The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (the NBA).  The Phoenix Suns play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference with four other teams: the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Sacramento Kings.  Suns tickets will surely be hard to come by during the 2010-2011 NBA schedule.

Suns 2009-2010 Outlook

The Phoenix Suns finished the 2009-2010 NBA season with a stellar record of 54-28.  It was the 3rd best record in the deep Western Conference and the Suns finished just 3 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for 1st place in the Pacific Division.  The Suns cruised through the 1st 2 rounds of the playoffs, taking out the Portland Trailblazers in 6 games and then sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Semifinals.  The Suns felt confident that they could take out the Lakers and reach the NBA Finals for the 1st time since the 1992-1993 NBA Season, but the Lakers proved too strong and the Suns fell in 6 games.  Amar'e Stoudemire led the Suns with 23.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. 

Despite the departure of Stoudemire in the off-season, the Suns believe they can still compete with the Lakers in the Pacific.  Get your Suns NBA tickets at the US Airways Center before it's too late.

History

The NBA awarded an expansion franchise an ownership group from Phoenix in January 1968.  The Phoenix Suns hired a former Chicago Bulls executive as its General Manager – Jerry Colangelo.  At the ripe young age of 28, Colangelo hired Hall of Famer Johnny “Red” Kerr as the Suns first Head Coach.  The Suns finished their inaugural season with an atrocious 16-66 record and when the team did not show any real progress during the 1969-1970 season, Kerr resigned as the Head Coach of the Suns.  The Phoenix Suns recorded their first winning season during the 1970-1971 with a 48-34 record.  But the team did not qualify for post-season play.  The Phoenix Suns finally reached their first NBA finals following the 1975-1976 NBA season.  Although the Phoenix Suns finished the season barely above .500 with a 42-40 record, the Suns upset the Seattle Supersonics 4-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals and the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Championship Series.  The dream run came crashing to an end with a quick 4-2 series loss to the Boston Celtics.  The Phoenix Suns have advanced to the NBA Finals only one other season.  During the 1992-1993 season, the Phoenix Suns finished the season with a franchise record 62 wins (the Suns would later go on to win 62 games during the 2004-2005 season as well).  The Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Seattle Supersonics to advance to the NBA Championship Series.  But the Phoenix Suns could not overcome Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls who were on their way to winning their 3rd consecutive NBA Championship.

The following Phoenix Suns have been honored as members of the Suns Ring of Honor:  Dick Van Arsdale #5; Walter Davis #6; Kevin Johnson #7; Dan Majerle #9; Tom Chambers #24; Alvin Adams #33; Charles Barkley #34; Connie Hawkins #42; Paul Westphal #44; Cotton Fitzsimmons #832 (representing the number of coaching wins recorded); and Jerry Colangelo (first Suns General Manager).

Suns TV/Radio

All home Phoenix Suns basketball games can be seen on either the Fox Sports Net Arizona (FSN-Arizona) or the MyNetworkTV KUTP television networks.  NBC, ESPN and TNT may also televise Phoenix Suns games based on the popularity of the game.  Tune into the Suns Flagship radio network KTAR 620 on your AM dial to catch each Phoenix Suns basketball game on the radio.

The Phoenix Suns play their home games at the US Airways Center.  The US Airways Center opened in 1992 for the Phoenix Suns, and the team has played their ever since.  In addition to hosting Phoenix Suns NBA home games, the US Airways Center also hosts all of the home professional basketball games for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association, the professional football games for the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League and the minor-league hockey games for the Phoenix Roadrunners of the East Coast Hockey League.  The US Airways Center holds a seating capacity of 18,422 devoted die-hard Phoenix Suns fans.  The US Airways Center hosted the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, the 1998 WNBA finals as well as 2 Arena Bowl Championship Games.  The US Airways Center is also slated to host the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.  The US Airways Center has also played host to numerous memorable and historic concerts and special events during its short history, including Celine Dion’s 1998 Let’s Talk About Love Tour, the 2003 WWE SummerSlam, the 2006 WWE Judgment Day, and the 2007 WWE Raw.

Stadium:    US Airways Center
                    201 East Jefferson
                    Phoenix, Arizona 85004

www.nba.com/suns 
www.usairwayscenter.com

2007-2008 Suns