Despite never winning an NBA Championship - but coming damn close on several occasions - the Phoenix Suns have had some incredible players suit up for the franchise. Donning that iconic purple jersey, plenty of perennial All-Stars from Steve Nash to Charles Barkley have called The Valley home.
These days it is Kevin Durant and Devin Booker who are trying to lead the Suns to the promised land, and they've got plenty of help to try and get them there. Alongside a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer, the Suns will once again be in pursuit of a championship behind the elite scoring of two of the best in the game today.
But who are the top six single-season scorers in franchise history?
Six might be an odd number to land on - although you're quickly going to find out why that is - but what is perhaps most surprising is that there's no room for Charles Barkley on this list. He does crack the top 10 for his 26.6 points in 1992-93 - the same campaign he also took home the MVP trophy - but that is only good enough for ninth here.
6-3. Devin Booker
It is frankly incredible that a player only entering his 10th in the league owns four of the top six positions, and five of the top 10. It can be hard sometimes to overstate just how good Booker has been for the Suns, but these numbers might do the best job of all in highlighting just how important he has been to Phoenix.
This scoring output alone is likely already enough to see him go down as a franchise great, and he's already in the discussion for best Sun of all-time. Even more impressive is how - with the exception of 2020-21 when his 25.6 points per game was good enough for 10th (we have to give Barkley the tie-breaker as he won MVP) - his scoring output has improved at such an elite level year on year.
Season | Points Per Game |
|---|---|
2018-19 | 26.6 (sixth all-time) |
2019-20 | 26.6 (fifth all-time) |
2021-22 | 26.8 (fourth all-time) |
2023-24 | 27.1 (third all-time) |
Last year's number is doubly impressive because Booker shared the court with Durant. To have statistically your best scoring average so far - while splitting the ball with another all-time great - is an extremely difficult thing to do. The smart money then is on Booker claiming top spot before long, to continue his path towards best player in franchise history.
2. Kevin Durant
Durant going straight in at number two for his own 27.1 points last season - we're not entirely sure why he has the tie-breaker over Booker on this if we're being honest - actually poses a larger question that we will return to another time and that is, should Durant have his jersey retired in The Valley?
Whatever your thoughts on that, to be putting up over 27 a game as a 35-year-old on a roster that did not have a lot of depth was incredible. Durant also split time playing minutes at the five and defending more frequently than fans were comfortable with him doing, and yet he still managed this pretty absurd number.
The 41.3 percent he managed from deep definitely helped, and it also put him in the mix for top 20 single-seasons in that category too. The midrange is where Durant will always score a ton of points - and while that might not necessarily be a good thing - there's no doubting he's the most automatic two points in the game when he pulls up from that area.
Unfortunately for Durant, this might be as good as it gets scoring wise in Phoenix. Booker looks like he has another level to get to, while his own extended prime has to begin to wind down eventually. If Durant can somehow go one better over the next couple of seasons and the Suns don't make the most of that output, then it will be a massive missed opportunity by the organization.
1. Tom Chambers
Tom Chambers might just look like the most unassuming player to ever drop 60 points in a game in league history. Whereas the likes of Larry Bird had that workmanlike dog in him - and Magic Johnson was, well... magic - Chambers had the look of an insurance salesman who got lost and ended up in a Suns uniform.
When you took in his large frame and that seemingly unstoppable jumpshot though, you didn't take him for granted much anymore. His 27.2 points in 1989-90 came at a time when the Bird/Magic era had reached its end, and before the dominance of Michael Jordan in the 90s began. In between there were some fun and underrated guys in the league, and Chambers was certainly one of them.
We're not about to compare Chambers to one of the best to ever do it in Durant, and yet the way both could rise up and shoot with seemingly nobody able to stop them is certainly a skill both have. Both played the forward position, and in fact both spent a period of their career in Seattle with the Supersonics as well.
Chambers was a four-time All-Star, although his best work was done with Seattle. As impressive as that scoring output from him in 1989-90 was, in 63 playoff games with the Suns (33 starts), his could only manage 16.2 points each night. Suns fans rightly love him though, and would only want to see Booker take this record from him down the line. That day looks like it will come soon.