If Alvan Adams holds the record for longest-tenured Suns player, Walter Davis is right on his heels with 11 seasons in the desert. The South Carolina native and North Carolina Tar Heel was drafted by the Suns in 1977. He spent the next decade-plus playing alongside Adams on the Suns.
If Adams was an interior presence at center with occasional bursts of scoring, Davis was an outside scorer with occasional bursts of defense. Davis exploded into the league in his rookie season, dropping 24.3 points per game, earning NBA Rookie of the Year honors. His gaudy scoring totals also earned him a place on the NBA All-Star team and an All-NBA Second Team nod.
While Davis would never quite reach that same scoring mark again, he continued to put the ball through the basket. By the end of his Suns tenure, he had racked up 15,566 points. This is still the most in franchise history by a comfortable margin.
Davis ranks second among all Suns players in games played, first in field goals made and attempted, fourth in assists and third in steals. He would make six NBA All-Star games in total during those 11 seasons in Phoenix, including another All-NBA Second Team selection in 1979.
While his best years came at the beginning of his career, he continued to contribute to the Suns until he left the franchise in 1988 NBA free agency. His 66.4 win shares rank sixth in franchise history, just a hair behind fellow offensive engine Amar’e Stoudemire.