1996–97 Phoenix Suns season

1996–97 Phoenix Suns season
Steve Nash's rookie season
Head coach	Cotton Fitzsimmons, Danny Ainge
General manager	Bryan Colangelo
Owner(s)	Jerry Colangelo
Arena	America West Arena
Results
Record	40–42 (.488)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost in first round to Seattle (2–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Arizona, KUTP
Radio	KTAR

The 1996–97 Phoenix Suns season was the 29th season of the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After an 0–8 start, coach Cotton Fitzsimmons was replaced by former Suns guard Danny Ainge, who led the team to a 40–34 finish. The Suns finished fourth in the Pacific Division with a 40-42 record. This team would also be the first and only NBA team to start out the season with a 10+ losing streak, yet make it to the playoffs by the end of the season. Not only that, but they'd also be the first team to record a 10+ game winning streak after recording a 10+ game losing streak earlier in the season. As the seventh seed in the Western Conference, the Suns faced the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the Playoffs, losing 2–3 in a closely contested series.

The season was marked by a number of major trades. In the offseason, superstar forward Charles Barkley was traded to the Houston Rockets for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown. Cassell was later traded, alongside Michael Finley and A. C. Green, to the Dallas Mavericks for future-superstar Jason Kidd, Loren Meyer and Tony Dumas. Robert Horry was also traded, along with Joe Kleine, to the Los Angeles Lakers for former Suns forward Cedric Ceballos and Rumeal Robinson. It was a season that would not be matched in terms of moves until the 2014-15 season.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	15	Steve Nash	Guard	Canada	Santa Clara
2	39	Russ Millard	Forward	United States	Iowa
2	43	Ben Davis	Forward	United States	Arizona

The Suns used their first-round pick to select point guard Steve Nash from Santa Clara. Nash averaged 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in four years with the Broncos. On July 24, the Suns signed Nash to a three-year rookie contract for $3.2 million. He would spend his first two seasons with the Suns playing a limited role behind All-Star guards Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd, before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998. Nash would later return to the franchise as a free agent in 2004, winning consecutive MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 and ultimately making it to the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor on October 30, 2015.

The Suns received the 39th pick from a trade with the Detroit Pistons in 1994. With the pick they would select power forward Russ Millard from Iowa. Millard averaged 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in four years with the Hawkeyes. Millard would sign with Italian club Pallacanestro Varese before the season and would never play in the NBA.

The Suns used their second-round pick to select power forward Ben Davis from Arizona. Davis averaged 12.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in two years with the Wildcats. On September 25, the Suns signed Davis to a one-year rookie contract for $220,000. Davis spent much of the year on the injured reserve with a finger injury. He would appear in 20 games, average 1.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 4.9 minutes a game. Davis would sign as a free agent with the New York Knicks after the season. He would later return to the Suns shortly in the 1999–2000 season, appearing in just five games before being waived.

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From C 45 Brown, Mike 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1963–07–19 George Washington PF 2 Bryant, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–04–25 Seton Hall SF 1 Ceballos, Cedric 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1969–08–02 Cal State Fullerton SG 3 Chapman, Rex 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1967–10–05 Kentucky PF 43 Davis, Ben 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1972–12–26 Arizona SG 27 Dumas, Tony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1972–08–25 UKMC PG 7 Johnson, Kevin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–03–04 California PG 32 Kidd, Jason 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1973–03–23 California C 17 Llamas, Horacio 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1973–07–17 Grand Canyon PF 15 Manning, Danny 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–05–17 Kansas C 40 Meyer, Loren 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1972–12–30 Iowa State PG 13 Nash, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1974–02–07 Santa Clara SG 11 Person, Wesley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn PF 23 Tisdale, Wayman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1964–06–09 Oklahoma C 18 Williams, John 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–08–09 Tulane	Head coach Danny Ainge (Brigham Young) Assistant coach(es) Frank Johnson (Wake Forest) Donn Nelson (Wheaton) Paul Silas (Creighton) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Hot Rod Williams	Mark Bryant	Loren Meyer	Horacio Llamas
PF	Wayman Tisdale	Danny Manning	Mike Brown	Ben Davis
SF	Rex Chapman	Cedric Ceballos
SG	Kevin Johnson	Wesley Person		Tony Dumas
PG	Jason Kidd	Steve Nash

