Phoenix Suns: 7-Seconds-or-Less team vs. Barkley-Era team; who wins?
By Kenny Glenn
The greatest Phoenix Suns teams in history were the 7-Seconds-or-Less era and the Barkley Era teams. Who would win if the two faced off against each other?
Break out the computer simulators, or the 2K21, and match up the two greatest Phoenix Suns teams of all time: The Barkley Era Suns and the 7-Seconds-or-Less Era Suns. Who was better? Who would win in a matchup between the two?
The Barkley Era, or “Ring of Honor” Suns (Barkley/KJ/Majerle and Chambers) were best in the league in scoring at 113.4 points a game and were 18th in defense at 106.7 points a game.
They were also sixth in rebounding, tenth in assist, number one in field goal percentage, and number three (36.3 percent) in 3-point shooting.
The “Seven Seconds or Less” Suns were first in scoring (110.4 points) and 30th in the league in defense. They were an impressive first in rebounds, third in assist, second in field goal percentage, and first in 3-point shooting, an amazing 39.3 percent!
For context, this just-completed regular/bubble season had the decent 3-point shooting Suns hitting 35.8 percent of their 3s, good for 16th in the league. Number one was the Utah Jazz, 38 percent.
The 3-point percentage is a big deal. During the Barkley Finals season, the Suns shot 1,095 three-point shots, while the Nash 7-seconds or less crew shot almost double the amount of 3s at 2,026 shots!
But it is odd that the “7-seconds or less” team couldn’t outscore the Barkley-led Suns team? Today’s analytic “geniuses” will have to explain why a team that shot over 1,000 more 3-point shots couldn’t score more than the team 12 years earlier.
Both teams finished atop the Pacific Division with identical 62-20 records.
Please keep in mind I have literally been a Suns fan all my life seeing every game since I wasn’t even a teen and I loved watching both these teams.
Now let’s look at the matchups and determine which Suns era team was better: