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Phoenix Suns: The performance that felt like an April Fool’s joke

Adam Stratton|
25 Nov 2000: A rear view of Tony Delk #00 of the Phoenix Suns watching the action during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. The Suns defeated the Clippers 95-89. NOTE TO USER: It is expressly understood that the only rights Allsport are offering to license in this Photograph are one-time, non-exclusive editorial rights. No advertising or commercial uses of any kind may be made of Allsport photos. User acknowledges that it is aware that Allsport is an editorial sports agency and that NO RELEASES OF ANY TYPE ARE OBTAINED from the subjects contained in the photographs.Mandatory Credit: Robert Laberge /Allsport
25 Nov 2000: A rear view of Tony Delk #00 of the Phoenix Suns watching the action during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. The Suns defeated the Clippers 95-89. NOTE TO USER: It is expressly understood that the only rights Allsport are offering to license in this Photograph are one-time, non-exclusive editorial rights. No advertising or commercial uses of any kind may be made of Allsport photos. User acknowledges that it is aware that Allsport is an editorial sports agency and that NO RELEASES OF ANY TYPE ARE OBTAINED from the subjects contained in the photographs.Mandatory Credit: Robert Laberge /Allsport

The Phoenix Suns have had some unlikely games from unlikely players in the past, but not one felt more like an April Fool’s joke than Tony Delk’s 53 points.

It wasn’t April Fool’s Day in 2001, but if kind of felt like it, especially to Sacramento Kings fans. It is a well-known truism that former players often torch the Phoenix Suns when they come back to play them. On this day, however, it was a former Kings player now on the Suns who took out revenge on his team from the year prior: a one, Tony Delk.

Tony Delk was one of my favorite college basketball players ever. If it were the mid 2010s instead of the mid 1990s, Delk is the kind of player that would have gone pro after his freshman or sophomore year. Instead, he was a mainstay star of Rick Pitino’s phenomenal ’90s squads, averaging right at 17 points per game his sophomore-senior years and winning a National Championship in 1996.

Granted, I was a biased teenager in Kentucky at the time, but I felt certain Tony Delk would go on to NBA stardom. Instead, he became the quintessential journeyman.

In what feels like an April Fool’s stat, Tony Delk played for nine different teams in his 10-year career and never more than two seasons with a single club. From 2000-2002, he played for the Phoenix Suns, and on January 2, 2001, he played against his former team, the Sacramento Kings.

In that game, Tony Delk played the entire game like an NBA Jam character who just made two consecutive baskets. The man was on fire. For a player with a career average of 9.1 points per game, he led the Suns on this night with an unbelievable 53 total points.

At Kentucky, Delk was a 3-point specialist. In fact, he is the all-time leader in school history with the most 3-pointers made in a career (along with 5th overall in points and steals). So, it only stands to reason he would have earned the vast majority of his 53 points for the Suns from behind the arc.

April fools.

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In this game, Delk didn’t hit a single 3 the entire game. In fact, he only shot one and missed it. However, after re-watching the highlights, Delk shot a lot of really long (and probably ill-advised) 2s. Maybe Delk was just really good at shooting from 20 feet, but not 23.75 feet.

Sure, it makes sense when big guys like Tom Chambers put up monster games don’t hit a 3, but when a 6’1″ guard who isn’t exactly blazing fast does it, that is impressive.

However, not unlike Devin Booker‘s big 70 point performance against the Celtics, the Suns went on to lose the game, this time by four in overtime.

Delk’s final stat line was 53 points, six assists, zero assists (of course), on 20-27 from the field and 13-15 from the free throw line.

At the time, Delk’s career average was just 8 points per game (he finished his career with a 9.1 point average), which, at the time, made him the lowest average scorer to put up 50 points in a game. He went on to average 12.3 points per game that season for the Suns, and never scored more than 27 points in a game the rest of his career.

With no NBA games to be played in all of April, the joke is on all of us this year. Stay safe out there.

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