. In 1992, the Suns cruised to a 53–29 record during the regular season. While having sent four players to the All-Star Game in the last two seasons (Chambers, Johnson, Hornacek and Majerle), the Suns were poised to make a serious run at the NBA Finals. They showed their poise by sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in three games in the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs. But once again, the Suns fell in five games to the Trail Blazers in the conference semifinals. The series was punctuated by an electrifying Game 4, in which the Suns lost in double overtime 153–151 (the highest scoring game in NBA Playoff history to-date). That game would end up being the last Suns game ever played at the Coliseum. The Suns were yet again denied a shot at a title, but it would not be long before the Suns enjoyed a degree of success they had not experienced for quite some time.
In addition to Barkley, the Suns added some key players to their roster including Danny Ainge and draft players in University of Arkansas center Oliver Miller and forward Richard Dumas (who was actually drafted in 1991 but was suspended for his rookie year for violating the NBA drug policy).
Under rookie head coach Paul Westphal (a former Suns assistant and, as a player, member of the 1976 Suns squad that went to the NBA Finals), the Suns squad consisting mostly of Barkley, Majerle, Johnson and Ainge won 62 games that year, tying a franchise-record. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the eighth-seeded Lakers, coming back from an 0–2 deficit in the five game series. The Suns went on to eliminate the Spurs and Sonics, advancing to the Finals for the second time in franchise history. They eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls, led by eventual Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The series included a triple-overtime game (Game 3) that along with Game 5 of the 1976 series are the only triple overtime games in the history of the NBA finals. Approximately 300,000 fans braved the 105 degree heat to celebrate the memorable season in the streets of Phoenix.
The Suns continued to be successful in the regular season, going 178–68 during the 1992–93, 1993–94, and 1994–95 seasons. They continued to bolster their roster adding players such as A. C. Green, Danny Manning, Wesley Person, Wayman Tisdale, and Elliot Perry. Despite a Pacific Division title in 1995, the Suns ended up being eliminated in consecutive Western Conference Semifinal rounds by the Houston Rockets, both series going a full seven games. Manning was rarely at full strength with the Suns, injuring his ACL in 1995 just before the All-Star break. In both years the Suns led the series by two games at one point (2–0 in 1994, 3–1 in 1995) only to see the Rockets come back to win each series.
At the end of the 1994–95 season, Phoenix general manager, Bryan Colangelo (son of Jerry) initiated what proved to be a very costly trade, sending the All-Star guard/forward Majerle and a first round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for John "Hot Rod" Williams. Majerle was a favorite amongst the fans in Phoenix as well as the Suns locker room. The trade was made to address the Suns' desperate need of a shot blocking center, but proved frustrating as Majerle's presence was sorely missed, and Williams's production never met expectations.
The 1995–96 season turned into a very disappointing year for the Suns (despite drafting All-Rookie First Team member Michael Finley, who was later unavailable for the playoffs due to injury) in which they posted a 41–41 record, and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs. Westphal was fired mid-way through the season and replaced by Fitzsimmons, the third stint as head coach for him. A combination of front office unrest, along with the dwindling possibility of winning a championship lead to turmoil in Barkley's relationship with Jerry Colangelo who both spurned each other publicly. This led to Barkley being traded to Houston for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant, and Chucky Brown; the trade did not produce the results either team had hoped for. (The feud between Barkley and Colangelo has since been repaired, and Barkley has appeared at a number of Suns' home games in the years since. He was also present to see his number retired into the Suns "Ring Of Honor" in 2004.) As for the Suns, three of the four players were not with the franchise just one year later, and furthermore two of the most talented players (being Horry and Cassell) constantly clashed with the coach and seemed to be a negative influence in the locker room.
In the 1996 NBA Draft, the Suns used their 15th pick for Santa Clara guard Steve Nash. Upon hearing the draft announcement, Suns fans booed in disapproval of the relatively unknown player, due to the fact that he had not played in one of the major college conferences. During his first two seasons in the NBA, he played a supporting role behind star point guards Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson. With Kidd starting at the point, Nash was traded in June, 1998, from the Suns to the Mavericks in exchange for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity, and a future first-round draft pick (later used to select Shawn Marion).
