Phoenix Suns

History

1968–1976: Team creation and early years

The Suns were one of two franchises to join the NBA at the start of the 1968–69 season, alongside the Milwaukee Bucks from Milwaukee. They were the first major professional sports franchise in the Phoenix market and in the entire state of Arizona, and remained the only one for the better part of 20 years (a Phoenix Roadrunners team played in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977) until the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League relocated from St. Louis in 1988. The Suns played their first 24 seasons at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, called the "Madhouse on McDowell", located slightly northwest of downtown Phoenix. The franchise was formed by an ownership group led by Karl Eller, owner of a public enterprise, the investor Donald Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, and Richard L. Bloch. Other owners with a minority stake consisted of entertainers, such as Andy Williams, Bobbie Gentry and Ed Ames. There were many critics, including then-NBA commissioner J. Walter Kennedy, who said that Phoenix was "too hot," "too small," and "too far away" to be considered a successful NBA market. This was despite the fact that the Phoenix metropolitan area was growing rapidly, and the Suns would have built-in geographical foes in places like in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

After continual prodding by Bloch (who became president of the Phoenix Suns), in 1968 the NBA Board of Governors granted franchises to Phoenix and Milwaukee on January 22, 1968, with an entry fee of $2 million. The Suns nickname was among 28,000 entries that were formally chosen in a name-the-team contest sponsored by The Arizona Republic, with the winner awarded $1,000 and season tickets for the inaugural season. Suns was preferred over Scorpions, Rattlers, Thunderbirds, Wranglers, Mavericks, Tumbleweeds, Mustangs and Cougars. Stan Fabe, who owned a commercial printing plant in Tucson, designed the team's first iconic logo for a mere $200.

In the 1968 NBA expansion draft, notable Suns pickups were future Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale.

Jerry Colangelo, then a 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.

1976–1988: From success to scandals

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Suns enjoyed several successful seasons including the 1981 Pacific Division title, making the playoffs eight consecutive seasons including an appearance at the 1984 Western Conference finals. Problems arose on and off the court in the mid-1980s. In 1987, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office indicted 13 people on drug-related charges, three of whom were active Suns' players James Edwards, Jay Humphries and Grant Gondrezick. These indictments were partially based on testimony from star player Walter Davis, who was given immunity. No defendants ever went to trial: two of the players went into a prosecution diversion program, while another received probation. Nevertheless, the scandal, although now perceived in many respects to be a witch hunt tarnished the reputation of the franchise both nationally and within the community. The scandal did provide an opening for general manager Jerry Colangelo to lead a group that bought the team from its owners for $44 million at the start of the 1987–88 season, a record at that time. 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.

1988–1992: The Kevin Johnson/Tom Chambers/Dan Majerle era

The Suns' luck began to turn around in 1988 with the acquisition of Kevin Johnson from the Cleveland Cavaliers, along with Mark West and Tyrone Corbin, for All-Star power forward Larry Nance and Mike Sanders. This was the beginning of a franchise-record 13 consecutive playoff appearances. 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. Kurt Rambis was added from the Charlotte Hornets in 1989, and the team upset the Los Angeles Lakers in five games during the playoffs that season, before falling to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals. In 1990–91, the Suns went 55–27 but lost in the first round to the Utah Jazz, 3–1. In 1991–92, the Suns went 53–29. Having sent four players to the All-Star Game in the previous two seasons (Chambers, Johnson, Hornacek, and Majerle), the Suns swept the San Antonio Spurs in three games in the first round of the 1992 NBA playoffs. The Suns then were defeated in five games to the Trail Blazers in the conference semifinals. The series was punctuated by a game four in which the Suns lost in double overtime 153–151 (the highest-scoring game in NBA playoff history to date). That game was the last Suns game ever played at the Coliseum.

1992–1996: The Charles Barkley era

In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the America West Arena. The arena is occasionally referred to as the "Purple Palace" due to its purple seats, 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 1992–93 season.

