Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor
The Ring of Honor is an award given to prominent players and employees of the professional basketball team, the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Awardees are selected to recognize the significant role the individual has had for the Suns organization (not specifically their prominence in the NBA). While Phoenix retired numbers early in the franchise's history, recent players inducted into the Ring of Honor have their names and numbers displayed at the Suns' home arena, Phoenix Suns Arena, but the numbers could be reused in the future.[1][2]
The Ring of Honor was opened on April 18, 1999. Tom Chambers was honored that day, joined by Connie Hawkins, Dick Van Arsdale, Alvan Adams, Paul Westphal and Walter Davis, who were moved from the Banners for Retired Numbers section at then-named America West Arena into the new ring. At the time, the Suns' Tom Gugliotta was already wearing No. 24, Chambers' former number.[3] In 2001, Phoenix added Kevin Johnson to the ring while also making an exception and retiring his No. 7, the last number to have been retired by the Suns.[4]
| * | Retired number[5][6] |
| Inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Honoree | Jersey # | Position | Tenure | Date of Honor/Jersey retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alvan Adams | 33* | C | 1975–1988 | November 9, 1988 | Played entire career as a Sun, NBA Rookie of the Year, Phoenix's career leader in games played (988), minutes played (27,203), rebounds (6,937) and steals (1,289) |
| Charles Barkley | 34 | F | 1992–1996 | March 20, 2004 | One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history; NBA Hall of Famer; gold medalist with the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics; won the NBA MVP award in 1993 and led Suns to NBA Finals the same year; is a broadcaster for the NBA on TNT |
| Tom Chambers | 24 | F | 1988–1993 | April 18, 1999 | Four-time NBA All-Star (three as a Sun); works in Suns community relations; is a broadcaster for Suns games |
| Jerry Colangelo | — | GM, coach, owner, executive | 1968–2004 | November 4, 2007 | Four-time NBA Executive of the Year, NBA Hall of Famer, youngest general manager in US professional sports |
| Walter Davis | 6* | G | 1977–1988 | April 3, 1994 | Gold Medalist at the 1976 Olympics, NBA Rookie of the Year (1978), Phoenix's all-time leading scorer (15,666), six-time NBA All-Star |
| Cotton Fitzsimmons | — | Coach | 1970–1972, 1988–1992, 1996 | March 18, 2005 | Suns head coach with a 341–208 record, two times NBA Coach of the Year (with Suns, 1988–89 season), Missouri Basketball Hall of Famer, National Junior College Hall of Famer, Missouri Sports Hall of Famer |
| Connie Hawkins | 42* | F | 1969–1973 | November 19, 1976 | American Basketball League's MVP (1962), Harlem Globetrotter (1964–66), American Basketball Association champion (1967's Pittsburgh Pipers), NBA Hall of Famer, worked in Suns community relations until his death in 2017. |
| Kevin Johnson | 7* | G | 1988–1998, 2000 | March 7, 2001 | Suns leader in free throws made (3,851) and free throws attempted (4,579); came out of retirement on March 23, 2000, after Suns point guard Jason Kidd was out due to injury; Mayor of Sacramento, California (2008—2016) |
| John MacLeod | — | Coach | 1973–1987 | April 18, 2012 | Suns winningest head coach of all time (579) and longest-tenured Suns head coach, a top 20 winningest head coach (707), 6th winningest head coach based on services made for one team, Assistant head coach 1999-2000, Coach of five other Ring of Honor players, 1995 Big East Coach of the Year, Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, Arizona Sports Hall of Famer |
| Dan Majerle | 9 | F | 1988–1995, 2001–2002 | March 9, 2003 | Played first seven seasons in Phoenix and concluded his career as a Sun; bronze medalist at the 1988 Olympics. 1994 Gold Medalist USA Men's Basketball World Championship in Toronto, Canada. |
| Al McCoy | — | Announcer | 1972–present | March 3, 2017 | Longest tenured broadcaster in NBA history at 45+ seasons with the Suns; Missed only one game throughout his time as an announcer for the team. Won the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2007 for his electronic media personality and charisma throughout the league; Also, a member of the Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Iowa Hall of Pride. |
| Steve Nash | 13 | G | 1996–1998, 2004–2012 | October 30, 2015 | Suns leader in assists made (6,997); won the NBA MVP award in 2005 and 2006; eight-time All-Star (six with the Suns); Suns all-time leader in three-point field goals (1051) |
| Joe Proski | — | Athletic trainer | 1968–2000 | April 1, 2001 | Only athletic trainer during the franchise's first 32 seasons, Arizona Sports Personality of the Year (1979), NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year (1988) |
| Dick Van Arsdale | 5* | G | 1968–1977 | November 13, 1977 | Scored franchise's first point (October 18, 1968), fifth highest scorer in club history (12,060), Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Suns |
| Paul Westphal | 44* | G, coach | Player: 1975–1980, 1983–1984 Head coach: 1992–1996 |
April 15, 1989 | Phoenix's eighth all-time leading scorer (9,564), Phoenix's top scorer each season, assistant coach for the Suns (1988–92), head coach for the Suns (1992–96) |
References
- ^ Taylor, Scott (November 21, 2004). "Retired numbers". Deseret News. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ Johnon, G. Allen (April 3, 2006). "Don't lose (or retire) that number". SFGate.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ Gilmartin, Joe (April 22, 1999). "Suns Honor Chambers". Phoenix Suns. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ Young, Bob (March 8, 2001). "KJ is added to the Ring; 6 numbers are retired". The Arizona Republic. p. C5. Retrieved April 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Fie, Julie, ed. (2019). "Ring of Honor". 2019–20 Phoenix Suns Media Guide (PDF). Phoenix Suns. pp. 85–88. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ "Phoenix Suns Uniform Numbers". Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
External links
- Ring of Honor. Phoenix Suns official website (NBA.com)