1992–93 Phoenix Suns season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the 25th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the offseason, the Suns acquired All-Star forward Charles Barkley from the Philadelphia 76ers,[2] and signed free agent Danny Ainge. The Suns had a successful season posting a 14-game winning streak in December which led them to a 21–4 start, then posted an 11-game winning streak between March and April to finish with an NBA-best 62–20 record. The team set the franchise record for most wins in a season (the record was later tied in the 2004–05 season). Barkley won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and led the team to its second trip to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.[3]

1992–93 Phoenix Suns season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachPaul Westphal
General managerJerry Colangelo
OwnersJerry Colangelo
ArenaAmerica West Arena
Results
Record62–20 (.756)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Bulls 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKUTP
ASPN
RadioKTAR
Phoenix Suns 25th anniversary logo
A ticket for Game 4 of the 1993 Western Conference Finals between the Seattle SuperSonics and the Suns at the Seattle Center Coliseum

In the first round of the playoffs, the Suns faced elimination as they trailed 2–0 against the 8th-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. However, they won the next three games to advance in the semifinals, where they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in six games. In the Western Conference Finals, they defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in a full seven game series on their way to the Finals before losing in six games to the Bulls.

The season saw the debut of the new "Streaking Sun" logo, which was featured on the team's new jerseys. The new logo and uniforms would last until 2000. The season was also the Suns first at the new America West Arena (later renamed Talking Stick Resort Arena). The new arena had a regular season attendance of 779,943 in 41 home games, the fifth highest total attendance in the league.[4] The team sold-out the capacity 19,023 arena every game of the season.

Barkley and Dan Majerle were both selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game. Point guard Kevin Johnson played just 49 games due to injury, averaging 16.1 points and 7.8 assists per game. Following the season, Tom Chambers signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Utah Jazz.

Offseason

NBA Draft
Main article: 1992 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 22 Oliver Miller Center  United States Arkansas
2 48 Brian Davis Forward  United States Duke
2 49 Ron Ellis Forward  United States Louisiana Tech

The Suns used their first-round pick to select center Oliver Miller from Arkansas. Miller averaged 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game through four years with the Razorbacks. Miller would go on to play two seasons with the Suns before signing with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent in 1994. He would later return to the Suns in the 1999–2000 season.[5] Second-round picks Brian Davis and Ron Ellis were not signed by the Suns. Davis would later play with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1993–94 season,[6] while Ellis never played in the NBA.

Trades
America West Arena

On June 17, 1992, the Suns traded former All-Star Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang to the Philadelphia 76ers for All-Star forward Charles Barkley.[7] Barkley would play four seasons with the Suns before being traded to the Houston Rockets in 1996. Hornacek would play less than two seasons with the Sixers, Perry would play less than four, and Lang only one. Many consider the trade to be the best in Suns history.[8]

Free agency

The Suns key off-season signing was veteran shooting guard Danny Ainge. Ainge would spend his last three seasons in the NBA with the Suns.[9] Point guard Frank Johnson was signed to back-up All-Star Kevin Johnson.[10] Forward/center Tim Kempton was signed, but played sparingly throughout the season.[11] Small forward Alex Stivrins was picked up in the off-season, but later waived. He would return with two 10-day contracts later in the season, but was again waived.[12]