After an on-the-court altercation between Ainge and Horry, Horry was traded to the Lakers for former Sun and NBA all-star Cedric Ceballos. Cassell was later traded to Dallas for all-star guard Jason Kidd. With a mostly small lineup, the Suns put together an 11-game win streak that put them in the playoffs, in a series that almost upset the highly favored Sonics.
In the off-season prior to the 2000 NBA season, the Suns traded for perennial All-Star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway stirring a large amount of hype by creating the tandem of Kidd and Hardaway, which was called "Backcourt 2000". However, the combination of Hardaway and Kidd was never fully realized as Hardaway would miss a number of games during the middle of the 1999–2000 season and Kidd would break his ankle going into the playoffs just as Hardaway began his return to the court. As the Suns, now led by the returned Hardaway, entered the 2000 playoffs, they shocked the favored San Antonio Spurs by ousting them from the playoffs 3–1 in the best-of-five series. The Spurs were without their best player Tim Duncan throughout the whole series. However, even with the return of Kidd at Hardaway's side in the next round, the Suns fell to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in a 4–1 series.
The Suns continued to make the playoffs until the 2001–02 campaign, when they fell short for the first time in 14 years. That season marked the trade of Jason Kidd, partly due to a publicized domestic violence episode, to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury. Lottery-bound, however, the Suns were able to draft Amar'e Stoudemire.
The 2002–03 campaign saw the emergence of Stoudemire, a graduate from Cypress Creek High School (Orlando, Florida). He became the first ever high school player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 2002–03 season, during which the Suns posted a record of 44–38 and returned to the playoffs. Marbury had a stellar individual season, making the All-NBA Third Team and being selected as a reserve for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game while averaging 22.3 ppg and 8.1 apg. The Suns were eliminated in the first round once again by the San Antonio Spurs, but only after a six-game series with the eventual NBA champions.
In the 2003–04 season, the Suns found themselves out of the playoffs. The Suns made a blockbuster mid-season trade sending Marbury and Hardaway to the New York Knicks for Antonio McDyess and a future first round pick, that was later dealt to Denver.
In the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Phoenix was the first seed in the Western Conference, and because it owned the NBA's best record, it was guaranteed home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Suns swept the Memphis Grizzlies 4–0 and defeated the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the second round 4–2, Nash forcing Game 6 into OT with a 3-pointer in the dying seconds. In the Western Conference Finals, the Suns played the San Antonio Spurs who won the series 4–1, ending Phoenix's outstanding season, partly due to Joe Johnson missing the first two games of the series. Joe Johnson went on to start the remaining games where he averaged 40 minutes per game and 18.3 PPG. The Suns lost the first 2 at home, as well as the following game in San Antonio to fall behind 3–0 in the series, escaping with a win in Game 4 at San Antonio 111–106. The team then lost Game 5 at home 101–95 to be eliminated from the playoffs. Stoudemire averaged a staggering 37.0 ppg, the highest ever by a player in their first Conference Finals.
The 2005–06 NBA season began with Stoudemire undergoing microfracture surgery in his knee on October 18, 2005. He missed all but three games that year. Along with that, promising shooting guard Joe Johnson demanded a Sign and Trade deal to the Atlanta Hawks, in which the Suns got Boris Diaw along with two future first round picks. Other acquisitions this year included Raja Bell and Kurt Thomas. Despite the turnover in players, the Suns were once again able to win the Pacific going 54–28 and capturing the second seed in the Western Conference. Nash was awarded his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the second point-guard (Magic Johnson was the first) to win the award in consecutive seasons. Also, Diaw was named NBA Most Improved Player.
The Suns began the 2006 Western Conference Playoffs as favorites against the Los Angeles Lakers. After winning Game 1 in Phoenix, they found themselves trailing in the series 3–1 after impressive performances by Laker shooting guard Kobe Bryant. However, the Suns went on to win three straight games. They won Game 5 easily at home. With 7:33 left in the game, Suns guard Raja Bell grabbed Kobe Bryant around the neck and threw him down as the Lakers star drove to the basket. Bell earned a technical foul, his second of the game, and an automatic ejection. The Suns took game 6 in OT, their first OT win all season despite 50 points from Bryant and Bell out serving a one-game suspension (for a flagrant foul against Bryant in Game 5) with last second help from mid-season acquisition Tim Thomas. On their home court, the Suns won Game 7 121–90, eliminating the Lakers for the first time since 1993. The Suns became only the eighth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being behind 3–1.