In addition to Barkley, the Suns added 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 coach Paul Westphal, a former Suns assistant and player with the 1976 Suns in the NBA Finals, the Suns won 62 games in 1992–93, setting a franchise record. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the eighth-seeded Lakers, coming back from a 0–2 deficit in the five-game series. The Suns then eliminated the Spurs and SuperSonics, advancing to the NBA 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 also included a triple-overtime game in game three, making this and their previous game five in the 1976 series the only triple-overtime games in the history of the NBA Finals. Approximately 300,000 fans braved the 105° heat to celebrate the memorable season in the downtown streets of Phoenix after the Finals had ended.

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 by 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 were 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, the son of Jerry, initiated an eventually costly trade, sending the All-Star Majerle and a first-round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for John "Hot Rod" Williams. Majerle was a fan favorite in Phoenix and in the Suns' locker room. The trade was made to address the Suns' need of a shot-blocking center but Majerle's presence was missed and Williams's production never met expectations due to injuries.

1996–2004: Average times

In the 1996 NBA draft, the Suns used their 15th pick for Santa Clara guard Steve Nash. During his first two seasons in the NBA, he played a supporting role behind star point guards Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson.

After the Barkley trade, the Suns began the 1996–97 season 0–13, a franchise record for the worst start. During the 13-game losing streak, Fitzsimmons stepped down as the coach and was replaced by former player Danny Ainge.

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 as the seventh seed, in a series that almost upset the favored Sonics. Despite the loss in the playoffs, the Suns became one of the few NBA teams to make the playoffs after starting the season 0–10 or worse, and one of the few to make the playoffs after experiencing a 10-plus-game losing streak during the regular season.

With Kidd starting at point guard, Nash was traded to the Mavericks in June 1998 in exchange for Martin Müürsepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity, and a future first-round draft pick (later used to select Shawn Marion).

In the off-season prior to the 2000 NBA season, the Suns traded for perennial All-Star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, creating the tandem of Kidd and Hardaway called "Backcourt 2000". However, the combination of Hardaway and Kidd was never fully realized as Hardaway missed several games during the middle of the 1999–2000 season and Kidd broke his ankle going into the playoffs just as Hardaway returned to the court. As the Suns entered the 2000 playoffs, they beat the higher-seeded San Antonio Spurs 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 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 season when they fell short for the first time in 14 years. That season marked the trade of Jason Kidd to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury. With the resultant high draft pick, the Suns were able to draft Amar'e Stoudemire.

2004–2012: The Steve Nash era

The beginning of 2004 saw the departure of the face of Suns management since the team's inception, when Jerry Colangelo announced that the Phoenix Suns were to be sold to an investment group headed by San Diego–based business executive and Tucson native Robert Sarver for $401 million. 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. They set a team record for greatest one-season improvement at 33 games. During the off-season, the Suns signed unrestricted free agent All-Star point guard Steve Nash from Dallas, who had formerly played for the Suns 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 six into overtime with a three-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 series. Johnson went on to start the remaining games where he averaged 40 minutes per game and 18.3 points per game. The Suns lost the first two at home, as well as the following game in San Antonio to fall behind 3–0 in the series, before winning game four at San Antonio 111–106. The team then lost game five at home 101–95 to be eliminated from the playoffs. Stoudemire averaged 37.0 points per game during the series against the Spurs, the highest ever by a player in the Western Conference finals.