Roster
Phoenix Suns roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOB (Y-M-D)From
PG 7 Johnson, Kevin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–03–04 California
PG 32 Knight, Negele 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1967–03–06 Dayton
PG 3 Johnson, Frank 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1958–11–23 Wake Forest
G 22 Ainge, Danny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959–03–17 BYU
G/F 9 Majerle, Dan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1965–09–09 Central Michigan
SF 21 Dumas, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1969–05–19 Oklahoma State
SF 23 Ceballos, Cedric 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1969–08–02 Cal State Fullerton
PF 34 Barkley, Charles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1963–02–20 Auburn
PF 24 Chambers, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1959–06–21 Utah
PF 0 Mustaf, Jerrod 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1969–10–28 Maryland
F/C 8 Kempton, Tim 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1964–01–25 Notre Dame
C 41 West, Mark 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1960–11–05 Old Dominion
C 25 Miller, Oliver 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1970–04–06 Arkansas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Salaries
Player Salary
Charles Barkley (C) $2,420,000
Tom Chambers $1,885,000
Kevin Johnson $1,850,000
Danny Ainge $1,330,000
Kurt Rambis $1,100,000
Mark West $1,000,000
Jerrod Mustaf $904,000
Ed Nealy $800,000
Dan Majerle $735,000
Oliver Miller $517,000
Tim Kempton $500,000
Negele Knight $469,000
Cedric Ceballos $350,000
Richard Dumas $140,000
Frank Johnson $140,000
Alex Stivrins $140,000
Total $14,280,000

Regular season

In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the America West Arena (now Talking Stick Resort Arena). The arena was not the only new arrival into Phoenix though, as flamboyant all-star power forward Charles Barkley was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry. Barkley would go on to win his first and only MVP in his first year with Phoenix in 1993.

In addition to Barkley, the Suns added some key players to their roster, amongst them Danny Ainge. The organization also drafted a player out of UArkansas: center Oliver Miller. Also making his Suns debut was their 1991 first round draft pick, Oklahoma State forward Richard Dumas, who missed the previous season due to a drug-related suspension.

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Phoenix Suns6220.756—35–627–1421–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics5527.671733–822–1922–8
x-Portland Trail Blazers5131.6221130–1121–2019–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers4141.5002127–1414–2715–15
x-Los Angeles Lakers3943.4762320–2119–2213–17
Golden State Warriors3448.4152819–2215–269–21
Sacramento Kings2557.3053716–259–326–24
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Phoenix Suns6220.756–
2 y-Houston Rockets5527.6717
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics5527.6717
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers5131.62211
5 x-San Antonio Spurs4933.59813
6 x-Utah Jazz4735.57318
7 x-Los Angeles Clippers4141.50021
8 x-Los Angeles Lakers3943.47623
9 Denver Nuggets3646.43926
10 Golden State Warriors3448.41528
11 Sacramento Kings2557.30537
12 Minnesota Timberwolves1963.23243
13 Dallas Mavericks1171.13451