In the second round, the Suns faced the Los Angeles Clippers. The series was played closely, with both teams trading games on each others' courts. The series was 2–2 and The Suns faced a huge deficit in Game 5 but fought back and won in double OT and after a Game 6 loss finally won the series in the decisive seventh game on their home court at US Airways Center, winning by a margin of 20 with an NBA record 15 3-point FG's May 22, 2006.
They went on to play the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Underdogs this time, The Suns took Game 1 in Dallas by a single point and their May 30 victory in Game 4 marked the most wins thus far for the franchise in a Conference Finals series since the 1993 season. Many credit this success (despite losing Stoudemire) to the emergence of Diaw, Bell (out for two games of the series due to injury), and Barbosa as clutch playoff performers; and an overall team depth they did not possess at all last season. The Suns fought hard in Games 5 and 6 but clearly were no match as they were blown out by a combined 25 points and eliminated from the series on June 3, 2006 in Game 6. It was yet another disappointing end for the Suns.
On June 6, former TNT analyst and NBA three-point specialist, Steve Kerr, was appointed Suns' General Manager and President of Basketball Operations. Kerr is also a part of the Sarver-led investment group that purchased the franchise from Jerry Colangelo.
On May 11, 2008, after the Suns lost to the San Antonio Spurs 4–1 in the first round of the 2008 Western Conference Playoffs, Suns Head Coach Mike D'Antoni signed with the New York Knicks, replacing ousted Head Coach Isiah Thomas, who went 56–108 in two seasons with the Knicks. And on June 9, 2008, Terry Porter was named Head Coach of the Phoenix Suns, succeeding Mike D'Antoni. Porter was an Assistant Coach of the Detroit Pistons when he was let go after the Pistons were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.During the offseason, the Suns had difficulties signing free agents because of being over the luxury tax. They made attempts to sign a backup point guard, Tyronn Lue, however, he decided to sign with the Bucks for more money. The Suns selected Robin Lopez (15th overall pick out of Stanford University) in the 2008 NBA Draft and acquired Goran Dragic, who was originally picked by the rival San Antonio Spurs.
On February 16, the Suns fired Terry Porter and he was succeeded by Alvin Gentry. The Suns are expected to make the transition back to the up-tempo style basketball nicknamed the "7 Seconds or Less" or "Run and Gun style." On February 18, Alvin Gentry began his head coaching tenure with a 140–100 blowout over the Clippers at home on Tuesday. Six Suns players scored in double digits, led by Leandro Barbosa's 24 points. The Suns led as much as 50 points during the game and were without their explosive swingman Jason Richardson who was serving a one game suspension. However, this offense cost them their defense, allowing over 107 points per game, 27th in the league. The Suns would score 140 in the next two games. On February 20 Amar'e Stoudemire underwent eye surgery and was out for 8 weeks. Shaquille O'Neal scored 45 points with 11 rebounds on February 27 against Toronto in a 133-113 win. They would win 18-13 with Alvin Gentry in their last 31 games. At the end of the season the Suns missed the playoffs with a 46–36 record, which is normally enough to get into the playoffs. The offseason brings uncertainty for the Suns, with the possibility of rebuilding the base of the team.
During the 2009 - 2010 season, the Suns played a far more balanced style of basketball and finished with a 54-28 record. The Suns advanced to the NBA's Western Conference Finals, eliminating the Portland Trail Blazers in six games and the San Antonio Spurs in four games, including an explosive performance by Goran Dragic in game 3 against the Spurs, scoring 23 points in the fourth quarter. The Suns faced the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, but lost in six games.
On June 15, 2010 Kerr resigned as General Manager of the Suns effective June 30, 2010. In the wake of Steve Kerr's decision to leave the club, Senior V.P. of Basketball Operations David Griffin told Managing Partner Robert Sarver he did not want to be a candidate to replace Kerr and will leave once his contract expires June 30.
On May 16, 2011, team president and CEO Rick Welts announced that he is gay. He is believed to be the first man in a prominent position in men's sports who has declared his homosexuality.
