| 30 May 2010
For the 42nd time in a row, the Phoenix Suns season has come to a disappointing conclusion. The 42-year drought, in fact, would make the Suns the longest tenured NBA franchise without a NBA Championship (if you count Denver's time in the ABA, they've gone 43 years without winning a title). Yet long-suffering Suns fans aren't shown the same level of pity as other fans of perennial losers, like say Cleveland or .... Cleveland. But it is not just the fact that the Suns always lose the big one - it's the heartbreaking fashion that they tend to lose it in that is the real kicker. Let's reminisce on some of the greatest kick in the gut moments in Suns history.
The Coin Flip Curse
Phoenix didn't wait long to start off their string of bad luck. After their first season in the NBA, the Suns and Bucks were involved in a coin flip to determine who would get the first pick in the 1969 NBA Draft. The Bucks won. Their reward? Some guy named Lew Alcinder. You might know him better as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Suns got Neal Walk. Milwaukee won the NBA Championship two seasons later.
"The Game"
Phoenix took part in one of the greatest games in NBA history - Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals. They lost, of course - 128-126 to Boston in triple overtime. The Celtics would go on the win the series in six games. The Suns wouldn't make another NBA Finals appearance until 1993 (don't worry - more on that later).
Paxson's Three
Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals. Phoenix is down three games to two to Michael Jordan and the Bulls, but Phoenix leads 98-96 with 14 seconds left. Then John Paxson hits this wide open three to win the title. A shot that I have refused to watch a replay off all these years until today, when I wrote this article (you're welcome).
Robert 'Lucifer' Horry
Robery Horry was already an annoying player to opposing teams' fans, always knocking down the backbreaking shot. However, he became the Antichrist to Suns fans during the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals. But, before we get to him, the bad luck started for the Suns right off the bat in Game 1, as a nasty cut on Steve Nash's nose wouldn't stop bleeding, causing him to miss most of the last minute of the tight game. San Antonio went on to win. With San Antonio up two games to one, Horry's turn to shine was in Game 4, when he hip-checked Nash into the scorers table, which caused Boris Diaw and Amar'e Stoudemire to jump up off the bench and take a few steps towards the court, resulting in both players being suspended for Game 5. The Suns won Game 4 but wouldn't win again that season, as San Antonio won the series 4-2.
Jason Richardson's Middle Name is not 'Box Out'
The most recent heartache was, of course, Game 5 of this year's Western Conference Finals. After a furious comeback, the Suns actually got some luck as Jason Richardson banked in a deep three-pointer to tie the game late. After forcing Kobe Bryant to miss a long jumper as the game came to a close, it appeared like the Suns would head into overtime with the momentum. Except Richardson didn't get a body on Ron Artest as he swooped in to grab the errant rebound and bank in the winner as the time expired. While that technically wasn't the end of the Suns season, spiritually and emotionally it was.
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