NBA team season
The 1981–82 Phoenix Suns season was the 14th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association . The Suns were in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, extending a then-franchise record. In the first round, Denver was taken down by the Suns, two games to one. Phoenix would find a tougher opponent, however, in the Western Conference Semifinals, getting swept four games to zero by the eventual league champions, Los Angeles Lakers . The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum .
Dennis Johnson again earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors and was the lone All-Star Game participant from the Suns. Additionally, he led the Suns in scoring with his 19.5 points average, a personal career-high. Truck Robinson was not far behind with his 19.1 average, and paired that with rebounding average of 9.7 a game. Fellow big man Alvan Adams brought in 7 rebounds and 15 points a contest.
Offseason [ ]
NBA draft [ ]
Round
Pick
Player
Position
Nationality
College
1
20
Larry Nance
Forward
United States
Clemson
3
62
Sam Clancy
Forward
United States
Pittsburgh
3
66
Craig Dykema
Forward
United States
Long Beach State
5
112
Paul Heuerman
Center
United States
Michigan
6
135
Guard
United States
Northeastern
7
158
David Williams
Forward
United States
Southern
8
180
Steve Risley
Forward
United States
Indiana
9
200
Brian Johnson
Forward
United States
Colorado
10
220
Felton Sealey
Forward
United States
Oregon
Roster [ ]
Phoenix Suns roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB (Y-M-D)
From
F/C
33
Adams, Alvan
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
1954-07-19
Oklahoma
G/F
7
Bradley, Dudley
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1957-03-19
North Carolina
F/C
45
Cook, Jeff
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
1956-10-21
Idaho State
G/F
6
Davis, Walter
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
193 lb (88 kg)
1954-09-09
North Carolina
F
35
Dykema, Craig
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1959-06-11
Long Beach State
G
24
Johnson, Dennis
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1954-09-18
Pepperdine
C
53
Kelley, Rich
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
1953-03-23
Stanford
F
50
Kramer, Joel
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
1955-11-30
San Diego State
G
4
Macy, Kyle
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
1957-04-09
Kentucky
F/C
22
Nance, Larry
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
1959-02-12
Clemson
F
21
Robinson, Leonard
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
1951-10-04
Tennessee State
F
14
Scott, Alvin
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1955-09-14
Oral Roberts
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain(DP) Unsigned draft pick(FA) Free agent(S) Suspended Injured
Regular season [ ]
Standings [ ]
Record vs. opponents [ ]
1981–82 NBA records
Team
ATL
BOS
CHI
CLE
DAL
DEN
DET
GSW
HOU
IND
KCK
LAL
MIL
NJN
NYK
PHI
PHO
POR
SAS
SDC
SEA
UTA
WAS
Atlanta
—
1–5
2–3
4–2
1–1
1–1
2–4
0–2
2–0
4–2
1–1
0–2
3–3
3–2
5–1
3–3