Their first jerseys had the word Phoenix in a Western-stylized font. Those jerseys were worn by their beginnings up until the 1992-93 season, though it had revisions (e.g. the futuristic-looking 'Phoenix' wordmark used from 1968-74). During the remainder of the 1990s, Phoenix replaced the Western font with the new Suns logo being a part of their jerseys. Starting at the beginning of the 2000-01 season, the Suns ended using their normal font for Phoenix on the road and Suns at home. On October 20, 2003, an alternate orange uniform was introduced that was to be used at a minimum, five games a year, both at home and on the road. At the time, it was the only uniform in the NBA that has an abbreviated version of the city name, Phoenix, across the front chest; since then the Atlanta Hawks donned a similar alternate jersey starting in 2009, followed by the New Orleans Hornets in 2010. For the 2006–2007 season, the Suns removed the uniform number from the side of the shorts, replacing it with the same sun logo that is found on the other side.
During the 2010 NBA Playoffs, the Suns announced they would wear uniforms with the words "Los Suns" to honor their Latino fans on Cinco de Mayo for Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. Sports reporter Dave Zirin called the "Los Suns" action an "un-precidented political statement by a sports team." The move was also widely reported to be a protest of an Arizona illegal-immigration law enacted in April. The said uniform has been used during NBA Noche Latina events every March since the 2007-08 NBA season. That jersey had gained controversy towards fans since the Cinco de Mayo game.
Since then, the gorilla, named Go, has been known for his slapstick humor during the games such as his stadium stairs all to the sound of the Rocky Theme, and the fantastic dunks that are performed before each 4th quarter. Also, one of his more beloved skits was at a Knicks home game where he came out to Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York", wearing a hat, with several pieces of garbage stuck to his leg. Halfway through the song, a group of "muggers" attacked him, and he staggered off the court afterwards. The gorilla was honored in 2005 when he was selected to be one of three inaugural members of the Mascots Hall of Fame. According to the Suns' website, the Gorilla graduated from "Hairy Truman" High School in "Mon-key West, Florida", and "Fur-Man University" in 1980.
The first play by play announcer for the Suns was Bob Vache of KTAR radio, who died in an automobile accident midway through the 1969–70 season. Vache was replaced by the Suns' color commentator, Rodney "Hot Rod" Hundley, who would later go on to be the longtime voice of the Utah Jazz.
Legendary broadcaster Al McCoy has covered the team ever since the 1971–72 season. McCoy has broadcast Suns games on radio for the 38th consecutive season on KTAR Phoenix (which has carried Suns games for 42 seasons) as of 2010–11. McCoy's unique, folksy style of calling the games, including his signature catchphrases such as "Shazam!" for a three-point shot, endeared him to thousands of Suns fans across Arizona, the Southwest, and nationwide. McCoy was honored in March 2007 by the Suns, who named their renovated media center at US Airways Center in his honor. McCoy was partnered for many years with legendary coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. In recent years, former NBA players Vinny Del Negro and Tim Kempton served as color commentators on the radio side, with Del Negro working most regular-season home games and all of the playoffs with McCoy (Del Negro later served as an executive in the Suns' front office and is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers).
Until 2003–2004, Al McCoy's radio broadcast was simulcast on the over-the-air television broadcasts, one of the last such simulcasts in the NBA. The NBA informally mandated that each team end radio-TV simulcasts, and besides the Suns, the Lakers, Jazz, Supersonics, and Raptors were among the last teams to go with separate radio and television broadcasts. Since the early 1990s, former NBA on CBS broadcaster Gary Bender has handled the play-by-play duties on the cable telecasts that were not simulcast. Fox Sports Arizona became the Suns' cable home beginning with the 2003–04 season, and prior to that, the team's cablecasts were seen on a leased access channel available to Cox Cable customers in the Phoenix area, and was distributed to other cable systems throughout the Suns' designated broadcast territory (including Las Vegas, Tucson, and parts of New Mexico).
Beginning with the 2003–04 season, Tom Leander assumed the reins as the over-the-air TV play-by-play announcer; previous to that, he served as the studio host for the KUTP telecasts, as well as a being a back-up to Bender on the Suns' cable broadcasts. He will become the full-time television voice of the Suns come the 2011-12 NBA season due to Bender's retirement. Former Suns star Dan Majerle, a member of the team's Ring-of-Honor, became a commentator on television broadcasts in 2004, splitting the color commentator duties with former Suns star Eddie Johnson before joining the Suns coaching staff in 2008. Scott Williams, a former Suns player, also serves as a back-up color analyst.
