Fan Vote Results: The greatest Phoenix Sun of all time

The Phoenix Suns have had a whole host of fantastic players who have suited up for the franchise through the years. Despite never winning a championship, they’ve had some iconic individuals to go with those memorable purple jerseys down in The Valley.

But who is the greatest Sun of all time? Perhaps surprisingly, the list is not as long as you might think. In fact it is much easier to find no less than 14 players who the organization signed past their prime. Perhaps not winning a championship in the past is easier to explain than we thought?

Here at Valley of the Suns we recently asked our followers who the greatest Sun of all time was, and the results were certainly interesting.

Despite having a plethora of players to choose from — literally any Sun ever — only five players got votes. Perhaps surprisingly, Shaquille O’Neal for example didn’t get a single nod. Maybe you’re not surprised, but there is a case to be made that O’Neal is the greatest player to ever suit up for the Suns.

Less surprisingly, the likes of Chris Paul and Kevin Durant did not feature once either. You would have thought that at least one fan would vote for either, a single person flirted with Durant, but in the end they didn’t make it cut. Let’s break down who did, and crown the greatest Sun of all time in the process.

5. Kevin Johnson (less than 1% of the vote)

At only a single vote, point guard sensation Kevin Johnson finds himself lucky to be on this list, but it is heartening that he did make it. Johnson is a beloved Sun and, alongside Jeff Hornacek, forms probably the best backcourt the organization has ever had.

Before there was the “Point God” in Paul, there was Johnson, who played 12 seasons with the team after a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was the Cavs who drafted Johnson seventh overall in 1987, but after only 52 games and with Mark Price the floor general there, he was moved as part of a deal that sent Larry Nance the other way.

Who would have ever thought that Johnson would become not only the best player in that trade, but somebody whose jersey was retired by the franchise. He was a three-time All-Star, helped the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals, and even came out of retirement in 1999-2000 to help the team to the postseason where they won their first series in five years.

Johnson isn’t the best player to ever play for the Suns, but he absolutely deserves to be on this list, so it is fantastic he got a vote. When we run the “favorite Sun of all time” poll soon, expect him to place higher. Putting up 19.3 points and 8.9 assists in 105 playoff games is all you need to know. Consistent excellence personified was Johnson.

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.

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.

3. Charles Barkley (15% of the vote)

The “Round Mound of Rebound” was always going to make this list, although some might be surprised to see Charles Barkley get as many votes as he did. After all, he only played four seasons with the franchise and is one of those rare players who is well known for playing in several different cities.

An All-Star every season he was with the Suns (every year from 1986-1997 actually), Barkley was a phenomenon for the franchise. He was the focal point of that run to the 1993 finals, and was named MVP of the league that season. 25.6 points and 12.2 rebounds in 76 games tells you why.

He had heart, he had personality and he had broken through into the mainstream in 1992 as part of The USA’s Dream Team at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Who could forget that “I Am Not A Role Model” advert from around that time as well?

These days Barkley has a more complicated relationship with the Suns, and despite often rooting form them on national television, is also just as likely to say that they are currently not true contenders to win it all. Younger fans only know him as the analyst on TV, but for a certain generation, Barkley’s words can sting.

Wanting to join the Houston Rockets and a superteam featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler also doesn’t sit well with some. To be fair to Barkley, he recognized time was running out to win a championship, and wanted to give himself the best chance he could. Suns fans loved Paul for coming to Phoenix for the same reason. His four year stretch rivals any Suns player though.

2. Steve Nash (40.4% of the vote)

A lot of fans are going to be outraged that Steve Nash is not taking top spot here. In 10 years and across two stints with the organization, he won a pair of league MVP awards and piloted the “seven seconds or less” era that we all look back on so fondly now.

Nash was a tremendous floor general, tough as nails and willing to do whatever it took to win. You never felt like it was about the spotlight for him, and he seemed a lot more comfortable teeing up the likes of Amar’e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. As such, his career averages of 14.4 points and 9.4 rebounds don’t stack up next to otherworldly talents such as Barkley.

Nash wasn’t a force in the same way his predecessor was though, and instead used calculated poise to drive the Suns as far as he could into the postseason each year. In 75 playoff games, his numbers did jump to 18.2 points and 9.7 assists as well. It is not sexy, but knocking down 90.7 percent of his free-throws in that time was also hugely important to the team.

At his best Nash was getting to the charity stripe over four times per game, and although that didn’t last for particularly long, you knew you could count on him to tack on some valuable points from the line when it mattered most. Nash became the true successor to Johnson, and took that role very seriously.

He will always be Phoenix’s son (no pun intended…), and when he went over to the Los Angeles Lakers for a minute there at the end, it just didn’t feel right. Despite playing over 408 regular season games across six seasons for the Dallas Mavericks, there’s only one team you think of when you think of Steve Nash. He personifies an entire era of basketball. Not many can say that.

1. Devin Booker (43.4% of the vote)

It seems a little premature doesn’t it? Again, voters were likely to be of an age profile that would be more in line with thinking Devin Booker is the greatest Sun of all time. We can only go by the results though, and they have brought us to this point.

Booker has never won an MVP award, although unlike Nash (who many would have assumed would take top spot), he has already been to the NBA Finals. The margin between the two was close here, but if we’re talking about who the better all around player is, isn’t that actually Booker?

Not that he’s the Suns’ best player ever at this point — but if he keeps going on this trajectory — he absolutely will be. On a stacked roster that features Durant, Bradley Beal and Deandre Ayton, this is still Booker’s team. It was even his group when Paul was on the roster, which is in itself high praise.

His postseason explosion last season (he led the league in scoring at 33.7 points per game) looks like a sign of things to come, and the “Point-Booker” experiment should ensure his assist numbers start to go north as well. Booker might not be thought of as an elite defender, but there’s no question his body type ensures he can guard more players than Nash admirably did.

There’s little doubt Booker is already a top five Sun. Depending on your feelings on Barkley or if Davis came along prematurely, he’s probably top three. But to take number one overall at only 26-years-old? When was the last time that happened? LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Rare territory for Booker here then, and one which Suns fans placed him in themselves.