50 for 50: The History of the Phoenix Suns – 1971-72
By Kory Miller
Valley of the Suns’ series “50 for 50: The History of the Phoenix Suns” continues with the fourth season in franchise history: 1971-72.
The Phoenix Suns entered their fourth season as a franchise fresh off a 48-34 campaign in 1970-71. The future was bright as the team returned a core of All-NBA player Connie Hawkins, “The Original Sun” Dick Van Arsdale, and a promising young big man by the name of Neal Walk.
Overall the roster remained relatively the same as it had been the year prior. Greg Howard was traded to Cleveland prior to the beginning of the season and Phoenix’s first round draft pick, John Roche, signed to play in the ABA rather than with the Suns. The Suns did find a solid player in the third round of the 1970 NBA Draft, selecting guard Mo Layton from USC. Layton averaged over nine points per game in a backup role and proved to be a valuable NBA rotation player throughout his career.
Phoenix stumbled a bit out of the gates, finishing with an 11-11 record in October and November. The Suns rebounded with a 11-5 mark in December to enter 1972 primed for another run at a NBA playoff spot. January was a month of streaks for the Suns, as they had six streaks of at least back-to-back wins and back-to-back losses.
Paul Silas and Hawkins were NBA All-Stars for the Western Conference. Silas’ selection was the first of his career, while Hawkins got the nod for the third consecutive time. “The Hawk” tied for the lead in points for the West All-Stars, scoring 13 points in only fourteen minutes of play. Silas only scored two points, but also grabbed nine rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
The Suns continued their streaky play throughout the rest of the regular season, including a nine game winning streak in February. They promptly followed that stretch up with a four game losing streak which killed some of their progress made in the standings. Phoenix finished the regular season with a record of 49-33, two games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final playoff in the strong Western Conference.
It’s worth noting that Phoenix ended with a better record than three of the Eastern Conference playoff teams.
The Suns made a surprise transaction just before the end of the season, trading their star big-man Silas to the Boston Celtics for guard Charlie Scott, an ABA player that the Boston Celtics held the NBA rights to. Silas was named to NBA All-Defensive Second Team after the season. Although it may have seemed like a curious choice at the time, the move proved to be fruitful for both franchises in the future.
Hawkins once again led the team in scoring with 21.0 points per game. Van Arsdale was his usual do-everything self, averaging 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game. Silas finished averaging a double-double with 17.5 points and 11.9 rebounds, and in his six games with the Suns, Scott averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Next: 50 for 50: The History of the Phoenix Suns – 1970-71
In two seasons from 1970-72, the Phoenix Suns had compiled a record of 97-77 and failed to make the playoffs either year. In the tough Western Conference, with limited playoff opportunities at the time (only four teams made it in from each conference), the Suns couldn’t seem to get over the hump and get into the top-4. That wouldn’t change in the near future for the franchise, and it wouldn’t be long before the Suns made the first deep playoff run in franchise history, cementing the team as a perennial playoff franchise.