Record vs. opponents
1992–93 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —2–23–22–20–51–12–02–32–01–12–21–11–13–13–22–01–32–21–33–10–21–11–12–01–12–02–2
Boston 2–2—3–11–33–12–02–01–32–01–12–21–11–13–12–22–04–01–43–24–10–22–01–11–10–20–24–1
Charlotte 2–31–3—2–31–32–01–14–12–00–20–51–11–12–23–12–02–21–33–14–00–21–12–01–11–11–14–0
Chicago 2–23–13–2—2–32–01–13–12–00–25–02–00–23–14–12–04–01–33–12–21–12–02–00–22–02–04–0
Cleveland 5–01–33–13–2—2–01–13–22–01–14–01–12–02–24–12–02–21–32–24–02–00–21–11–11–11–13–1
Dallas 1–10–20–20–20–2—1–51–10–41–41–10–41–30–20–21–40–20–21–11–10–40–40–40–51–30–51–1
Denver 0–20–21–11–11–15–1—1–13–12–31–12–21–30–21–13–21–11–10–21–11–31–33–11–41–32–32–0
Detroit 3–23–11–41–32–31–11–1—0–21–13–21–11–11–32–21–13–12–23–13–10–21–12–00–20–20–24–0
Golden State 0–20–20–20–20–24–01–32–0—2–20–22–31–42–01–13–11–10–21–11–11–40–54–13–11–43–11–1
Houston 1–11–12–02–01–14–13–21–12–2—2–04–03–12–01–14–21–11–11–12–02–21–34–04–11–34–11–1
Indiana 2–22–25–00–50–41–11–12–32–00–2—1–11–12–22–31–13–11–32–23–11–11–12–01–12–00–23–1
L.A. Clippers 1–11–11–10–21–14–02–21–13–20–41–1—3–20–22–04–00–22–01–11–13–22–33–20–41–42–22–0
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–12–00–23–13–11–14–11–31–12–3—0–21–13–10–20–21–12–00–53–23–22–21–41–32–0
Miami 1–31–32–21–32–22–02–03–10–20–22–22–02–0—2–22–02–30–53–21–30–21–11–11–11–10–22–3
Milwaukee 2–32–21–31–41–42–01–12–21–11–13–20–21–12–2—1–10–41–32–22–20–20–21–10–20–20–21–3
Minnesota 0–20–20–20–20–24–12–31–11–32–41–10–41–30–21–1—1–10–20–20–20–41–31–31–40–41–41–1
New Jersey 3–10–42–20–42–22–01–11–31–11–11–32–02–03–24–01–1—1–33–23–21–10–22–01–11–11–14–1
New York 2–24–13–13–13–12–01–12–22–01–13–10–22–05–03–12–03–1—2–25–01–11–12–02–01–11–14–1
Orlando 3–12–31–31–32–21–12–01–31–11–12–21–11–12–32–22–02–32–2—3–20–22–02–00–20–21–14–0
Philadelphia 1–31–40–42–20–41–11–11–31–10–21–31–10–23–12–22–02–30–52–3—0–20–21–10–21–10–23–1
Phoenix 2–02–02–01–10–24–03–12–04–12–21–12–35–02–02–04–01–11–12–02–0—3–25–03–12–33–12–0
Portland 1–10–21–10–22–04–03–11–15–03–11–13–22–31–12–03–12–01–10–22–02–3—5–02–22–32–21–1
Sacramento 1–11–10–20–21–14–01–30–21–40–40–22–32–31–11–13–10–20–20–21–10–50–5—2–21–42–21–1
San Antonio 0–21–11–12–01–15–04–12–01–31–41–14–02–21–12–04–11–10–22–02–01–32–22–2—3–13–31–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–13–13–12–04–13–10–24–14–11–12–04–01–11–12–01–13–23–24–11–3—2–22–0
Utah 0–22–01–10–21–15–03–22–01–31–42–02–23–12–02–04–11–11–11–12–01–32–22–23–32–2—1–1
Washington 2–21–40–40–41–31–10–20–41–11–11–30–20–23–23–11–11–41–40–41–30–21–11–11–10–21–1—

Game log
1992–93 game log
Total: 62–20 (Home: 35–6; Road: 27–14)
November: 7–4 (Home: 5–1; Road: 2–3)
December: 14–0 (Home: 7–0; Road: 7–0)
January: 10–4 (Home: 3–0; Road: 7–4)
February: 9–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 2–3)
March: 13–3 (Home: 8–2; Road: 5–1)
April: 9–5 (Home: 5–2; Road: 4–3)
1992–93 season schedule

Playoffs

Under rookie head coach Paul Westphal (a former Suns assistant and, as a player, member of the 1976 Suns squad that went to the NBA Finals), the Suns squad consisting mostly of Barkley, Majerle, Johnson and Ainge won 62 games that year. After eliminating the Lakers (against whom they came back from an 0-2 deficit preventing them from being the first eight-seeded team to eliminate the top seeded team in the first round), Spurs, and Sonics, the Suns advanced to the Finals for the second time in franchise history. They eventually lost to the Bulls, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. This series included a triple-overtime game (Game 3) that along with game 4 of the 1976 series are the only triple overtime games in the history of the NBA finals.[13][14] Approximately 300,000 fans braved the 105 degree heat to celebrate the memorable season in the streets of Phoenix.[15]

Game log
1993 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (Home: 1–2; Road: 2–0)
Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
Conference Finals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
NBA Finals: 2–4 (Home: 0–3; Road: 2–1)
1993 playoff schedule

NBA finals

The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season, featuring the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, and the Phoenix Suns, winners of 62 games and led by regular season MVP Charles Barkley. The Bulls became the first team since the legendary Boston Celtics of the 1960s to win three consecutive championship titles, clinching the "three-peat" with John Paxson's game-winning 3-pointer that gave them a 99-98 victory in Game 6.