The 2005–06 NBA season began with Stoudemire undergoing microfracture surgery in his knee on October 18, 2005, missing all but three games that season. Shooting guard Joe Johnson also demanded a sign-and-trade deal to the Atlanta Hawks, in which the Suns got Boris Diaw and two future first-round picks. Other acquisitions included Raja Bell and Kurt Thomas. Despite the turnover in players, the Suns again won the Pacific Division, going 54–28 and capturing the second seed in the Western Conference. Nash was awarded a second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the second point-guard, after Magic Johnson, 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 the first game in Phoenix, they found themselves trailing in the series 3–1 after impressive performances by Lakers' shooting guard Kobe Bryant. However, the Suns went on to win three straight games. With 7:33 left in the fifth game, Suns guard Raja Bell grabbed 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 six in overtime, their first overtime win all season, despite 50 points from Bryant and Bell out serving a one-game suspension with last-second help from mid-season acquisition Tim Thomas. On their home court, the Suns won game seven 121–90, eliminating the Lakers for the first time since 1993. The Suns are 1 of 9 teams in NBA history to win a playoff series after being behind 3–1.

2012–2015: Pre–Booker and struggle years

During the 2012 free agency period, the Suns traded Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for first-round picks in 2013 and 2015, as well as second-round picks in 2013 and 2014. After the trade, the Suns then re-acquired point guard Goran Dragić from Houston, signed Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley, and claimed Houston forward Luis Scola off amnesty waivers while also using the same amnesty clause (as codified in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement) to waive Josh Childress. They also did a three-way trade with the New Orleans Hornets and the Timberwolves by trading Robin Lopez and Hakim Warrick to the Hornets and a 2014 second-rounder to the Timberwolves in exchange for Wesley Johnson, a top 14-protected future first-rounder and the rights to Brad Miller and Jerome Dyson. The latter two players' rights were later waived and the Suns then signed Jermaine O'Neal for one year. The Suns also signed P. J. Tucker based on his performance with the Suns' Summer League team. On September 20, it was announced that Channing Frye had dilated cardiomyopathy and as a result, he missed the entire 2012–13 season, although he sometimes made special appearances to do the pre-game show for local Suns games with Tom Leander and Tom Chambers. On January 12, 2013, the Suns became the fourth-fastest NBA team to win 2,000 games with a 97–81 road victory against the Chicago Bulls, which also marked the last victory for Alvin Gentry as head coach for the Suns. On January 18, 2013, the day after a loss that broke a 24-home-game winning streak against the Milwaukee Bucks, Gentry agreed to leave the Phoenix Suns organization. Two days later, player development coach Lindsey Hunter was named interim head coach role for the remainder of the season. A few days later, assistant head coaches Dan Majerle and Elston Turner had also resigned from their positions. On February 21, 2013, the Suns had traded their 2013 second-round pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Marcus Morris. The next day, the Suns traded point guard Sebastian Telfair to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Iranian center Hamed Haddadi and a 2014 second-round pick. The Suns ended their first post-Steve Nash season with a 25–57 win–loss record, their second-worst record in franchise history behind only their inaugural season.

On April 22, 2013, it was announced that the Suns had fired general manager Lance Blanks. On May 7, 2013, former Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough was announced as the new general manager of the Suns. On May 26, 2013, the Suns hired Jeff Hornacek as their head coach to replace interim head coach Lindsey Hunter. The team also started the new season with new modified logos, replacing most of the purple on their logos with black, although purple would still be found on their jerseys.

2015–present: The Devin Booker era

In the 2015 NBA draft, the Suns drafted Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker with the 13th pick. He was the youngest player drafted at the time by the Suns at 18-years-old and debuted two days before his 19th birthday against the Dallas Mavericks. On July 1, 2015, the Suns retained the rights of Brandon Knight under an offer similar to that of Eric Bledsoe's, and signed Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler to a four-year deal worth $52 million. A day later, the Suns traded Markieff's brother Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock, and Danny Granger to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for their 2020 second-round selection. However, star player Eric Bledsoe sustained a season-ending injury on December 26, 2015.

