Over the course of its 52-year history, the Phoenix Suns franchise has had their fair share of special players and memorable moments, but one thing has eluded the franchise: the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The course of the franchise and the entire history of the NBA could have looked far different if one fateful day had gone another way.
Setting the Scene
The year was 1968. A notorious year in American history defined by the juxtaposition of soaring new heights in technological advancements and sobering lows in the plight of societal advancement.
We were nearing the climax of a decade defined by protests, new ideas and ways of thinking, and rallying against the status quo in favor of a more evolved society from a sociological perspective as well as a technological perspective.
The ideological battle taking place for the soul and future of America was seemingly at the forefront of world news.
It was a year where we saw the first manned spacecraft orbit the moon (the iconic first moon landing would happen in 1969) and the debut of the 747 jet.
We also saw the leader of the civil rights movement and one of the most influential people in human history, Martin Luther King Jr., get assassinated at the age of 39.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy would be assassinated as well after a campaign event.
In the sports world, we also witnessed one of the most powerful moments in Olympic history as the two American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, adorned a black glove and raised their fist in silent protest while the national anthem played during their medal ceremony after winning the gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-meter race.
The NBA Adds Two New Franchises
Due to the sport’s growing popularity with generational superstars like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, and “The Logo” Jerry West (this doesn’t mean that the NBA didn’t struggle with its own racial and cultural issues as well) the league decided to expand to 14 teams for the 1968-69 season and the cities of Phoenix and Milwaukee were granted new franchises.
The idea of bringing a professional sports franchise to the Phoenix market was definitely outside forward-thinking for that era as the city of Phoenix was ranked 20th in U.S. population in 1970 (it would be 9th by 1980).
After a public contest in partnership with the Arizona Republic to determine the name of the first professional sports franchise in Phoenix, the Phoenix Suns were born on April 25.
Seriously, take some time to read that story above about the creation of the “Phoenix Suns.” It is a fantastic read and shows how invested The Godfather of Phoenix sports, Jerry Colangelo, was in picking a name and color scheme that represented the heart of the city and state and why he chose orange and purple (hint: it relates to the name).
The 1968 expansion draft took place on May 6, 1968. Each of the 12 existing NBA teams were able to protect seven players on their roster from being taken by the Phoenix Suns or Milwaukee Bucks.
After each round, NBA teams were able to protect one more player from being drafted and the draft went on that way for 18 rounds (drafts in all leagues had a ridiculous amount of rounds in those days).
The Suns would end up with two players of acclaim that you may have heard of, one of which is in their ring of honor, Dick Van Arsdale, and the other would go on to have a hall of fame career and star for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1970s, Gail Goodrich.
1968-69 Season
Both teams struggled mightily in their first year, as you would expect for an expansion franchise, finishing with the two worst records in the NBA.
The Bucks would finish 27-55, last place in the Eastern Division, while the Suns would finish with the worst record in the NBA and last place in the Western Division at 16-66.
The Bucks were led by guard and first time NBA All-Star, Jon McGlockin. He took full advantage of an increased role and averaged 19.6 point per game.
The Suns, even with their struggles (they were the worst defensive team in the NBA and played a fast pace, some things never change), boasted the two aforementioned young guards in Van Arsdale and Goodrich.
Van Arsdale averaged 21 points per game and Goodrich averaged 23.8 points per game.
The NBA draft lottery as we know it today didn’t exist at that time (that wouldn’t come up until the 1985 NBA Draft and the notorious “frozen envelope” legend, look it up).
Instead of just awarding the team with the worst record the 1st pick, they flipped a coin between the worst team in the Western and Eastern division to see who would have the No. 1 pick (in hindsight that half-assed attempt at a lottery for the No. 1 pick is even more infuriating right? More on that later.).
The Coin Flip: March 19, 1969
Why was this coin flip so momentous and worthy of who knows how many words by me in this what-if article 51 years later it took place?
Because it was for the right to draft Lew Alcindor, who you may know as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Alcindor was the most heralded prospect in basketball history. A true can’t-miss prospect who everybody and their mom knew was going to dominate the league for the next 10-20 years.
The fate of two NBA franchises and possibly the direction of the entire league and game of basketball was riding on the whim of the bounce of a single solitary coin that was flipped OVER THE PHONE!
