After a Phoenix Suns season defined by the culture-changing grit of trade acquisition Dillon Brooks, it’s fitting that the retirement of a former Suns standout puts hustle-first mentality into the spotlight.
PJ Tucker, a four-time winner of the Dan Majerle Hustle Award with the Suns, officially announced his retirement from professional basketball.
Tucker’s four hustle awards are a team record by a comfortable margin, with two-time winners Grant Hill and Mikal Bridges as the only other players in Suns history to win the award bestowed by "Thunder Dan" more than once.
Tucker, whose circuitous route to a successful NBA career became an inspiring story, set the standard for hustle culture in Phoenix long before Brooks made his way to The Valley.
PJ Tucker cut his teeth in the NBA with the Suns
Initially drafted with the No. 35 overall pick in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors, Tucker was waived roughly a year after the fact so Toronto could free up a roster spot for Luke Jackson.
From there, Tucker had to prove himself anew with a professional basketball career overseas. He did so almost immediately with Hapoel Holon from the Israeli Premier League. During the 2007-08 season, Tucker won league MVP while leading Holon to a title, breaking Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 14-year streak as Israeli champions in the process.
During his overseas ventures, Tucker also played in Ukraine and Germany — where he won German League Finals MVP in 2012.
That summer, Tucker signed a contract to play in Russia before opting out for a chance to compete on the Suns’ Summer League squad. The rest, as they say, is history.
Tucker went on to play four-plus seasons in Phoenix, winning the aforementioned Dan Majerle Hustle Award for four straight seasons after five years competing overseas.
Tucker played 377 regular season games for the Suns, the most of any team in his NBA career ahead of the Houston Rockets. A reliable role player, bulldog defender and corner 3 sniper with Phoenix, Tucker finished 12th in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2013-14 with the Suns.
And while Tucker was ultimately traded in February 2017 to the Raptors, the team that initially drafted him, his place in Suns’ lore was not finished just yet.
Fast-forward to 2021, where the Suns saw a familar face opposite their own NBA Finals. Tucker, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, ultimately took home the championship in six games against Devin Booker and Co.
Tucker played in all six games of the series, shooting 50% from the field and 50% from 3-point range. He averaged 4.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in the Finals with his trademark defense helping to set the tone.
Perhaps the only silver lining to the Suns losing in their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993 was that a former fan favorite would get a ring in the process.
As Brooks changes the Suns’ current culture for the better, Tucker’s retirement should remind Suns fans of key hustle guys who paved the road ahead of him.
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