4. Walter Davis (less than 1% of the vote)
At only two votes, Walter Davis is penalized here perhaps because he is more well known to a generation of fans who aren’t going to spend their time voting on polls they see online in late August. Kudos to those pair of voters though, because Davis is another player who it is great to see make this list.
Perhaps nothing sums up the impact he had for the organization than the fact he was drafted fifth overall in 1977, and in his rookie season was an All-Star, averaged 24.2 points per night in 81 games, and was named to the All-NBA second team. Talk about making some noise right out the gate.
Most 30-point games by a Sun:
— Booker Muse (@DevinBookerMuse) July 28, 2023
161 — Devin Booker
90 — Walter Davis
86 — Amar’e Stoudemire
74 — Paul Westphal
70 — Kevin Johnson
65 — Tom Chambers
58 — Charles Barkley
55 — Charlie Scott
41 — Dick Van Arsdale
37 — Shawn Marion
34 — Stephon Marbury
33 — Connie Hawkins pic.twitter.com/dSbqKVrnJ6
In all, Davis would be a six-time All-Star (four in his first four seasons) in his 11 seasons in The Valley, averaging 20.5 points while with the team. Despite being 23-years-old when he was drafted, Davis also managed to play until he was 37, a rarity for that period. A player ahead of his time, he could do a little bit of everything offensively.
Davis also upped his scoring to 21.9 points in 59 playoff games, and although he couldn’t get the franchise over the hump, it wasn’t for the want of trying. A look at his teammates throughout his career will give you some indication as to why winning at the highest level never happened, and the fact he played four games with a guy named Devin Durrant is frankly — quite strange.