1992–1996: Charles Barkley era
In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the America West Arena (now Talking Stick Resort Arena). The arena is occasionally referred to as the "Purple Palace" due to its purple seats, which is one of the Suns' colors. All-Star power forward Charles Barkley was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry. Barkley went on to win the MVP award that season, 1992–1993.
In addition to Barkley, the Suns added some key players to their roster, including Danny Ainge and draftees 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 …show more content…
However, the 2004–05 season marked the Suns' return to the NBA's elite, finishing with the best record at 62–20, and tying a franchise record set by the 1992–93 team. This was a major improvement from its 29-53 record just the season before. They ended up setting a team record for greatest 1-season improvement, 33 games. This feat was made possible by the off-season unrestricted FA signing of All-Star point guard Steve Nash from Dallas who had formerly played for them at the beginning of his career. Nash went on to win the MVP award that season. Amar'e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion were named All-Stars and first year coach, Mike D'Antoni, was named NBA Coach of the Year.
In the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Phoenix was the first seed in the Western Conference. The Suns swept the Memphis Grizzlies 4–0 and defeated the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the second round 4–2, as Nash forced Game 6 into OT with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. In the Western Conference Finals, the Suns played the San Antonio Spurs who won the series 4–1, ending Phoenix's season, partly due to Joe Johnson missing the first two games of the
In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the America West Arena (now Talking Stick Resort Arena). The arena is occasionally referred to as the "Purple Palace" due to its purple seats, which is one of the Suns' colors. All-Star power forward Charles Barkley was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry. Barkley went on to win the MVP award that season, 1992–1993.
In addition to Barkley, the Suns added some key players to their roster, including Danny Ainge and draftees 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 …show more content…
However, the 2004–05 season marked the Suns' return to the NBA's elite, finishing with the best record at 62–20, and tying a franchise record set by the 1992–93 team. This was a major improvement from its 29-53 record just the season before. They ended up setting a team record for greatest 1-season improvement, 33 games. This feat was made possible by the off-season unrestricted FA signing of All-Star point guard Steve Nash from Dallas who had formerly played for them at the beginning of his career. Nash went on to win the MVP award that season. Amar'e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion were named All-Stars and first year coach, Mike D'Antoni, was named NBA Coach of the Year.
In the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Phoenix was the first seed in the Western Conference. The Suns swept the Memphis Grizzlies 4–0 and defeated the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the second round 4–2, as Nash forced Game 6 into OT with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. In the Western Conference Finals, the Suns played the San Antonio Spurs who won the series 4–1, ending Phoenix's season, partly due to Joe Johnson missing the first two games of the