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	–	31–10	26–15	16–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	1	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	8	29–12	20–21	15–9
x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	17	25–16	15–26	13–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	21	21–20	15–26	10–14
Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	23	22–19	12–29	8–16
Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	27	18–23	12–29	4–20

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	7
3	x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	8
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	15
6	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24
7	x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	24
8	x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	28
9	Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	30
10	Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	34
11	Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40
12	Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43
13	San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50

Playoffs

The Suns came into the playoffs as the seventh seed, facing the 1996 Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics in the first round. In game one, Rex Chapman set a playoff record with 9 three-pointers, finishing the game with 42 points and leading the Suns to a 106–101 upset in Seattle. The Sonics responded with a 44-point blowout in game two, evening the series 1–1. The Suns recovered at home in game three. After an early 15-point deficit, Wesley Person led the team to a comeback 110–103 victory with 29 points and 10 rebounds. The Suns had a chance to close the series at home in game four. Behind by eleven points in the final two minutes of regulation, the Suns cut to lead to two before fouling Detlef Schrempf with 5.4 seconds remaining. Schrempf would miss the second of two free throws, giving the Sonics a 107–104 lead. Rex Chapman would respond with a famous turnaround three-pointer to send the game into overtime. The Sonics would outscore the Suns 15–8 in extra time to gain a 122–115 victory. The Suns would head back to Seattle tied 2–2 for a deciding fifth game. The Suns turned to small ball, starting four guards (Jason Kidd, Kevin Johnson, Rex Chapman and Wesley Person) along with center Hot Rod Williams. The Sonics would dominate the first half, leading by 22 at the break. A third quarter rally would bring the lead to eight, and a Wesley Person three-pointer to open the fourth quarter brought the lead to just five. But the Sonics would go on a 19–7 run in the final six minutes to claim a 116–92 victory.

Game log

1997 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 25 @ Seattle W 106–101 Rex Chapman (42) Kevin Johnson (7) Jason Kidd (10) KeyArena 17,072 1–0 2 April 27 @ Seattle L 78–122 Rex Chapman (18) Wesley Person (10) Jason Kidd (8) KeyArena 17,072 1–1 3 April 29 Seattle W 110–103 Wesley Person (29) Wesley Person (10) Jason Kidd (10) America West Arena 19,023 2–1 4 May 1 Seattle L 115–122 (OT) Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd (23) Danny Manning (10) Jason Kidd (14) America West Arena 19,023 2–2 5 May 3 @ Seattle L 92–116 Wesley Person (26) Jason Kidd, Wesley Person (8) Jason Kidd (7) KeyArena 17,072 2–3
1997 playoff schedule

Awards and honors

Week/Month

• Kevin Johnson was named Player of the Week for games played March 24 through March 30.
• Kevin Johnson was named Player of the Month for April.

All-Star

• This was only the third season in franchise history that the Suns were not represented in the All-Star Game, after the 1986 and 1988 seasons.
• Steve Nash was selected to compete for the Western Conference in the Rookie Challenge.

Season

• Kevin Johnson finished 17th in MVP voting.
• Danny Manning finished seventh in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

