NBA – History of Phoenix Suns, from inception to present day.

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team that is a part of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the NBA (National Basketball Association).  They are based out of Phoenix, Arizona and play all of their home games at the US Airways Center and have been playing there since 1992.  They are largely considered one of the more successful teams in the National Basketball Association although they have never won a World Championship.  They have been to the NBA Finals two times in their 41 years of play (1976 and 1993) but came away empty handed both times.  For the record, the team has posted 50+ win season 19 times over the years since they entered into the league as an expansion team.  On top of that they have also been to the Western Conference Finals eight different times.

The Phoenix Suns were founded in 1968 as an expansion team alongside the Milwaukee Bucks.  They became the first professional sports team in Arizona and they were owned by a group that consisted of Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Richard Bloch, Karl Eller, and Andy Williams.  Johny Kerr was the first head coach for the franchise and Jerry Colangelo became the General Manager.  The Suns would struggle for the first few years until they obtained Paul Westphal, Alvan Adams, and Ricky Sobers in the 1975-76 season.  They had an up and down season but ended up going far into the post season and made their first ever NBA Finals appearance.  They faced the Boston Celtics and were eventually ousted after six games but put up a valiant fight in the effort.

The next notable era came in 1993 with the arrival of "Sir" Charles Barkley.  That year he won the league MVP and instantly made Phoenix a threat in the league.  The Suns helped Barkley by giving him a supporting cast of Danny Ainge, Oliver Miller, and Richard Dumas.  That same year they ended up winning 62 games on the regular season and then beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.  They then went on to beat both the Spurs and the Sonics to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.  There they met Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls.  As has been done with so many other teams, Michael Jordan and the Bulls stifled the Suns run and kept them from another NBA Championship.