Up until the end of the 2010–11 season, all road games (except those carried exclusively on TNT and ABC) and selected home games were shown on KUTP (Channel 45), while the remaining home games are aired on Fox Sports Arizona. Beginning with the 2010-11 season, the KUTP broadcasts adopted the Fox Sports Arizona in-game presentations and graphics; KUTP and Fox Sports Arizona are both owned by subsidiaries of News Corporation.
The Fox Sports Arizona broadcasts have been different from those of NBA teams on other affiliate networks, because the time-and-score graphic does not include an embedded shot clock. Instead, it has only been shown when the clock reaches eight seconds or less, is shown in large print, and is sponsored. Among the sponsors of the clock's appearances have been Henkel and the Arizona Department of Health Services (under the slogan "Inhale Life"). However, for the 2006–07 season, an embedded clock was added to the KUTP telecasts. On January 19, 2007, an embedded clock was part of the graphic during the Fox Sports Arizona telecast of the team's victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, but the sponsored shot clock was still also on-screen when the time was expiring. It is unknown if the embedded clock was only a one-night change or will be a permanent feature of Suns broadcasts.
$150 is added to Suns charities through Fulton Homes every time a Suns player makes a three-point basket.
Suns television broadcasts have been seen across four local TV stations through the years: KTAR-TV/KPNX (Channel 12; 1968-1975; 1978-1985), KPHO (Channel 5, 1975-1978), KNXV (Channel 15, 1985-1988), and the aforementioned KUTP (Channel 45, 1988-2011).
Starting with the 2011–12 season, Fox Sports Arizona will become the team's exclusive local broadcaster, televising all games not exclusive to TNT and ABC.
FIRST TEAM
SECOND TEAM
One player, enshrined primarily based upon his service with another team, briefly wore the Suns uniform during the middle of his career:
One individual was enshrined based upon his service as a Suns coach, executive and owner:
F/C | Dwayne Collins | 2010 NBA Draft | 60th pick |
Coordinates | 34°03′″N118°15′″N |
---|---|
position | Shooting guard / Point guard |
height ft | 6 |
height in | 4 |
weight lb | 210 |
nationality | American |
birth date | November 29, 1985 |
birth place | Maywood, Illinois |
college | Michigan State |
high school | Proviso East HS (Maywood, Illinois) |
draft round | 1 |
draft pick | 25 |
draft year | 2006 |
draft team | Cleveland Cavaliers |
career start | 2006 |
years1 | – | team1 Cleveland Cavaliers |
years2 | 2007 | team2 →Albuquerque Thunderbirds (D-League) |
years3 | 2008 | team3 →Rio Grande Valley Vipers (D-League) |
years4 | | team4 Chicago Bulls |
years5 | 2008 | team5 →Iowa Energy (D-League) |
years6 | | team6 Charlotte Bobcats |
years7 | – | team7 Los Angeles Lakers |
highlights |
Brown played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. He was second-team All-Big Ten as a junior and an All-Big Ten Defensive selection.
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2003–04 | style="text-align:left;"| Michigan State | 30 || 24 || 22.9 || .451 || .341 || .807 || 2.5 || 1.3 || 1.1 || 0.0 || 7.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2004–05 | style="text-align:left;"| Michigan State | 33 || 31 || 25.1 || .447 || .330 || .848 || 3.2 || 1.7 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 10.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06 | style="text-align:left;"| Michigan State | 34 || 34 || 35.2 || .467 || .390 || .830 || 4.4 || 2.7 || 1.5 || 0.1 || 17.2
Brown was assigned to the NBA Development League's Albuquerque Thunderbirds on March 2, 2007 but was recalled by the Cavaliers a day later. In his sole game as a Thunderbird, Brown scored 14 points with four rebounds and six assists. Brown returned to the NBA Development League, this time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, on January 11, 2008. In four games as a Viper, He averaged 23.5 points, including a 37-point performance against the Dakota Wizards on January 16. He was recalled by the Cavaliers on January 17.
Through 2007–08's All-Star Break, Brown played in 15 games during the season (starting four games), averaging 7.0 points per game.
On February 21, 2008, Brown was traded to the Chicago Bulls as part of a 3-team deal between the Bulls, the Cavaliers, and the Sonics. The Sonics got Cavs forward Ira Newble, Cavs forward Donyell Marshall, and Bulls forward Adrian Griffin. The Cavs got Bulls center Ben Wallace, Bulls forward Joe Smith, the Bulls' 2009 2nd round pick (which turned out to be Danny Green), Sonics forward Wally Szczerbiak, and Sonics guard Delonte West. While the Bulls got Brown, Cavs forward Drew Gooden, Cavs guard Larry Hughes, and Cavs forward Cedric Simmons.
