Suns All-Decade Teams Part One – 1960s-70s

Backup: Gail Goodrich

The bulk of Gail Goodrich’s Hall of Fame career unfortunately came with the Phoenix Suns’ greatest rival, the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing for the Lakers both before and after his short career in Phoenix, Goodrich would eventually make himself into one of the greatest point guards that ever played the game.

And while there could easily be an argument to be made that he was a better overall player than Charlie Scott, Goodrich’s numbers with the Suns are slightly diminished and thus have earned him the role as the backup point guard in the Phoenix Suns’ All-Decade team.

The franchise’s first star player, Goodrich played on the Suns’ inaugural team, as well as their second team overall. Averaging 21.9 points, and 4.5 assists in those seasons, alongside other All-Decade members, Dick Van Arsdale and Connie Hawkins, Goodrich led Phoenix to a Semifinals matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1970, only to be ousted in seven games.

Following the playoff loss, in an attempt to find more depth in the front court, Goodrich was traded to the Lakers where his career statistically truly took off, in what can only be deemed as the worst trade in Phoenix Suns franchise history. Who knows what the Suns could have accomplished had he played out the next five years of his fabulous prime with the Suns, but there is no doubt that had he been on the Suns’ 1976 Finals team, he alone could have made all the difference.