They were Karl Eller, Richard Bloch, Don Diamond and Donald Pitt. Johnny Kerr was hired to be the first head coach but he resigned in the middle of the season.

Their first success came in 1976 when they won the Western Conference title. They defeated the Golden State Warriors who were the defending NBA champions. They reached the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics and put up a huge fight before losing eventually. The game went into triple overtime and was considered one of the greatest games in the history of the NBA.

Scandal And Tragedy

In 1987, the team was plunged into a scandal when three players were indicted on drug related charges. These players were Grant Gondrezick, James Edwards and Jay Humphries. This scandal tarnished the image of the Suns. The general manager of the team, Jerry Colangelo then put together a group of investors and bought the team from its first owners. The same year, the Suns lost their center Nick Vanos in an airline crash at Detroit.

After that year, the Suns began to look up again. They acquired Tom Chambers, Kevin Johnson and Kurt Rambis. That year they made the playoffs which they continued to do for the next thirteen years.

The Suns moved into their new home arena in 1992, the America West Arena, now known as the US Airways Arena. They acquired Charles Barkley who went on to win the Most Valuable Player award in 1993. The team also added Richard Dumas and Oliver Miller to their roster. Paul Westphal was made the head coach. This improved team went on to reach the NBA Finals again for the second time. They faced the Chicago Bulls and lost to them. The next few years were not very successful for the Suns.

In 2004, Colangelo sold the Suns to Robert Sarver and the team’s fortunes began to look up again. They had their best record of 62-20. This was helped by Steve Nash coming into the team. He won his first Most Valuable Player Award that season and the next year he won it again. In the 2006 Western Conference playoffs, the Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers and then the Los Angeles Clippers to reach the Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs defeated the Suns in six games. In the 2006 season, the Suns lost in the Conference semi-finals to the San Antonio Spurs.