Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor

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The Ring of Honor is an award given to prominent players and employees of the professional basketball team, the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Awardees are selected to recognize the significant role the individual has had for the Suns organization (not specifically their prominence in the NBA). While Phoenix retired numbers early in the franchise's history, recent players inducted into the Ring of Honor have their names and numbers displayed at the Suns' home arena, Phoenix Suns Arena, but the numbers could be reused in the future.[1][2]

The Ring of Honor was opened on April 18, 1999. Tom Chambers was honored that day, joined by Connie Hawkins, Dick Van Arsdale, Alvan Adams, Paul Westphal and Walter Davis, who were moved from the Banners for Retired Numbers section at then-named America West Arena into the new ring. At the time, the Suns' Tom Gugliotta was already wearing No. 24, Chambers' former number.[3] In 2001, Phoenix added Kevin Johnson to the ring while also making an exception and retiring his No. 7, the last number to have been retired by the Suns.[4]

Key
* Retired number[5][6]
Inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame
Inductees[5]
Honoree Jersey # Position Tenure Date of Honor/Jersey retired Notes
Alvan Adams 33* C 1975–1988 November 9, 1988 Played entire career as a Sun, NBA Rookie of the Year, Phoenix's career leader in games played (988), minutes played (27,203), rebounds (6,937) and steals (1,289)
Charles Barkley 34 F 1992–1996 March 20, 2004 One of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history; NBA Hall of Famer; gold medalist with the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics; won the NBA MVP award in 1993 and led Suns to NBA Finals the same year; is a broadcaster for the NBA on TNT
Tom Chambers 24 F 1988–1993 April 18, 1999 Four-time NBA All-Star (three as a Sun); works in Suns community relations; is a broadcaster for Suns games
Jerry Colangelo — GM, coach, owner, executive 1968–2004 November 4, 2007 Four-time NBA Executive of the Year, NBA Hall of Famer, youngest general manager in US professional sports
Walter Davis 6* G 1977–1988 April 3, 1994 Gold Medalist at the 1976 Olympics, NBA Rookie of the Year (1978), Phoenix's all-time leading scorer (15,666), six-time NBA All-Star
Cotton Fitzsimmons — Coach 1970–1972, 1988–1992, 1996 March 18, 2005 Suns head coach with a 341–208 record, two times NBA Coach of the Year (with Suns, 1988–89 season), Missouri Basketball Hall of Famer, National Junior College Hall of Famer, Missouri Sports Hall of Famer
Connie Hawkins 42* F 1969–1973 November 19, 1976 American Basketball League's MVP (1962), Harlem Globetrotter (1964–66), American Basketball Association champion (1967's Pittsburgh Pipers), NBA Hall of Famer, worked in Suns community relations until his death in 2017.
Kevin Johnson 7* G 1988–1998, 2000 March 7, 2001 Suns leader in free throws made (3,851) and free throws attempted (4,579); came out of retirement on March 23, 2000, after Suns point guard Jason Kidd was out due to injury; Mayor of Sacramento, California (2008—2016)
John MacLeod — Coach 1973–1987 April 18, 2012 Suns winningest head coach of all time (579) and longest-tenured Suns head coach, a top 20 winningest head coach (707), 6th winningest head coach based on services made for one team, Assistant head coach 1999-2000, Coach of five other Ring of Honor players, 1995 Big East Coach of the Year, Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer, Arizona Sports Hall of Famer
Dan Majerle 9 F 1988–1995, 2001–2002 March 9, 2003 Played first seven seasons in Phoenix and concluded his career as a Sun; bronze medalist at the 1988 Olympics. 1994 Gold Medalist USA Men's Basketball World Championship in Toronto, Canada.
Al McCoy — Announcer 1972–present March 3, 2017 Longest tenured broadcaster in NBA history at 45+ seasons with the Suns; Missed only one game throughout his time as an announcer for the team. Won the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2007 for his electronic media personality and charisma throughout the league; Also, a member of the Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Iowa Hall of Pride.
Steve Nash 13 G 1996–1998, 2004–2012 October 30, 2015 Suns leader in assists made (6,997); won the NBA MVP award in 2005 and 2006; eight-time All-Star (six with the Suns); Suns all-time leader in three-point field goals (1051)
Joe Proski — Athletic trainer 1968–2000 April 1, 2001 Only athletic trainer during the franchise's first 32 seasons, Arizona Sports Personality of the Year (1979), NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year (1988)
Dick Van Arsdale 5* G 1968–1977 November 13, 1977 Scored franchise's first point (October 18, 1968), fifth highest scorer in club history (12,060), Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Suns
Paul Westphal 44* G, coach Player: 1975–1980, 1983–1984
Head coach: 1992–1996 		April 15, 1989 Phoenix's eighth all-time leading scorer (9,564), Phoenix's top scorer each season, assistant coach for the Suns (1988–92), head coach for the Suns (1992–96)

References[]

  1. ^ Taylor, Scott (November 21, 2004). "Retired numbers". Deseret News. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  2. ^ Johnon, G. Allen (April 3, 2006). "Don't lose (or retire) that number". SFGate.com. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  3. ^ Gilmartin, Joe (April 22, 1999). "Suns Honor Chambers". Phoenix Suns. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Young, Bob (March 8, 2001). "KJ is added to the Ring; 6 numbers are retired". The Arizona Republic. p. C5. Retrieved April 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Fie, Julie, ed. (2019). "Ring of Honor". 2019–20 Phoenix Suns Media Guide (PDF). Phoenix Suns. pp. 85–88. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Phoenix Suns Uniform Numbers". Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2020.

External links[]

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