  • The Phoenix Suns won game 3 in 3OT, 129-121. Suns Head Coach Paul Westphal became the only person to appear in both triple-overtime finals games. The first was Game 5 of the 1976 contest against Boston, as a player for the Suns, which thus were the only team to appear in two triple-overtime finals games. In 1976, the Suns lost 126-128 against Boston.
  • The Bulls got off to a good start in Game 6 but struggled in the fourth quarter, wasting a double-digit lead to trail 98-94. Michael Jordan made a layup to cut the margin to 2 points, and the Suns missed a shot on their next possession. Trailing 98-96 and facing a Game 7 on the road if they lost that day, John Paxson took a pass from Horace Grant and buried a three pointer with 3.9 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 99-98 lead. The victory was secured by a last-second block from Horace Grant.
  • Michael Jordan, who averaged a Finals-record 41.0 PPG during the six game series, became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards. He joined Magic Johnson as the only other player to win the award three times. The NBA started awarding the Finals MVP in 1969.

Awards and honors

Week/Month
  • Charles Barkley was named Player of the Week for games played December 7 through December 13.
  • Charles Barkley was named Player of the Week for games played March 29 through April 4.
  • Charles Barkley was named Player of the Month for December.
  • Paul Westphal was named Coach of the Month for December.

All-Star

Season

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
Danny Ainge80027.0.462.403.8482.73.30.90.111.8
Charles Barkley767637.6.520.305.76512.25.11.61.025.6
Cedric Ceballos744621.7.576†.000.7255.51.00.70.412.8
Tom Chambers73023.6.447.393.8374.71.40.60.312.2
Richard Dumas483227.5.524.333.7074.61.31.80.815.8
Frank Johnson77014.6.436.083.7761.52.40.80.14.3
Kevin Johnson494733.5.499.125.8192.17.81.70.416.1
Tim Kempton3005.6.396..5811.30.60.10.11.9
Negele Knight523517.1.391.000.7791.22.80.40.16.1
Dan Majerle828239.0.464.381.7784.73.81.70.416.9
Oliver Miller56119.1.475.000.7104.92.10.71.85.6
Jerrod Mustaf32910.5.438.000.6232.60.30.50.34.6
Kurt Rambis*508.2.571..5001.20.20.60.01.8
Alex Stivrins*1003.5.611.000.0.80.10.10.12.2
Mark West828219.0.614†..5185.60.40.21.35.3

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Danny Ainge24024.6.376.413.8722.52.30.50.18.1
Charles Barkley242442.8.477.222.77113.64.31.61.026.6
Cedric Ceballos16311.6.571..7272.30.80.30.46.0
Tom Chambers24115.7.388.400.8152.70.50.20.47.3
Richard Dumas232021.7.525.000.7552.81.00.90.610.9
Frank Johnson2207.8.440.333.8620.50.80.30.03.2
Kevin Johnson232339.7.480.000.7952.77.91.50.617.8
Negele Knight913.8.563..0.30.80.00.12.0
Dan Majerle242444.6.431.394.6965.83.71.41.215.4
Oliver Miller24021.4.587†.000.5645.22.10.92.57.2
Jerrod Mustaf701.4.600†..0.30.00.00.10.9
Mark West242419.5.544..6094.10.50.21.44.8

† – Minimum 20 field goals made.

Transactions

Trades
June 17, 1992
 To Philadelphia 76ers

Jeff Hornacek
Tim Perry
Andrew Lang

 To Phoenix Suns

Charles Barkley

Free agents
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