Phoenix Suns Mount Rushmore: Still Ring Searching
The Phoenix Suns are currently one of the hottest, most talked about teams after their NBA Finals run last season and being one of the top teams in 2022. Unfortunately, the franchise remains ringless, which is odd considering they have 30 playoff appearances and a .534 all-time winning percentage. Anyway, my criteria for picking who should be included in the Suns Mount Rushmore includes high-level play as a member of the team for a sustained period of time. Below I go more in-depth on my picks.
Charles Barkley
Although he may go against my criteria by only spending four years on the Suns, he absolutely dominated during those seasons and lead the Suns to one of their three NBA Finals appearances ever in 1993. During his four seasons in Phoenix, Barkley averaged 23.4 points and 11.5 rebounds, incredibly impressive numbers. In 1993, after running into and besting the Lakers, Spurs, and SuperSonics, the Suns ran into a man named Michael Jordan, denying Barkley his chance at a ring. Either way, his dominance can’t be underestimated, and his impact on the Suns during the 90s kept the franchise in continuous contention.
Kevin Johnson
Johnson played with the Suns throughout Barkley’s tenure, reaching third on the Suns all-time scoring list and second on for the team all-time in assists. His case for making it onto this list stems from his longevity with the team (12 seasons) and the team’s success with him on it. Over Johnson’s 12 seasons, the Suns only missed the playoffs once, reaching the second round of the playoffs 7 times, the third round 3 times, and the Finals once. Johnson averaged at least 18 points and 9 assists during 7 of his Suns seasons, an incredible mark of consistency that also displays his knowledge of the game.
Steve Nash
After starting his career in Phoenix, Nash came back to the Suns for the 2004-2005 season and would go on a stretch of 8 seasons that simply ended up some one of the best seasons out of a point guard that the NBA has ever seen. From 2004-2005 to 2011-2012, Nash averaged 16.3 points and 10.9 assists while easily shooting the infamous 50/40/90 (FG%/3PT%/FT%) line when combining those 8 incredible years. Although Nash never made the NBA Finals like the other three on this list, he did reach the Western Conference Finals three times and is considered one of the most talented point guards ever.
Devin Booker
Although this pick may have some recency bias, Booker is on pace to be potentially the greatest Suns player to ever live by the time he retires. Let’s put it this way: Booker is currently 25 years old and is 8th all-time in points by a Suns player. There is almost nothing stopping him from becoming the top Suns scorer ever by about the time he is 28, which is absolutely ridiculous to think about because he could still have around 10 All-Star caliber seasons after that. After losing to the Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals, all that’s left for Booker to do (with the help of Chris Paul and others) is to bring the Suns their first ever title. Even if you believe Booker doesn’t belong on the Suns Mount Rushmore right now, he unquestionably will in just a few years.