On August 6, 2008, he was signed to the Charlotte Bobcats to a one-year contract worth the minimum NBA salary of $800,000.
Brown's playing time with the Lakers was initially limited. Towards the end of the season, Brown experienced an upswing of playtime. In the 5 final games of the season, Brown played for an average of 16.4 minutes. With those minutes, he averaged 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.
Brown's increased playtime would carry on to the playoffs. In the opening game in the first round match up against the Jazz, Brown played 22 minutes. He had 9 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and a steal. He finished the series averaging 17.4 minutes, 7.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and one steal per game.
On July 6, 2009, Brown agreed to return to the Lakers for two years and $4.2 million.
It was announced on January 18, 2010 that he was selected to compete in the Sprite Slam Dunk Competition at Dallas in the 2010 All-Star weekend. On the same day, he led the Lakers with 22 points in their 98–92 win against the Orlando Magic. Brown participated in the dunk contest on February 13, 2010, but did not advance beyond the first round.
On February 16, 2010, in a game against the Golden State Warriors, Brown scored a career high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. He won his second championship at the end of the season.
On August 5, 2010, Brown decided to return to the Lakers, agreeing to a two-year deal worth $4.6 million.
On August 8, 2010, Brown signed the deal with the Lakers. On June 30, 2011, Brown terminated his contract with the Lakers.
Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:American basketball players Category:Basketball players from Illinois Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Category:Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players Category:Chicago Bulls players Category:Charlotte Bobcats players Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:Point guards Category:Shooting guards Category:People from Maywood, Illinois Category:Rio Grande Valley Vipers players
de:Shannon Brown es:Shannon Brown fr:Shannon Brown gl:Shannon Brown it:Shannon Brown he:שאנון בראון lv:Šenons Brauns nl:Shannon Brown ja:シャノン・ブラウン pl:Shannon Brown pt:Shannon Brown ru:Браун, Шеннон tr:Shannon Brown zh:香农·布朗This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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We do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. For example, if you submit an inquiry to us or sign up for our newsletter, you may be asked to provide certain information such as your contact details (name, e-mail address, mailing address, etc.).
When you submit your personally identifiable information through wn.com, you are giving your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. If you would prefer that we not collect any personally identifiable information from you, please do not provide us with any such information. We will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to third parties without your consent, except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy.
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy, we will use the information you provide us only for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or in connection with the service for which you provided such information. We may forward your contact information and inquiry to our affiliates and other divisions of our company that we feel can best address your inquiry or provide you with the requested service. We may also use the information you provide in aggregate form for internal business purposes, such as generating statistics and developing marketing plans. We may share or transfer such non-personally identifiable information with or to our affiliates, licensees, agents and partners.
We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Such third parties may be provided with access to personally identifiable information needed to perform their functions, but may not use such information for any other purpose.
In addition, we may disclose any information, including personally identifiable information, we deem necessary, in our sole discretion, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal proceeding or governmental request.
We do not want you to receive unwanted e-mail from us. We try to make it easy to opt-out of any service you have asked to receive. If you sign-up to our e-mail newsletters we do not sell, exchange or give your e-mail address to a third party.
E-mail addresses are collected via the wn.com web site. Users have to physically opt-in to receive the wn.com newsletter and a verification e-mail is sent. wn.com is clearly and conspicuously named at the point of
collection.If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each newsletter or communication or by e-mailing us at michaelw(at)wn.com
The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during registration and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure, however. Therefore, though we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
If we decide to change our e-mail practices, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we think appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.
If we make material changes to our e-mail practices, we will notify you here, by e-mail, and by means of a notice on our home page.
The advertising banners and other forms of advertising appearing on this Web site are sometimes delivered to you, on our behalf, by a third party. In the course of serving advertisements to this site, the third party may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. For more information on cookies, you can visit www.cookiecentral.com.
As we continue to develop our business, we might sell certain aspects of our entities or assets. In such transactions, user information, including personally identifiable information, generally is one of the transferred business assets, and by submitting your personal information on Wn.com you agree that your data may be transferred to such parties in these circumstances.