Phoenix Suns - Arizona’s professional basketball team
The Phoenix Suns are a pro basketball team that play in the NBA (National Basketball Association) in the western conference. Their home state is Arizona.
The Phoenix Suns have an interesting history. In 1969 on January 22, the NBA awarded expansion franchises to two ownership groups. One was from Arizona, the other from Wisconsin. Karl Eller, who was the owner of a major advertising company and who was also one of the areas biggest business leaders at the time was one of the investors. He was also a former football player for the University of Arizona. The other investors were Donald Pitt, an attorney based out of Tucson, Richard Bloch, an investment broker from Southern California and former Tucson reside and Don Diamond, a real estate investor based out of Tucson. All four individuals were alumni of the University of Arizona.
In the 1970’s, the Phoenix Suns experienced some success. They had players such as Dick Van Arsdale, his brother Tom Van Arsdale, Alvan Adams and Neal Walk. In 1976, they finished the season with 42 wins and 40 losses and made it to the NBA finals where they battled it out for 6 games against the Boston Celtics. Although they lost in the 6th game, they never gave up the fight.
In 1992, the Phoenix Suns moved into their new arena in the downtown. With their new facility, they were now able to search for talent and make some major moves with their roster. They added the popular all-star power forward Charles Barkley to their lineup. It was with the Phoenix Suns that Barkley won his first MVP. During the 90’s, they added such other players with terms to their roster such as center A.C. Green, Danning Manning and Wesley Person.
In more current news, the Phoenix Suns recently began the 2005-2006 season with Amare Stoudemire being on the injured list. This was a major blow for the team. Other key players who made the lineup before the season began were Raya Bell (from the Utah Jazz), Boris Diaw and Kurt Thomas.
The Phoenix Suns franchise was one of the main factors that helped that area achieve the level of being a “big city” that it was so desperately seeking in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Being they were the first professional sports franchise in the area, they hold a special place for Arizona natives. Even with such teams as the Cardinals in the NFL and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phoenix Suns are still a favorite in the end.