On February 1, 2016, the Suns relieved Jeff Hornacek of his duties as head coach. Former NBA player Earl Watson took on interim head coaching duties. The Suns traded the disgruntled Markieff Morris on February 19, 2016, to the Washington Wizards for Kris Humphries, DeJuan Blair, and the Wizards' first-round pick in the 2016 NBA draft. On March 14, 2016, the Suns were eliminated from playoff contention for a sixth straight season making it the longest drought in franchise history surpassing the five straight misses from the 1970–71 NBA season to the 1974–75 NBA season. However, rookie Devin Booker went from being a sixth-man off-the-bench player for Kentucky to future impact player after the injuries to Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. He earned the team's first NBA All-Rookie Team honors since Amar'e Stoudemire back in 2003. Earl Watson officially became the full-time head coach on April 19, 2016, with his new assistant coaches Jay Triano, former Suns player Tyrone Corbin, Marlon Garnett, and Scott Duncan replacing most of the assistant coaches from the previous season. During the 2016 NBA draft, the Suns drafted the 18-year-old Bosnian-born Croatian forward-center Dragan Bender, Washington power forward Marquese Chriss, and Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis; Chriss was acquired by trading the Suns' 13th and 28th selections, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the Pistons' 2020 second-round pick to the Sacramento Kings. During the 2016 free agency period, the Suns regained former players and fan-favorites Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa under new deals.

While the Suns ended the 2016–17 season with only a slight improvement from their previous record despite the return of Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker continued to improve in his second season with the team, leading the team in points scored at 22.1 per game. Marquese Chriss was also named to the All-Rookie Second Team that season. In the 2017 NBA draft, the Suns dropped to the 4th pick in the draft and selected Josh Jackson from the University of Kansas. On October 22, 2017, head coach Earl Watson was fired after a 0–3 start that included two losses of 40+ point deficits, which led to Jay Triano being promoted to interim head coach. On November 7, Bledsoe was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Greg Monroe and a protected first- and second-round draft pick. The Suns ended the season with the second-worst record in franchise history at 21–61. After the season concluded, the Suns let go of interim head coach Triano and hired Igor Kokoškov as the team's new head coach. The Suns earned their first no. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft lottery after ending the season with the league-worst record that year. With the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, Phoenix selected Deandre Ayton. They would also trade up into the top 10 that year to take Mikal Bridges with the 10th pick from the Philadelphia 76ers, a draft pick the Suns already had from the Steve Nash trade before trading the pick to the 76ers in the Brandon Knight trade. In the off-season, Devin Booker signed a 5-year $158 million contract extension with the Suns.

Season-by-season record

List of the last five seasons completed by the Suns. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Phoenix Suns seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage

Home arenas

The Suns played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum from 1968 until 1992. In 1992, they moved to America West Arena, referred to as "The Purple Palace". Although not without controversy, eventually the Phoenix City Council and the Suns Organization together completed renovation on the arena in 2021.

Uniform history

1968–1973: Original uniforms

After the NBA had awarded a franchise to the Phoenix metropolitan area in 1968, local designers chose purple and orange as the main colors for the Phoenix Suns' uniforms. The original uniforms featured a futuristic "Phoenix" wordmark in front plus block numbers and letters in orange with purple and white trim. An orange sunburst logo was added on the sides of the shorts.

1973–1992: Western look

The Suns tweaked their uniforms for the 1973–74 season. Other than the basic template itself, only the lettering and numbers were changed from the original uniforms. The "Phoenix" wordmark and numbers were modified to a Western-style font, with a few changes to the treatment of the player's name at the back.

1992–2000: Streaking Sun look

In time for the move to the America West Arena for the 1992–93 season, the Suns overhauled their look. The home white and road purple uniforms now feature the "Streaking Sun" logo in the chest with "Suns" on top and the number at the bottom. The shorts feature the word "Phoenix" in orange letters written diagonally on the left leg. Prior to the 1994–95 season, the Suns introduced a black alternate uniform featuring the same template.

2000–2013: Seven Seconds or Less look

Before the 2000–01 season, the Suns changed to a more simplistic uniform style. The home white uniform had the word "Suns", the numbers in purple with orange trim, and purple side stripes. The road purple uniform had the word "Phoenix" and the numbers in white with orange trim along with grey side stripes. An orange alternate uniform, with the abbreviation "PHX" and the numbers in white with purple trim along with grey side stripes, arrived prior to the 2003–04 season. All three uniforms featured the updated "Streaking Sun" alternate logo on the stripes while the players' numbers were seen on the left leg until the 2005–06 season.

