Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns were founded in 1968 as part of a 2-team expansion to the NBA (along with the Milwaukee Bucks). They've remained in the NBA under the same city and name since their inception. Phoenix has been fairly succesful in terms of winning games throughout their existence, but have yet to win an NBA Championship in the two appearances they have made.

Current Situation (2010-2011)
Last Updated: January 2011
The Suns are on 2nd in the Pacific Division at 14-17 as I write this. You can see up-to-date information on the ESPN.com widget provided on the right, however.

Phoenix has struggled this year after reaching the Western Conference Finals last year, in which they were defeated by the eventual NBA Champions, the L.A. Lakers. This year the Suns are struggling to reach .500 again, showing great inconsistancy. They have both lost and won against tough matchups, as well as wins and losses to sub-par teams.

The struggles this year led to a major deal with the Orlando Magic, bringing Vince Carter to Phoenix to join fellow all-star veterans Steve Nash and Grant Hill. Carter has yet to make his Suns' debut, however, due to injury. Grant Hill and Steve Nash continue to play great basketball despite being in the league for as long as they have, and the Suns have some promising young talent.

Goran Dragic has shown signs of Nash-like abilities at times, Channing Frye is probably the biggest outside shooting threat at Center, and Robin Lopez provides some much needed rebounding and D at times. The Suns just need these veterans and young talent to gain some more chemistry. Though they are struggling, the Suns do still remain a "spoiler" threat to any team, capable of beating some of the best when they're playing well. Until they gain some chemistry and consistancy, though, they just remain a threat, but not a legitimate contender.

Team Logo
The Suns' team logo is minorly controversial. The logo on the floor of their home court is an orange basketball with the abbreviation "PHX" written in white and surrounded by purple over the ball. Orange flames outlined in purple in the shape of a Phoenix are coming out of the ball.

More commonly used is an alternative logo, with a streaking orange basketball in a purple background. The words "Phoenix Suns" are written in white below and surrounded by a gray background.

Suns NBA Records/Phoenix Suns Trivia

Below are both some well known facts about the Phoenix Suns, as well as some little known facts about the Phoenix Suns.

• The Phoenix Suns are the only Pacific Division team not located in California.
• The Suns' venue, US Airways Center, is often referred to as "Purple Palace," due to its purple seats.
• The Suns were the first major sports franchise in the state of Arizona, founded in Phoenix in 1968.
• The name "Suns" was chosen by a contest held by the Arizona Republic. The winnter received $1,000 and season tickets to the 1st season.
• The First Suns logo used was created for $200. $5,000 was paid to a local artist before, but with undesirable results.
• Phoenix lost a coin flip to the Milwaukee Bucks to determine who would draft in the #1 position for the 1969 NBA Draft. The Bucks would take Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) with that pick.
• Tom Chambers was the 1st unrestricted free agent, coming to Phoenix from the Seattle Supersonics in 1988.
• The Phoenix Suns and Portland Trailblazers participated in the highest scoring game in NBA Playoff history, with the Suns losing to the Blazers 153-151 in double overtime.
• Charles Barkley won his first and only NBA MVP award while leading the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993.
• Amare Stoudamire became the first ever player drafted out of high school to win the NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) award in 2002-03.