In the aftermath of Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point effort against the Washington Wizards, elite scorers like Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant are again top of mind.
The Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat franchises have all seen elite scorers in their respective histories. Wilt, Rick Barry, and Stephen Curry have all averaged at least 30 points per game in a season for the Warriors. Kobe, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West accomplished that scoring threshold with the Lakers. The Heat, meanwhile, saw Dwyane Wade average 30+ points per game in a single campaign.
By contrast, the Phoenix Suns, a storied franchise that’s been around for nearly 60 years in the NBA, has never had a 30-point scorer in a season.
The Suns, to little surprise, also have never had a player win a scoring title.
Every other team in the Pacific Division — Lakers, Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, and Sacramento Kings — has had a 30-point scorer at some point throughout their respective histories, but not the Suns.
Who’s the Suns leader in points per game for a season?
In close to six decades of Suns lore, their top scorer in a single season was former All-Star and current Suns TV analyst Tom Chambers. The high-flying power forward averaged 27.2 points per game for Phoenix during the 1989-90 season, and no Suns player before or since has eclipsed that mark.
That Suns squad, coached by Ring of Honor member Cotton Fitzsimmons, finished 54-28, which was still only good enough for third in the division that year.
They finished third in the NBA in offensive rating thanks not only to Chambers’ franchise-leading scoring average, but the contributions of several other players as well. In fact, six Suns players averaged double-digit scoring that season: TC at 27.2, Kevin Johnson (22.5), Jeff Hornacek (17.6), Eddie Johnson (16.9), Dan Majerle (11.1), and Mark West (10.5).
They went on to reach the Western Conference Finals, but fell to the Portland Trail Blazers in six games.
Aside from Chambers, only two recent Suns stars have averaged at least 27 points per game in a season. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant both did it in 2023-24 by notching averages of 27.1 points per contest.
But that’s the entire top three for Phoenix in terms of scoring average in a season. They’ve never had a player win a scoring title or average 30 points per game in a season — or even 28 points per game in a season, for that matter.
The Suns have no doubt seen some potent scorers throughout the years, but it’s interesting that no player in team history has ever averaged 30 points in a season when every other division rival can claim a player who’s done so.
Perhaps it speaks to the Suns’ winning culture and continued roster balance over the decades to not have to rely on any one player for the bulk of their scoring.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see when — if ever — the Suns join their division rivals with a volume scorer who can best TC’s scoring chops.