2013–2017: Updated Streaking Sun look

The Suns overhauled their uniforms anew prior to the 2013–14 season. The look was inspired from their previous uniform designs. The home white uniforms featured "Suns" in orange with black trim along with black numbers, orange streaks and grey and orange sunbursts. The purple road uniforms featured "Phoenix" in white with orange trim along with orange numbers, white streaks and black, grey and orange sunbursts. The orange alternate uniforms (sleeved from 2013 to 2015; sleeveless from 2015 to 2017) featured "Suns" in white with black trim along with black numbers, white streaks and black and dark orange sunbursts.

During the 2014–15 season, the Suns added a grey-sleeved alternate uniform. The uniform has "Phoenix" and the numbers in black with orange trim. The "Phoenix" wordmark was a callback to the "Western" look of the 1970s and 1980s. A black alternate uniform was also added prior to the 2015–16 season. The black uniforms featured "PHX" in black with white trim along with white numbers and purple and orange trim.

Since 2017: Switch to Nike

When the NBA switched to Nike beginning with the 2017–18 season, the Suns drastically revamped their uniforms. Gone was the modernized "Streaking Sun" and the sunburst of the previous uniforms, and the Suns returned to a more simplified design. Purple also returned as a prominent color. The home-and-away designations were eliminated and in its place were the white "Association" uniform, the primary color "Icon" uniform, the secondary color "Statement" uniform and the annual "City" uniform.

The Suns' "Association" uniforms featured "Suns" in orange and the numbers in purple. The purple "Icon" uniforms featured "Phoenix" in grey and the numbers in orange. The black "Statement" uniform featured "PHX" in grey and the numbers in orange. All three uniforms have the "Streaking Sun" logo on the beltline.

Starting with the 2019–20 season, the Suns replaced the black uniform with a new orange uniform, featuring the "Streaking Sun" logo in front, the numbers in white, and the "PHX" abbreviation on the beltline. They wore the orange "Statement" uniform until the 2021–22 season, after which the Suns released a black "Statement" uniform with design elements inspired by the popular "City" uniforms worn in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons (see below).

In the 2023–24 season, the Suns updated their purple "Icon" and white "Association" uniforms, revisiting the 1990s "Streaking Sun" look. The set featured the "Suns" wordmark inside the "Streaking Sun" instead of above the logo unlike its 1990s predecessors. Grey accents were eliminated, and orange drop shadows on the numbers were added.

The Suns unveiled a new "Statement" uniform for the 2025–26 season. The design remained black with purple and orange trim, but featured a purple/orange "Streaking Sun" gradient silhouette that runs through the shorts. The "Phoenix" wordmark was written diagonally with the chest numbers on the bottom left, and the "Suns" diagonal wordmark was placed on the right leg.

The Suns started wearing special "Noche Latina" uniforms in 2007 to commemorate the Latin American fanbase. The 2007 edition used the home white uniform template with the flag of Latin American countries substituting for the orange stripes. Starting in 2008, the Suns began to wear a modified version of their orange alternate uniforms with "Los Suns" in front, which they kept until 2013.

Mascot

The Gorilla -- 'GO'

Barring a brief, early attempt involving a sunflower costume, the Suns had no official mascot for the first 11 seasons of their existence. This changed when a messenger for Eastern Onion, a singing telegram service, delivered a telegram at Veterans Memorial Coliseum dressed as a gorilla. As he began to leave, Coliseum security suggested he do a few dances underneath the basket during a timeout. The fans loved it, as did the messenger, Henry Rojas, who kept coming to games until he was officially invited to be part of the team. Nicknamed "Go", the Gorilla has a fictional background story consisting of coming from the Banana Republic and earning an education at Furman University.

