The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). [1] Founded in 1968, the Suns are chronologically the second-oldest team in the Western Conference. The Suns are also chronologically the third-oldest team in the NBA to have never won an NBA Championship while having played in the NBA Finals at least once. [2] [3] The Suns play their home games at the Footprint Center (formerly the Phoenix Suns Arena, American West Arena and the US Airways Center). [1]
The Phoenix Suns franchise has had 20 head coaches. John MacLeod is the franchise's all-time leader in coaching years and games won, winning the most regular-season and playoff games. [4] Cotton Fitzsimmons, Mike D'Antoni and Monty Williams are the only coaches to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Suns. The Suns never have been coached by a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. Paul Westphal has the highest all-time winning percentage with the Suns with a .685 percentage. [5] Alvin Gentry was named head coach after Terry Porter was dismissed by the Suns after 51 games in 2008. [6] Gentry left the Phoenix Suns under mutual agreement to part ways on January 18, 2013. [7] He was replaced by Lindsey Hunter halfway through the 2012–13 NBA season. He has since been replaced by former Suns player Jeff Hornacek. Hired in 2018, Serbian coach Igor Kokoškov became the first head coach born and raised outside of North America to be hired as a head coach in NBA history. [8] Former Pelicans coach Monty Williams was hired as head coach on May 3, 2019 and served until May 13, 2023. [9] On June 6, 2023, the Suns hired Frank Vogel as head coach. [10]
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
# | Number of coaches [a] |
* | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Suns |
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2022–23 season.
# | Name | Term [b] | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
1 | Johnny Kerr | 1968–1969 | 120 | 31 | 89 | .258 | — | — | — | — | [11] | |
2 | Jerry Colangelo * | 1970 | 44 | 24 | 20 | .545 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | [12] | |
3 | Cotton Fitzsimmons | 1970–1972 | 164 | 97 | 67 | .591 | — | — | — | — | [13] | |
4 | Butch van Breda Kolff | 1972 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | — | — | — | — | [14] | |
— | Jerry Colangelo * | 1972–1973 | 75 | 35 | 40 | .467 | — | — | — | — | [12] | |
5 | John MacLeod | 1973–1987 | 1122 | 579 | 543 | .516 | 81 | 37 | 44 | .457 | [4] | |
6 | Dick Van Arsdale * | 1987 | 26 | 14 | 12 | .538 | — | — | — | — | [15] | |
7 | John Wetzel * | 1987–1988 | 82 | 28 | 54 | .341 | — | — | — | — | [16] | |
— | Cotton Fitzsimmons | 1988–1992 | 328 | 217 | 111 | .662 | 40 | 21 | 19 | .525 | NBA Coach of the Year (1988–89) [17] | [13] |
8 | Paul Westphal | 1992–1996 | 279 | 191 | 88 | .685 | 44 | 25 | 19 | .568 | [5] | |
— | Cotton Fitzsimmons | 1996 | 57 | 27 | 30 | .474 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | [13] | |
9 | Danny Ainge * | 1996–1999 | 226 | 136 | 90 | .602 | 12 | 3 | 9 | .250 | [18] | |
10 | Scott Skiles | 1999–2002 | 195 | 116 | 79 | .595 | 13 | 5 | 8 | .385 | [19] | |
11 | Frank Johnson * | 2002–2003 | 134 | 63 | 71 | .470 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | [20] | |
12 | Mike D'Antoni | 2003–2008 | 389 | 253 | 136 | .650 | 51 | 26 | 25 | .510 | NBA Coach of the Year (2004–05) | [21] |
13 | Terry Porter | 2008–2009 | 51 | 28 | 23 | .549 | — | — | — | — | [22] | |
14 | Alvin Gentry | 2009–2013 | 261 | 158 | 144 | .523 | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | [23] | |
15 | Lindsey Hunter * | 2013 | 41 | 12 | 29 | .293 | — | — | — | — | [24] | |
16 | Jeff Hornacek | 2013–2016 | 213 | 101 | 112 | .474 | — | — | — | — | [25] | |
17 | Earl Watson * | 2016–2017 | 118 | 33 | 85 | .280 | — | — | — | — | [26] | |
18 | Jay Triano | 2017–2018 | 79 | 21 | 58 | .266 | — | — | — | — | [27] | |
19 | Igor Kokoškov * | 2018–2019 | 82 | 19 | 63 | .232 | — | — | — | — | [28] | |
20 | Monty Williams | 2019–2023 | 309 | 194 | 115 | .628 | 46 | 27 | 19 | .587 | NBA Coach of the Year (2021–22) | [29] |
21 | Frank Vogel | 2023–present | — | — | — | – | — | — | — | – | [10] |
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Suns are the only team in their division not to be based in California. They play their home games at the Footprint Center. The Suns are one of four major league sports teams based in the Phoenix area, but are the only one to bill themselves as representing the city.
The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships from 1956 to 1966. The winner is selected at the end of the regular season by a panel of sportswriters from the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The person with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
Jeffrey John Hornacek is an American professional basketball coach and a former player who is a coaching consultant for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously was the head coach for both the Phoenix Suns (2013–2016) and the New York Knicks (2016–2018). He was also an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets. He played shooting guard in the NBA from 1986 through 2000 and played collegiately at Iowa State University.
Igor Stefan Kokoškov is a Serbian professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Alvin Harris Gentry is an American professional basketball executive for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A former basketball player and coach, Gentry has served as the head coach of six NBA teams. He served as an interim head coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1994–95 season, and later coached the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Kings. He currently serves as the vice president of basketball engagement for the Kings.
The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Philadelphia 76ers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Portland Trail Blazers were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Prior to the draft, the Baltimore Bullets relocated to Landover, Maryland, and became the Capital Bullets. The Philadelphia 76ers were awarded an extra first-round draft pick as compensation when the Seattle SuperSonics signed John Brisker. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. Before the draft, 11 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. The draft consisted of 20 rounds comprising the selection of 211 players.
Elston Howard Turner Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
This page details the all-time statistics, records, and other achievements pertaining to the Phoenix Suns.