Injuries/Missed games

• 10/31/96: Kevin Johnson: Abdominal hernia; placed on injured reserve until November 24
• 10/31/96: Mark Bryant: Torn knee cartilage; placed on injured reserve until December 6
• 10/31/96: Hot Rod Williams: Toe surgery; placed on injured list until November 26
• 11/14/96: Sam Cassell: Flu; did not play
• 11/23/96: Wayman Tisdale: Shoulder tendinitis; placed on injured list until December 30
• 11/26/96: Ben Davis: Finger ligament damage; placed on injured reserve until January 12
• 11/26/96: Sam Cassell: Personal reasons; did not play
• 11/27/96: Sam Cassell: Personal reasons; did not play
• 11/29/96: Sam Cassell: Personal reasons; did not play
• 12/06/96: Darrin Hancock: Bilateral knee bruises; placed on injured reserve until waived on December 10
• 12/21/96: Joe Kleine: Back spasms; did not play
• 12/28/96: Kevin Johnson: Flu; did not play
• 12/30/96: Tony Dumas: Injured finger; did not play
• 12/30/96: Jason Kidd: Collarbone hairline fracture; placed on injured list until December 14
• 01/06/97: Robert Horry: Two-game team suspension (threw towel at coach Danny Ainge); out until traded on January 10
• 01/10/97: Rex Chapman: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 01/12/97: Tony Dumas: Bruised knee; placed on injured list until April 20
• 01/13/97: Mark Bryant: Abdominal strain; did not play
• 01/13/97: Rex Chapman: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 01/14/97: Mark Bryant: Abdominal strain; did not play
• 01/14/97: Rex Chapman: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 01/18/97: Mark Bryant: Abdominal strain; did not play
• 01/29/97: Rex Chapman: Fractured finger; placed on injured reserve until March 2
• 02/11/97: Hot Rod Williams: Flu; did not play
• 02/26/97: Danny Manning: Sore leg; did not play
• 03/02/97: Ben Davis: Injured finger; placed on injured reserve until March 13
• 03/09/97: Mark Bryant: Bruised foot; did not play
• 03/11/97: Mark Bryant: Bruised foot; did not play
• 03/13/97: Mark Bryant: Bruised foot; did not play
• 03/13/97: Loren Meyer: Strained lower back; placed on injured list until March 25
• 03/17/97: Mark Bryant: Bruised foot; placed on injured reserve until April 20
• 03/22/97: Cedric Ceballos: Bruised knee; did not play
• 03/26/97: Cedric Ceballos: Bruised knee; did not play
• 03/28/97: Cedric Ceballos: Bruised knee; did not play
• 03/28/97: Wayman Tisdale: Personal reasons; did not play
• 03/30/97: Wayman Tisdale: Personal reasons; did not play
• 04/02/97: Wayman Tisdale: Personal reasons; did not play
• 04/05/97: Ben Davis: Injured finger; placed on injured reserve until April 20
• 04/15/97: Wesley Person: Flu; did not play
• 04/18/97: Wesley Person: Flu; did not play
• 04/19/97: Danny Manning: Injured foot; did not play

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dexter Boney	8	0	6.0	.316	.167	.750	0.8	0.0	.3	.1	2.4
Chucky Brown*	10	0	8.3	.500	.	.727	1.6	0.4	.0	.02	3.4
Mike Brown	6	1	13.8	.417	.	.600	4.2	0.8	.2	.3	2.7
Mark Bryant	41	18	24.8	.553†	.	.704	5.2	1.1	.5	.1	9.3
Sam Cassell*	22	9	24.5	.415	.306	.855#	2.3	4.5	1.0	.3	14.8
Cedric Ceballos*	42	32	27.3	.464	.259	.737	6.6	1.2	.7	.4	15.3
Rex Chapman	65	33	28.2	.443	.350	.832	2.8	2.8	.8	.1	13.8
Ben Davis	20	0	4.9	.385	.	.450	1.4	0.0	.2	.1	1.5
Tony Dumas*	6	1	8.5	.316	.250	.500	0.3	0.5	.0	.2	2.3
Michael Finley*	27	18	29.5	.475	.255	.812	4.4	2.5	.7	.1	13.0
A. C. Green*	27	19	20.3	.477	.000	.646	5.1	0.6	.7	.0	5.7
Robert Horry*	32	15	22.5	.421	.308	.640	3.7	1.7	.9	.8	6.9
Kevin Johnson	70	70	38.0	.496	.441^	.852#	3.6	9.3	1.5+	.2	20.1
Jason Kidd*	33	23	35.5	.423	.400	.688	4.8	9.0	2.4+	.4	11.6
Joe Kleine*	23	10	15.9	.400	1.000^	.722	3.5	0.5	.4	.3	3.4
Horacio Llamas	20	2	5.1	.536	.	.500	0.9	0.2	.5	.3	1.7
Danny Manning	77	17	27.7	.536†	.194	.721	6.1	2.2	1.1	1.0	13.5
Loren Meyer*	35	17	12.8	.446	.600^	.712	2.7	.3	.1	.3	5.4
Steve Nash	65	2	10.5	.423	.418	.824	1.0	2.1	.3	.0	3.3
Wesley Person	80	42	29.1	.453	.413	.798	3.7	1.5	1.1	.2	13.5
Rumeal Robinson*	12	0	7.3	.471	.300	.250	0.6	0.7	.1	.0	3.0
Wayman Tisdale	53	15	14.7	.426	.	.625	2.3	0.4	.2	.4	6.5
John "Hot Rod" Williams	68	66	31.4	.490	.000	.672	8.3	1.5	1.0	1.3	8.0

