The Phoenix Suns are in such dark times, it is time that the franchise does something to rekindle the positivity and spirit of the past.
The name, above all others, who is most historically synonymous with the Phoenix Suns franchise is Jerry Colangelo.
Heck, he is the name most synonymous with all sports in Arizona, not only for his part with the Suns, but for bringing the MLB to Arizona, it’s only major sports championship, not to mention the significant role he played in both the Coyotes and Cardinals coming here as well.
Lest we too forget that he was the original owner of the Arizona Rattlers and Phoenix Mercury, (helping to form the WNBA), the only professional sports teams to win titles in the state other than the Diamondbacks.
But for the Phoenix Suns, a franchise is the absolute worst position it has ever been, doing literally anything to help drag it out of it’s current malaise, celebrating the past in a way that is about as perpetual as eternalizing Jerry Colangelo as a statue could be, might actually bring a little hope to fans who are dying for a reason to celebrate the franchise now.
While I am sure that this idea has been bandied about in the past, it has most recently been brought up by Dan Bickley of 98.7 Arizona Sports, when he discussed it the week of February 18-22 (I failed to take note of which day he brought it up so I cannot specifically denote how you can go back and listen to it).
Phoenix Suns
Bickley also made the point that such a statue could actually also be put up in front of Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks, but I would argue that it deserves no placement other that in front of Talking Stick Resort Arena.
While Colangelo reached a higher level of success with the Diamondbacks than Suns, and he was the original owner of the MLB franchise, his time with the Suns and his impact on basketball in general, to me, mandates that such a statue should be associated with the NBA team first, before any other sport.
Along with owning the Phoenix Suns from 1987 until 2004, arguably saving it from being moved from the Valley in 1987, he was the franchise’s first general manager (the youngest in North American sports history when he was hired), the position he held until 1995 when he passed it off to his son Bryan, winning Executive of the Year on four occasions, 1976, 1982, 1989, 1993), overseeing two teams who made it to the NBA Finals, and six Western Conference Finals appearances.
He too coached Phoenix twice, leading the Suns to their first playoff appearance in 1970; he orchestrated one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history in 1987-88 in which he acquired Kevin Johnson (among other players) and turned the team from a 28 game winner to a 55 game winner in one season; and acquired Charles Barkley from the Philadelphia 76ers in 1992, a move that many attributed turning Phoenix into a true major league city from a small market one; under his management, the Suns also made the playoffs 17 times in 27 years, winning 50+ games 11 times (24 playoff teams and 14 50-win teams until he sold in 2004).
Aside from the obvious accomplishments, there is also another specific reason why a statue should be built and placed very quickly: current Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver needs to be perpetually reminded of the love and goodwill that winning can bring to himself and realize all the good that Colangelo did, and that he (Sarver) has failed to do.
That kind of metaphorical slap in the face would, if nothing more, be fun for Phoenix Suns fans to chatter about, but also further anchor into franchise lore the greatness that was Colaneglo: that while he was never able to lift the Larry O’Brian trophy over his head (an MLB championship does help numb the NBA pain somewhat), he was always ultra-competitive and wanted for the Phoenix Suns to be one of the few consistently competitive teams in the league every season he was involved.
Many franchise’s memorialize their greats with statues, and while the Phoenix Suns do not have a number of ultra-stars like the Lakers and Celtics do, they do have a figure in Jerry Colangelo who’s accomplishments in Phoenix and in the basketball world deserves to be memorialized in conjunction with the Suns forever.
It too would be very special for Colangelo to be able to see it and celebrate the moment himself – as generally happens in these situations.
The franchise too could use all of the good will they can possibly muster right now while they suffer through the worst stretch in history, and just the public discussion that a statue of Colangelo will be built is the kind of positive press the franchise needs more than ever while heading into this offseason.
It is time to give Jerry Colangelo a statue, and it should go directly in front of every Arena the Phoenix Suns ever play in, forever.