Suns All-Decade Teams Part One – 1960s-70s
By Patrick Nash
POWER FORWARD
Starter: Connie Hawkins
Basketball Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins played a total of four full season with the Suns from 1969-73. Although he played professional basketball prior to joining the NBA in 1969 where he had prior been unfairly blacklisted due to a college point shaving incident that he had no role in.
As the Suns’ first undisputed superstar, he averaged 20.5 PPG, 4.3 APG and 9 RPG while shooting 47% from the field in four very productive seasons. In his first season with the Suns he was a beast averaging 24.6 PPG, 4.8 APG and 10.4 RPG and shot 49% from the field while helping to lead the Suns to the Western Conference Semifinals where they would ultimately be outed by a Lakers in a seven-game series. He also made the all-star team each year he played for Phoenix and is the first player in franchise history to have his number retired, while also an induction in the Hall of Fame with the class of 1992.