As Rojas's announced retirement from the role following the 1987-88 NBA season, the Suns held open auditions and try-outs to find a new Gorilla. Former Arizona State University national champion gymnast Bob Woolf immediately stood out with his more acrobatic, aerial take on the character, particularly impressing evaluators when he jumped off a trampoline onto a basketball hoop, pulled himself atop the raised fixture, and danced high above the rim. Woolf took over the role, introducing the Gorilla's signature slam dunk routines, backflips, and slapstick during games, such as running the stadium stairs to the Rocky theme. He became the first NBA mascot to incorporate Evel Knievel-inspired daredevil stunts like jumping through a ring of fire or being propelled to the hoop via catapult or grapple wire. He was also the first NBA mascot to ride a Harley-Davidson to courtside and integrate elaborate comedy sketches with costumes and props in his routine. The Gorilla soon became one of the most famous mascots in the NBA, his popularity in the '90s resulting in his inclusion as a hidden character in NBA Jam.

The Gorilla appeared on WWE Raw on March 17, 1998, where he was on the receiving end of a chokeslam and tombstone piledriver by Kane.

Woolf performed as The Gorilla until the 2005–06 season, with Devin Nelson briefly taking over until end of the 2011–12 season, as Woolf then resumed the role until 2021. Rojas, the original telegram Gorilla, has since been involved in numerous charity projects. Woolf prefers to keep his relative anonymity, saying off-camera in a 2014 feature for SportsCenter, "I don't want to be seen. I don't want to be known. I want the character to take center stage."

The Gorilla was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2005 and still makes appearances with charities, schools, hospitals and local businesses.

Media

On television, Suns games not aired exclusively by one of the league's national television partner are carried on broadcast television by Gray Media's Arizona's Family Sports network, which is affiliated with KPHE-LD in Phoenix, KAZF 32 in Flagstaff, KAZS 27 in Yuma, and KOLD-TV 13.5 in Tucson. Selected games also air on Gray's Phoenix independent station KTVK. Games are also carried on an over-the-top subscription streaming service known as Suns Live, in partnership with Kiswe.

The contract succeeds a previous agreement with regional sports network (RSN) Bally Sports Arizona (formerly Fox Sports Arizona), which first assumed rights to Suns home games in 2003, and added exclusive rights to away games beginning in the 2011–12 season (away games had previously been carried by KUTP). Suns owner Mat Ishbia stated that the agreements would give Suns fans "more options and access than they’ve ever had", explaining in an interview that moving from the RSN model to free-to-air television would help counter the trend of cord cutting and increase the Suns' potential audience to three million households via Gray's state-wide coverage.

The contract was initially blocked by a lawsuit by Bally Sports' parent company, Diamond Sports Group (which had recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection) in April 2023. Diamond accused the team of breaching its contract and bankruptcy law, stating that the team was making an "improper effort" to "change their broadcasting partner without permitting Diamond to exercise our contractual rights." Diamond sued the Suns over the Gray agreement, and the contract was voided by the bankruptcy court in accordance with an automatic stay. The stay did not impact a related agreement for rights to its WNBA sister team, the Phoenix Mercury. Diamond was ultimately allowed to exercise its right of first refusal, but did not make an offer before the deadline lapsed; as a result, the Suns' and Gray formalized the new broadcasting agreement on July 14, 2023. In May 2026, the team renewed its contract with Gray through 2030; the renewal will also see Gray take digital rights for the Suns and Mercury in-house via the upcoming Arizona's Family Sports app; the Suns had achieved the fourth-highest regional television audience in the lead, and the team was reportedly close to recuperating the $36 million value of its previous contract with Bally Sports.