1–1
2–0
1–1
1–1
1–1
2–0
2–4
Boston
5–1
—
4–2
5–0
2–0
1–1
6–0
1–1
1–1
4–1
2–0
1–1
3–3
5–1
5–1
4–2
1–1
1–1
2–0
2–0
0–2
2–0
6–0
Chicago
3–2
2–4
—
5–1
1–1
1–1
0–6
0–2
1–1
3–3
1–1
2–0
1–5
2–4
3–2
1–5
0–2
1–1
1–1
2–0
1–1
1–1
2–4
Cleveland
2–4
0–5
1–5
—
2–0
0–2
1–5
1–1
1–1
1–5
1–1
0–2
0–6
0–6
0–6
0–5
0–2
1–1
0–2
1–1
0–2
2–0
1–5
Dallas
1–1
0–2
1–1
0–2
—
1–5
1–1
0–5
2–4
1–1
4–2
1–4
1–1
2–0
1–1
0–2
2–3
2–3
1–5
2–3
1–4
3–3
1–1
Denver
1–1
1–1
1–1
2–0
5–1
—
1–1
3–2
5–1
0–2
4–2
1–4
1–1
1–1
1–1
1–1
2–3
2–3
2–4
5–0
2–3
3–3
2–0
Detroit
4–2
0–6
6–0
5–1
1–1
1–1
—
2–0
2–0
2–4
2–0
0–2
2–4
2–4
3–3
2–3
0–2
0–2
0–2
2–0
1–1
1–1
1–4
Golden State
2–0
1–1
2–0
1–1
5–0
2–3
0–2
—
1–4
2–0
3–2
3–3
2–0
1–1
1–1
0–2
4–2
2–4
3–2
5–1
1–5
3–2
1–1
Houston
0–2
1–1
1–1
1–1
4–2
1–5
0–2
4–1
—
2–0
3–3
1–4
1–1
1–1
1–1
1–1
3–2
4–1
3–3
4–1
2–3
6–0
2–0
Indiana
2–4
1–5
3–3
5–1
1–1
2–0
4–2
0–2
0–2
—
1–1
0–2
0–6
4–2
3–2
0–6
1–1
1–1
2–0
2–0
1–1
1–1
1–5
Kansas City
1–1
0–2
1–1
1–1
2–4
2–4
0–2
2–3
3–3
1–1
—
1–4
1–1
1–1
2–0
0–2
2–3
0–5
1–5
4–1
2–3
3–3
0–2
Los Angeles
2–0
1–1
0–2
2–0
4–1
4–1
2–0
3–3
4–1
2–0
4–1
—
0–2
1–1
0–2
1–1
4–2
5–1
2–3
5–1
4–2
5–0
2–0
Milwaukee
3–3
3–3
5–1
6–0
1–1
1–1
4–2
0–2
1–1
6–0
1–1
2–0
—
4–1
3–3
4–2
1–1
2–0
1–1
2–0
0–2
2–0
3–2
New Jersey
2–3
1–5
4–2
6–0
0–2
1–1
4–2
1–1
1–1
2–4
1–1
1–1
1–4
—
4–2
3–3
2–0
1–1
1–1
2–0
0–2
2–0
4–2
New York
1–5
1–5
2–3
6–0
1–1
1–1
3–3
1–1
1–1
2–3
0–2
2–0
3–3
2–4
—
1–5
0–2
1–1
0–2
2–0
0–2
2–0
1–5
Philadelphia
3–3
2–4
5–1
5–0
2–0
1–1
3–2
2–0
1–1
6–0
2–0
1–1
2–4
3–3
5–1
—
1–1
2–0
0–2
2–0
2–0
2–0
6–0
Phoenix
1–1
1–1
2–0
2–0
3–2
3–2
2–0
2–4
2–3
1–1
3–2
2–4
1–1
0–2
2–0
1–1
—
3–3
4–1
4–2
3–3
3–2
1–1
Portland
0–2
1–1
1–1
1–1
3–2
3–2
2–0
4–2
1–4
1–1
5–0
1–5
0–2
1–1
1–1
0–2
3–3
—
3–2
4–2
3–3
4–1
0–2
San Antonio
1–1
0–2
1–1
2–0
5–1
4–2
2–0
2–3
3–3
0–2
5–1
3–2
1–1
1–1
2–0
2–0
1–4
2–3
—
3–2
4–1
3–3
1–1
San Diego
1–1
0–2
0–2
1–1
3–2
0–5
0–2
1–5
1–4
0–2
1–4
1–5
0–2
0–2
0–2
0–2
2–4
2–4
2–3
—
1–5
1–4
0–2
Seattle
1–1
2–0
1–1
2–0
4–1
3–2
1–1
5–1
3–2
1–1
3–2
2–4
2–0
2–0
2–0
0–2
3–3
3–3
1–4
5–1
—
5–0
1–1
Utah
0–2
0–2
1–1
0–2
3–3
3–3
1–1
2–3
0–6
1–1
3–3
0–5
0–2
0–2
0–2
0–2
2–3
1–4
3–3
4–1
0–5
—
1–1
Washington
4–2
0–6
4–2
5–1
1–1
0–2
4–1
1–1
0–2
5–1
2–0
0–2
2–3
2–4
5–1
0–6
1–1
2–0
1–1
2–0
1–1
1–1
—
Playoffs [ ]
Game log [ ]
1982 playoff game log
First Round: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
Conference Semifinals: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
1982 schedule
Awards and honors [ ]
All-Star [ ]
Dennis Johnson was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game . Johnson finished fourth in voting among Western Conference guards with 220,914 votes. It was his fourth consecutive All-Star selection.
The other Suns player who received All-Star votes was Alvan Adams (134,441).
Season [ ]
Player statistics [ ]
Season [ ]
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 25 three-pointers made.
Playoffs [ ]
† – Minimum 20 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 10 free throws made.
Transactions [ ]
Trades [ ]
Free agents [ ]
Additions [ ]
Subtractions [ ]
References [ ]
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s