* - Stats with the Suns.
† - Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ - Minimum 82 three-pointers made.
# - Minimum 125 free throws made.
+ - Minimum 50 games played.

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mike Brown	4	0	6.8	.400	.	.875	1.0	0.3	.0	.0	2.8
Mark Bryant	4	0	9.0	.400	.	1.000#	1.0	0.0	.0	.0	2.8
Cedric Ceballos	5	0	21.4	.333	.250	1.000#	5.2	0.6	.8	.6	6.6
Rex Chapman	5	5	38.2	.494	.458	.680	3.2	2.6	.4	.0	24.2
Kevin Johnson	5	5	41.6	.295	.136	.879	4.4	6.0	2.6	.0	16.8
Jason Kidd	5	5	41.4	.396	.364	.526	6.0	9.8	2.2	.4	12.0
Danny Manning	5	0	23.2	.578	.000	.933#	6.0	1.4	.8	1.4	13.2
Loren Meyer	3	0	4.7	.000	.000	.	2.0	0.3	.0	.7	0.0
Steve Nash	4	0	3.8	.222	.250	.	0.3	0.3	.2	.2	1.3
Wesley Person	5	1	32.6	.472	.424	.778	6.6	1.2	.8	.6	15.6
Wayman Tisdale	4	4	9.0	.400	.	.	1.8	0.0	.0	.0	3.0
John "Hot Rod" Williams	5	5	21.0	.533	.	.400	4.6	0.6	.4	1.6	4.0

# - Minimum 10 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades

April 19, 1996	To Houston Rockets Charles Barkley 1999 second-round draft pick ( Tyrone Washington)	To Phoenix Suns Sam Cassell Robert Horry Mark Bryant Chucky Brown
September 25, 1996	To Milwaukee Bucks Elliot Perry	To Phoenix Suns Marty Conlon 1999 first-round draft pick ( James Posey)
December 4, 1996	To Milwaukee Bucks Chucky Brown	To Phoenix Suns Darrin Hancock Conditional 1997 second-round draft pick
December 26, 1996	To Dallas Mavericks Sam Cassell Michael Finley A. C. Green 1998 second-round draft pick ( Greg Buckner)	To Phoenix Suns Jason Kidd Loren Meyer Tony Dumas
January 10, 1997	To Los Angeles Lakers Robert Horry Joe Kleine	To Phoenix Suns Cedric Ceballos Rumeal Robinson

Free agents

Additions Date Player Contract Former Team October 2, 1996 Evric Gray Undisclosed Chicago Bulls October 11, 1996 Rex Chapman Signed one-year contract Miami Heat January 31, 1997 Dexter Boney Signed two 10-day contracts San Antonio Spurs February 21, 1997 Horacio Llamas Signed two 10-day contracts Grand Canyon Antelopes March 13, 1997 Horacio Llamas Signed for rest of season Phoenix Suns April 5, 1997 Mike Brown Signed for rest of season Philadelphia 76ers Subtractions Date Player Reason Left New Team July 1, 1996 Terrence Rencher Free agent Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA) July 19, 1996 Chris Carr Free agent Minnesota Timberwolves October 22, 1996 Evric Gray Waived New Jersey Nets October 29, 1996 Marty Conlon Waived Boston Celtics October 29, 1996 Mario Bennett Waived Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA) October 29, 1996 John Coker Waived Toronto Raptors December 11, 1996 Darrin Hancock Waived Atlanta Hawks February 14, 1996 Rumeal Robinson Waived Portland Trail Blazers February 20, 1997 Dexter Boney Waived Florida Beach Dogs (CBA) References Suns on Database Basketball Suns on Basketball Reference