1. What did Shawn Marion mean to the Suns during his time in Phoenix?
Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet): Marion’s scoring numbers never jumped off the page, but his all-around impact and defensive excellence are what made those Suns teams passable on that end of the floor. He was the versatile, do-it-all guy who ran the floor and was severely underrated by a lot of people outside of Phoenix.
He has an unconventional Hall of Fame case, but he also joins Kevin Garnett, Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone as the only players in NBA history to tally at least 17,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals and 1,000 blocks, so…put him in the damn Hall of Fame.
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Scott Chasen (@SChasenKU): Shawn Marion meant a lot to the team. The Matrix was absolutely as much of a part of what the Suns were doing as Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire, and I think over time everyone has started to forget how good Marion was. I think that’s a huge mistake. For his career, Marion racked up 17,700 points, 10,101 rebounds, 2,198 assists, 1,759 steals and 1,233 blocks. Here’s a list of players that have done that in their careers: Marion, Kevin Garnett, Hakeem Olajuwon. That’s a pretty good list.
Spencer Hann (@Spencer_hann): Everything. He was the heart and soul for a young group of talent that meshed with a community who had fallen into Suns hysteria. He actually led the Suns in win shares in five of his seasons in Phoenix and if not for a once-in-a-generation player (Yes, I’m talking to you Steve Nash), Marion would have been the face of the franchise for a long time.
Jeffrey Sanders (@JeSanders11): Shawn Marion was the face of the Phoenix Suns before Steve Nash and the gang arrived to the desert. Marion was the first building block of those successful teams, and that means something. The 6-foot-7 forward out of UNLV could do it all from scoring to rebounding to defending to of course throwing down the highlight reel slam dunk.
Besides being a nightly stat-sheet filler and rarely missing a game (he missed only three games from 2001-2006), he may have had one of the coolest nicknames that made him him a fan favorite in the valley. No matter where I am in my professional career, I will make sure I am at the Talking Stick Resort Arena for Marion’s jersey retirement night.
Gavin Schall (@GavinSchall): What did Shawn Marion mean to the Suns during his time in Phoenix? He filled in all the blanks. A lot of people forget that after Joe Johnson left, there wasn’t exactly overwhelming secondary talent on those Nash teams. Marion did everything from those teams from guarding the other team’s greatest perimeter threat every night to finishing Nash’s high arcing lobs on the other end. Off the court he was the consummate pro as well.
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