1981, 20th Pick
Who The Suns Took:
Larry Nance, Power Forward, Clemson
Career Stats:
920 GP, 17.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 54.6% FG
Who The Suns Should Have Taken:
Larry Nance, Power Forward, Clemson
Career Stats:
920 GP, 17.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 54.6% FG
The Phoenix Suns hit it out of the park with this pick. Nance is most famous for winning the first ever Slam Dunk Contest in 1984, but he was also a really good basketball player. He was a good rebounder and defender, which could be expected with his elite athleticism.
The only real candidate for the Suns re-pick was here Eddie Johnson, the current color analyst for the Suns’ TV team. Johnson had a great career as well, and was one of the best sixth men in the history of the league. But Nance was too good of a talent and too exciting of a player for the Suns to pass up on him in favor of Johnson here.