Few players in NBA history accomplished as much as Grant Hill did through his early 20s. He won two NCAA titles with the Duke Blue Devils, a gold medal with the US Men’s National Team in 1996 and had six stellar seasons with the Detroit Pistons. But then injuries struck and he played only 57 games over the next four seasons, never again reaching the same heights.
By his 13th season, he had managed his injuries to the point he could play full seasons again. He joined the Suns as an unrestricted free agent in 2007. Hill was a respected part of NBA culture and was immediately named a co-captain along with point guard Steve Nash.
The forward was skilled in a multitude of ways, with the size, strength and craft to play down low and the skill to play on the perimeter. He could pass, he could rebound and he could score. While he wasn’t the same level of athlete as he was in his younger days, the up-tempo system in Phoenix played well to his strengths.
In 2010, Hill and the Suns advanced to the Western Conference Finals, along the way notching Hill his first career playoff series victory. The following season he averaged 13 points per game at age 38. He was one of only a handful of players to do so at that age or older.
In all, Hill played five full seasons with the Suns, putting up 22.6 win shares overall. Hill entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the Class of 2018, alongside other Suns standouts in Nash and point guard Jason Kidd.