Man, the sports world was in a different place in 1969. I know the internet didn’t exist and the NBA wasn’t the cultural phenomenon it became in the 1980s and 1990s, but the idea that an event like this took place without any TV cameras and not even with team representatives in the same room (was there some sort of quarantine going in 1969?) is mind-blowing.
Also, both teams just trusted the outcome of such an important decision and that it was done in an ethical and honest manner without even needing to see it happen with THEIR OWN EYES?!
Colangelo asked the league to pick a side for the coin flip and engaged fans once again through a newspaper poll and fans choose “Heads” (did the phrase “Tails Never Fails” not exist in 1969?)
If you really want to dive into a deep hole of depression, watch this video of Colangelo talking about the coin flip and how it went down (hint: the flip technically went the Suns way).
The rest, as they say, is history.
The Aftermath
Abdul-Jabbar (he changed his name in 1972) would play six seasons for the Bucks, averaging 30.4 points, 15.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.4 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game.
He would win NBA Rookie of the Year in 1969-70 and NBA Most Valuable Player in 1970-71, 1971-72, and 1973-74.
The Bucks would also win the NBA championship in his second season in 1971.
He would be traded from the Bucks to the Lakers in one of the most infamous trades in NBA history on June 16, 1975.
Why in the world would you trade a player after he had the best first six seasons of any player in league history? Because he no longer wanted to be there.
In summary, Kareem told the Bucks before the 1974-75 season that he wanted out of Milwaukee, desired to be back home in Los Angeles to play in a bigger market (yes that even mattered then too). Then he broke his hand in the pre-season, missed the first 16 games of the 1974-75 season and the Bucks started out 3-13 and struggled to return to contention upon his return.
Kareem would go on to win three more league MVP awards and team up with Magic Johnson in the 1980s en route to forming the “Showtime Lakers” and win five more NBA titles.
He retired after the 1988-89 season at the age of 41 as the NBA all-time leading scorer and was viewed as the greatest player in NBA history at the time.
Meanwhile, the Suns would draft fellow center Neil Walk with the No. 2 pick.
He would average 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in five seasons as a Phoenix Sun from 1969-1974.
A period that included one NBA Playoff appearance.
Walk wasn’t a bust by any means, but when you are most known for your impressive body hair and the guy you almost had was, you know, Kareem, that is a crappy consolation prize.
Over the 1970s and 1980s, Kareem would win six league MVP awards, six NBA titles and appear in nine NBA Finals.
The Phoenix Suns franchise would win zero titles, have zero league MVPs play on their roster and make one NBA Finals appearance against the Boston Celtics in 1976.
To be fair, the Phoenix Suns franchise as a whole has still fared better than the Milwaukee Bucks franchise over the 45 years since Kareem was traded to the Lakers.
Let’s take this a step further though, what if Kareem enjoyed playing in the desert and the warm weather, as opposed to the harsh MIlwaukee winters and his close proximity to home in Los Angeles, was enough to keep him as a Phoenix Sun for his entire career?
How would the NBA look different?
Re-Writing The 1970s in the NBA
The Phoenix Suns boasted more talent, especially in the backcourt, than the Bucks team that Jabbar joined as a rookie with two high-scoring studs in Goodrich and Van Arsdale (the Bucks got an aging Oscar Robertson in Kareem’s 2nd season).
With Kareem in tow, they never would have traded Hall of Fame and elite scoring guard Goodrich back to the Lakers in 1970 to acquire center Mel Counts.
Kareem would have had two highly-talented guards in their prime to play with.
They also signed another hall of fame player from the ABA in 1969 that could have formed an elite duo with Jabbar. You may have heard of him: Connie Hawkins.
Hawkins averaged 20.5 points, 9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game in five seasons in Phoenix and was one of the first, if not the first, player who truly played above the rim and wowed fans with his jumping ability.
A pre-cursor to “Dr. J” Julius Erving’s and David Thompson who would change the way in which the game was played with their elite athleticism and verticality.
Imagine a starting lineup of Van Arsdale, Goodrich, Hawkins, Paul Silas (a bruising power forward who averaged a double-double in three seasons in Phoenix and would go on to be a successful NBA head coach) and Kareem!
That lineup features three NBA Hall of Famers (Kareem, Goodrich, Hawkins) and two other guys who would combine for five all-star appearances in their combined 28 seasons in the NBA.
