Recent Down Years
Because of the success of the 90s and 2000s, Suns fans aren’t used to losing. But once Amar’e Stoudemire left for the New York Knicks, Phoenix seemed destined for a rebuilding process…until the front office tried to reload instead. Remember when the Suns were trotting out lineups that included Hedo Turkoglu, Hakim Warrick and Josh Childress?
THOSE WERE THE DAYS.
It’s not even about the fact that the 2012-13 Phoenix Suns had the second-worst record in franchise history (25-57) — the worst mark since the team went 16-66 in its inaugural season. It’s not that fans were demanding success every single season. It’s that the rebuilding process is still going on five years after the Suns peaked with a 2010 Western Conference Finals appearance.
That’s not on general manager Ryan McDonough or head coach Jeff Hornacek, since they’ve only been around for the last two seasons. But the recent futility of the Suns, along with that annoying stigma that “this team has never won a championship,” has contributed to the league-wide perception that the Suns are one of the NBA’s more unfortunate franchises.
Next: Current State Of The Franchise