98.7 KMVP-FM serves as flagship station of the Suns Radio Network. Al McCoy served as the team's play-by-play announcer and "Voice of the Suns" from 1972 to 2023, making him the longest-tenured broadcaster in NBA history. He was awarded the Curt Gowdy Media Award at the 2007 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and was inducted into the Suns' Ring of Honor in 2016. The 2021–22 season marked McCoy's 50th season with the team. For 50 consecutive seasons (barring remote broadcasts due to COVID-19), Al McCoy was positioned at courtside, adjacent to the Suns' home bench, as recent as May 2022. He stopped broadcasting road games in 2019 due to difficult vantage points at higher locations in other NBA arenas limiting his preferred style of descriptive play-by-play. On October 2, 2022, his broadcast position was moved higher up in the arena, closer to the skybox-area of the Footprint Center. Tim Kempton serves as analyst, while Jon Bloom handles play-by-play for road games not broadcast by McCoy.

Personnel

Retained draft rights

The Suns hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA teams. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends. This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.

Hall of Famers, retired and honored numbers

Ring of Honor and retired numbers

Notes:

* Retired number

1 Also served as interim head coach in 1987.

2 Also served as assistant head coach (2008–2013).

3 Number was temporarily unretired for Grant Hill (2008–2012).

4 Was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996.

5 Also served as assistant head coach (1988–1992) and head coach (1992–1996).

The NBA also retired Bill Russell's No. 6 for all its member teams on August 11, 2022.

Phoenix Suns' All-Century Team

The Suns' All-Century Team was voted on by the fans:

40th Anniversary Team

The 40th Anniversary Suns Team, selected by fans through an Internet vote, was unveiled on January 3, 2008. The same night the Suns defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, 104–96, to celebrate the team's 40th season. The Suns' inaugural game in 1968 was against the Sonics.

Basketball Hall of Famers

Notes:

1 In total, Barkley was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.

2 Inducted posthumously.

3 He also served as assistant head coach from 1988 to 1992, and head coach from 1992 to 1996.

4 He also coached the team in 1970 and 1972 to 1973, and was the owner of the team from 1987 to 2004.

5 In total, Kidd was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as player and as a member of the 2008 Olympic team.

6 In total, D'Antoni was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice – as contributor and as a member of the 2008 Olympic team.

Executive personnel

Owners

*Sam Garvin took on the role of interim team governor during the 2022–23 NBA season, effectively taking on most ownership responsibilities for Robert Sarver while he served his season-long suspension in the NBA. Mat Ishbia officially took over the Suns and Phoenix Mercury on February 7, 2023.

General managers

*During the 2018–19 NBA season, both James Jones and Trevor Bukstein were given the roles of interim general managers for the entirety of that season after Ryan McDonough was fired before the start of their regular season period at the time. After that season concluded, Jones was given the permanent general manager role while Bukstein was demoted back to his original position of assistant general manager for the Suns.

Ryan Resch came out in 2022 while working as vice president of strategy and evaluation for the Phoenix Suns, making him the first openly gay person in league history to work basketball operations in an NBA front office.

NBA Outdoors

The Suns held an annual basketball exhibition game, the NBA Outdoors, every first weekend of October in Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, near the city of Palm Springs from 2008 to 2010. However, the club ceased playing the outdoor preseason game prior to the 2011–12 NBA preseason.

As a result of a recommendation by the Coachella Valley Recreation and Park District's Superintendent of Operations, Craig DeWitt, the NBA held its first outdoor exhibition basketball game on October 11, 2008. That stadium facility was built primarily for tennis tournaments and music concerts, and it can hold up to 15,000 fans. The Phoenix Suns lost the game to the Denver Nuggets. A second annual outdoor exhibition game was played on October 10, 2009, this time the Suns lost to the Golden State Warriors. On October 9, 2010, the Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks in the third annual outdoor exhibition.

In 2008 and 2009 pre-seasons, the Suns held training camp in the Auditorium in La Quinta, California, and the College of the Desert Gymnasium in Palm Desert, California, alongside the Portland Trail Blazers. But in 2010, the Suns began their training in San Diego and the Trail Blazers in Tucson, Arizona, as well held exhibition games in Seattle, Washington.