Phoenix Suns Essay, Research Paper

The History Of The Phoenix Suns

I chose to write about the Phoenix Suns basketball History mainly because they have gave me, the fan great memories. The Suns introduced me to a whole new world of sports. When I watch their Basketball games it s probably different from any other fan s viewpoint. I tend to analyze their games and try to think what their next move is going to be. Other fans just cheer which is alright.

Throughout the Phoenix Suns existence, they have had many great years as well as many down years. When I was introduced to the sport of Basketball, the first team I watched was the Chicago Bulls; I was completely intrigued by this sport. Each member of the team on the court always seemed to be giving it their all. It was only for a year that I was a Chicago Bull fan; this was because I had not yet found out that Arizona had, and The Team of course, is the Phoenix Suns. I was quickly converted to a Suns fan (now I now what you re thinking; you think I m one of those people who just moves around cheering the team that wins . well I m not I was just a little kid who just found out that there was a professional basketball team in the state he lived in, and I just started cheering for them.) This team is great they are always playing their hearts out.

Well before the beginning of the 1968 draft two Teams (the expansion teams) Milwaukee and Phoenix got select players from other teams this is known as the

Expansion draft. The other teams were basically giving away low quality players . Before the team was even created there was a contest to see what the teams name was going to be. There were names like: The Moon Shooters, The Nitros, The Hoopsters, The Dudes, The Gransuns, Desert Rats, Desert Cats, The Sun Dials, And how about The Phoenix White Wing Doves?

The eventual winner was Selinda King she acquired $1,000 dollars plus season tickets to the suns first inaugural season. In the expansion draft the Suns selected Dick Van Arsdale, which turned out to be a great pick because he ended up averaging 17.6 points a game for Phoenix. Other players selected by Phoenix were: Gail Goodrich, Neil Johnson, David Latin, Stan McKenzie, McCoy McLemore, Dick Snyder, and George Wilson. Along with Arsdale his backcourt buddy in Phoenix a player by the name of Gail Goodrich formed to combine a most powerful backcourt, this is still the basis of the suns to this day. They have had backcourt guards like Kevin Johnson and Danny Ainge, Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson, Anfernee Hardaway and Jason Kidd. Well in their first Season the suns went 16-66 and averaged about 8,000 fans per game.

In their 2nd season the Suns made it to the playoffs and gave the Lakers a run for their money. They made it to the playoffs due to the arrival of THE HAWK Connie

Hawkins, Paul Silas And Neil Walk . In The Seasons down the road the Suns had great times and down times. One of the great times was when they reached the NBA finals in

1970-1971 season when they battled The Boston Celtics one of the more historic teams in the NBA although they came up short, there were many things to come in the next few

Years. In the 92-93 season where the suns made to this point the biggest trade in franchise history where they sent Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang to The Philadelphia 76ers for The Almighty Sir Charles Barkley. Sir Charles made and impact in his first season with the Suns; he along with Kevin Johnson, and Dan Majerle (who currently plays with the Miami Heat) led the suns to the NBA Finals Vs. The Chicago Bulls and his Airiness Michael Jordan. Now when I watched the NBA finals that year I felt the Suns were going to take the championship basically because they had more talent combined then the Bulls did at the time. Little did I know that two other players from the Bulls, Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen, were going to have their breakout games during the finals. Well to put a closing on this paragraph the Suns lost, on a last second 3 point shot in the 6th game.

In the 93-94 and 94-95 seasons, well let s just say those Houston Rockets always seemed to ruin the championship runs the Suns were going to have. In later years Charles Barkley was traded to the Rockets, Kevin Johnson retired; Jason Kidd was acquired from Dallas Mavericks for my favorite player Michael Finley, Anfernee Hardaway was acquired from The Orlando Magic. Jason Kidd got hurt which forced Kevin Johnson out of retirement came to play and now the Suns are poised for another great season this and try to make a run at the championship.

In conclusion this team has had its up and downs but one thing is certain they aren t just another professional basketball team with overpaid players. This team goes out and helps its community. They always stay active in the community; most of the players

do Charity work. Today Jason Kidd is also representing our nation in the Olympics with the U.S. Basketball Team.