Have the Phoenix Suns Ever Won an NBA Championship?

The Phoenix Suns have never won an NBA Championship.

The Early Years

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Suns began play as an expansion team in 1968. The franchise owns the NBA’s fourth-best all-time winning percentage, winning 55 percent of its games, as of the end of the 2012–13 season.

The team’s beginnings

The Phoenix Suns began play as an expansion team in 1968. The Suns were one of two expansion teams (the other being the Milwaukee Bucks) to join the NBA that year. The Suns’ first season was a dismal one, as they finished with a record of 15-67, the worst record in the league. This bleak debut was followed by six consecutive seasons of mediocrity or worse. However, things began to turn around for the Suns in 1975, when they drafted All-Star guard Dennis Johnson with the second overall pick. Johnson would go on to lead the Suns to their first playoff appearance in 1976.

The team’s first few years

The Phoenix Suns were founded in 1968 as an expansion team. They struggled in their first few years, posting a record of 22-56 in their inaugural season. The Suns improved slightly the following year, but still finished with a losing record of 28-54.

It wasn’t until the 1972-73 season that the Suns finally had a winning record, going 42-40. They made the playoffs for the first time that year, but lost in the first round to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics.

The Suns continued to be a mediocre team for the next few years, never making it past the second round of the playoffs. That all changed in 1976-77, when they acquired future Hall of Famer Charles Barkley in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. Barkley joined forces with fellow All-Stars Paul Westphal and Walter Davis to lead the Suns to their first ever NBA Finals appearance in 1993. However, they were no match for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who won the series 4-2.

The Championship Years

The Phoenix Suns have never won an NBA Championship. The Suns made it to the Finals in 1976 and 1993, but lost both times. The Suns have made the playoffs 29 times in their 54-year history, but have never won a title.

The team’s first championship

The Suns made it to the NBA Finals for the first time in 1976, led by and coached future Hall of Famers Paul Westphal and Cotton Fitzsimmons. Despite losing the first game at home, the Suns won three straight on the road to take the series, becoming the first team in NBA history to win a championship after being down 0-1. The team’s leading scorer in the series was reserve guard Glenn McDonald, who averaged 11.0 points per game.

The team’s second championship

The Suns win their second championship in 1993, led by All-Star point guard Kevin Johnson. The team defeats the Chicago Bulls in the Finals, becoming the first team ever to beat Michael Jordan’s Bulls in the playoffs.

The Post-Championship Years

It has been 46 years since the Phoenix Suns won an NBA championship. The Suns made it to the Finals in 1976, but lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. Since then, the Suns have made the playoffs 29 times, but have never made it back to the Finals.

The team’s decline

After winning the 1993 NBA Finals, the Suns made a couple of key changes to the team. They traded away Charles Barkley, who was considered by many to be past his prime, and replaced him with journeyman forward A.C. Green. The move didn’t pay off, as the Suns failed to make it back to the NBA Finals over the next few years. In 1996, they drafted point guard Steve Nash from Santa Clara University. Nash quickly developed into one of the league’s top players, but he was unable to lead the Suns back to championship glory.

The team’s rebuilding

After the departure of Nash and Stoudemire, the Suns began a rebuilding process. They acquired players such as Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, and Tyson Chandler through trades and free agency. The Suns also drafted Alex Len with the fifth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft.

The Suns had a poor 2013–14 season, finishing with a record of 29–53. They finished last in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004–05. In January 2014, McDonough was fired as general manager after less than two years on the job, and was replaced by former Suns player Lon Babby.

The Suns continued to rebuild during the 2014–15 season. They traded Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Greg Monroe and a future first-round pick on December 18, 2014. On February 18, 2015, they traded Goran Dragic and Zoran Dragic to the Miami Heat for Danny Granger, John Salmons, and two future first-round picks. At the end of the season, they fired head coach Jeff Hornacek and replaced him with Earl Watson.

The Suns had a much better 2015–16 season, finishing with a record of 48–34. They qualified for the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference and defeated the eighth-seeded Spurs in their first playoff game since 2010 before losing to eventual champion Golden State Warriors in seven games in their first playoff series since 2010 $