Ranking the 6 worst Suns starters of the Steve Nash era

SEATTLE, UNITED STATES: Phoenix Sun Elliot Perry (C) holds the arms of his teammates Wayman Tisdale (L) and A.C. Green (R) during a moment of suspense in overtime during their game against the Seattle Supersonics 05 April in Seattle. Seattle won in double overtime 128-121. AFP PHOTO Dan LEVINE (Photo credit should read DAN LEVINE/AFP via Getty Images)
SEATTLE, UNITED STATES: Phoenix Sun Elliot Perry (C) holds the arms of his teammates Wayman Tisdale (L) and A.C. Green (R) during a moment of suspense in overtime during their game against the Seattle Supersonics 05 April in Seattle. Seattle won in double overtime 128-121. AFP PHOTO Dan LEVINE (Photo credit should read DAN LEVINE/AFP via Getty Images)
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18 Mar 1998: Danny Manning and Mark Bryant of the Phoenix Suns in action against Shaquille O”Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers.
18 Mar 1998: Danny Manning and Mark Bryant of the Phoenix Suns in action against Shaquille O”Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers.

1. Mark Bryant

Be honest, do you know who Mark Bryant is? If you do, and to be fair he played for a whopping 10 organizations, then you know more than a lot of fans. Bryant played two seasons with the Suns, the first two of Nash’s career.

In 797 regular season games, and no less than 79 postseason appearances, Bryant never averaged double figures in scoring or rebounding. Ever. As a player who manned the paint and also spent some time as a power forward, given his body size, this somehow doesn’t seem believable.

At his best, and that was not with the Suns, Bryant put up 5.2 rebounds per night. He broke the nine point scoring barrier twice in a career than incredibly spanned from 1988-2003, and he started 40-of-111 games for the Suns.

It is telling that, after seven seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, a single season with the Houston Rockets and a pair with the Suns, Bryant would then play for seven teams in seven years before retiring. It seems inconceivable that not only would teams keep looking to add Bryant, but that he would start 198 games in his career and still do so little.

What makes matters even worse here is that Bryant played alongside Hot Rod for far too long if you’re a Suns fan. The organization was in the doldrums during this period, although it got much better once Nash came back and the Suns committed to building a winner around his talents. The worst starter Steve Nash ever played with.