In a decade in the 1970s in the NBA that is defined by declining play, poor TV ratings, drug problems, stiff competition from a competing league (the ABA) and parity, you are telling me that core couldn’t have won a handful of NBA championships?
It would have been much harder to envision Kareem wanting out in that scenario.
Let’s dive even deeper. Not only do the Suns’ chances to establish themselves as the team of the 1970s and the 2nd great NBA dynasty (the 60s Celtics were the first), they likely prevent the Lakers from becoming the team of the 1980s for a couple reasons.
The first is obvious, no trade for Kareem.
The second may be even more interesting. If the Suns never trade Goodrich back to the Lakers in 1970 and he doesn’t spend the prime of his career there before signing with the Jazz in 1976, they would have never have gotten Magic Johnson either.
The Curious Case of Gail Goodrich
Let me start off this journey into an NBA history rabbit hole with this, Magic Johnson should have a shrine to Gail Goodrich in his house.
Why, you say?
Because if it wasn’t for Goodrich (and the NBA’s weird rules back in the day, a common theme in this piece) Magic could have spent his career with the Jazz.
Could you imagine Magic Johnson in a Jazz uniform? “Showtime” doesn’t have the same ring to it without the bright lights, cache and Lakers dancers in Los Angeles (he would have looked cool in those beautiful 1980s Jazz uniforms though and Jazz seems like an accurate moniker for his style of play).
Back to Goodrich:
The then New Orleans Jazz (makes a lot more sense than the Utah Jazz doesn’t it?) signed an aging Goodrich in 1976 to add some veteran leadership to a team that was only in its second year of existence. They tried to form a great backcourt with two over-the-hill Hall of Fame guards in Goodrich and Maravich to sell tickets and win games.
It didn’t work out and they moved to Utah in 1979.
The NBA greatly discouraged free agency at this time (the first fully recognized and open free agency didn’t happen until 1988 and the Phoenix Suns made the first big signing in free agency history, Tom Chambers!), and as such determined that the lowly Jazz needed to provide ample compensation to the mighty Lakers for signing away their 33-year-old guard (who promptly tore his Achilles by the way) so they constructed a deal with the two teams:
New Orleans Jazz Receive: Gail Goodrich, 1977 2nd Round Draft Pick, 1978 1st Round Draft Pick
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: 1977 1st Round Draft Pick, 1978 1st Round Draft Pick, 1979 1st Round Draft Pick, 1980 2nd Round Draft pick
Few quick thoughts here:
- The NBA wasn’t always the forward-thinking league we know it as today, the idea that players almost had zero ability to choose where they played after their contract expired without repercussions is insanity. The league literally never could have envisioned the phenomenon that free agency would become 30 years later. In their defense, the Internet didn’t even exist yet or mobile phones of any kind.
- The idea that you would punish a new and clearly fledging franchise from its inception in New Orleans, for attempting to acquire a great player to help them win and sell tickets, at the expense of a well-established franchise like the Lakers, is truly bonkers when looking at it today. But that is just how the league operated then.
- Teams clearly did not value draft picks at this time, the scouting department was probably watching a few nationally televised college basketball games a season LOL.
I highlighted that 1979 1st Round Draft pick because it turned into none other than Magic Johnson.
The Jazz finished with the worst record in the league during the 1978-79 season at 26-56 and last place in the Eastern Conference (remember they were in New Orleans) and because of the NBA’s super cool rule (heavy sarcasm) to have a coin flip between the worst team in each conference to see who would get the No.1 pick in the draft, on April 19, 1979. This featured the Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.
History has a way of repeating itself.
Chicago Bulls General Manager, Rod Thorn, choose to make the call and on the coin flip and chose (you guessed it) heads. You know the rest, it came out tails once again (TAILS NEVER FAILS!) and low and behold because of the luck of the coin and another archaic and illogical NBA rule the Los Angeles Lakers now had the greatest point guard of all-time to team up with the greatest center of all-time to create the team of the 1980s in the NBA.
They would make the NBA Finals eight of 10 years during the 1980s and win five NBA Championships.
Tying it All Together
If you have made it to this point of this marathon of a piece about one coin flip that occurred 51 years ago, I truly do commend and thank you.
I hope you have enjoyed it throughout and went down the alternate NBA universe wormhole with me by reading the links included as well.
If you have, that’s awesome. You probably love the NBA as much as I do and we should probably be friends.
If not, if you just got bored or impatient and scanned down to the end of the piece, I feel you. I have been there. It takes commitment to read something this long. I just want to let you know that I got you, homie, here is the payoff:
How the Phoenix Suns Winning the Coin Flip Would Have Changed the History of Basketball
- If Kareem gets drafted by the Phoenix Suns they likely never trade Hall of Fame guard, Gail Goodrich, back to the Lakers in his prime in 1970.
- With a core of Kareem-Goodrich-Hawkins-Van Arsdale-Silas, the Suns likely win multiple NBA titles and possibly become the 2nd great dynasty in NBA history after the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.
- The Lakers team that won 33 straight games in the regular season and an NBA title in 1972 isn’t able to get over the hump without their leading scorer in Gail Goodrich (he averaged 25.9 points per game in 1971-72) and the 1972 NBA championship likely goes to the Phoenix Suns or New York Knicks. Jerry West is viewed as the ultimate example of the NBA superstar who could never win an NBA title and maybe never becomes the NBA logo? (That could be a stretch, not necessarily related).
- If Gail Goodrich never returns to the Lakers they never acquire the rights to the No.1 pick in the 1979 NBA Draft and Magic Johnson never becomes a Laker. He instead becomes a member of the Jazz in their first season after relocating to Utah.
- The “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s never exist. The 1980s are likely dominated by the Suns (still likely have Kareem) and Jazz (Magic and maybe Malone?) in the Western Conference and the Celtics (Bird) and 76ers in the Eastern Conference.
- It was obvious that the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird rivalry likely had a huge role in saving the NBA from extinction in the 1980s coming out of a very rough decade in the 1970s. There is even a Broadway play about it. Would they have had the same effect without both playing in a major media market on both coasts in Los Angeles and Boston? Utah vs Boston doesn’t have the same power.
- Knowing the way the NBA operated during these times and throughout much of their history (the superstars get preferential treatment from the refs and a few organizations “just happen” to get most of the breaks) would the Bulls have “won” the coin flip for the No.1 pick in the 1979 NBA Draft and the right to draft Magic Johnson? If so, Michael Jordan never ends up on the Bulls. If he never ends up on the Bulls and has Jerry Krause as his GM, he likely never gets Scottie Pippen as his partner in crime wherever he ends up. Without Pippen, does Jordan evolve beyond being anything more than the 90s version of Allen Iverson? A fan favorite who leads the league in scoring but is never truly a winner on a large scale or champion? Who then takes the mantle as the great player of the 1990s, Olajuwon? Barkley? Malone? (I just pissed off the army of aged 35-60 Jordan worshippers…uh oh). It likely becomes the decade of great parity in the NBA instead of the 1970s.
- Back to the Lakers, if they don’t win an NBA title in the 1970s or 1980s, they are likely viewed as an average NBA franchise and there is a chance Kobe Bryant never bulldozes his way to being traded there on draft night. Instead, he may end up a member of the Boston Celtics (they had the No.6 pick that year and had a private workout with him before the draft) and re-invigorate their storied franchise. Instead of forming the most talented duo in NBA history, there is a chance that Shaq and Kobe battle for Eastern Conference and NBA supremacy in the late 90s and early to mid 2000s with Shaq staying in Orlando and Kobe in Boston. To be fair, Shaq still may have gone to the Lakers in 1996 because he wanted to be a successful rapper and movie star.
- With the Lakers’ mediocrity combined with the futility of every other team the Suns had in their division throughout much of the 1980s, the Suns essentially become the San Antonio Spurs as a team that wins 50 plus games and a number of titles over a couple decades and are viewed as a blue blood franchise in professional sports, on par with the Celtics, Yankees, Cowboys and Steelers.
- The Phoenix Suns never become the most cursed franchise in professional basketball and possibly have decades worth of insufferable fans like the Lakers do now. Sorry Lakers fans, couldn’t help myself.
So there you have it, almost 4,000 words later, I have gone down the wormhole (like MJ in Space Jam), the veritable “NBA Twilight Zone” and explained why the Phoenix Suns have a major role in the biggest “What if” in NBA history.