1994–95 Phoenix Suns season
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1994–95 Phoenix Suns season | |
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Division Champions
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Head coach | Paul Westphal |
General manager | Jerry Colangelo |
Owner(s) | Jerry Colangelo |
Arena | America West Arena |
Results | |
Record | 59–23 (.720) |
Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 2nd (Western) |
Playoff finish | Lost in Semifinals to Houston (3–4) |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
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Radio | KTAR |
The 1994–95 Phoenix Suns season was the 27th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns were led by Paul Westphal, in his third year as head coach of the Suns. The Suns had finished the regular season with 59 wins, the first time in the franchise's history they had ended the season with 55 or more wins for three consecutive seasons. The Suns swept the Portland Trailblazers in three shraight games in the first round of the playoffs, but for the second year in a row, had their playoff run stopped in a Western Conference Semifinals' Game 7 loss at the hands of the Houston Rockets. All home games were played at America West Arena.
The Suns were again led in both scoring and rebounding by All-Star Charles Barkley, averaging 23.0 points 11.1 rebounds for the season. In the off season, the Suns had acquired free agent Danny Manning, who was coming off an All-Star year. With the Suns, he would average 17.9 points a game but the oft-injured Manning appeared in just 46 games in his first season in Phoenix and would not be available for the Suns' playoff run. For point guard Kevin Johnson, the injury that had allowed him to start in just 35 games in the regular season happened earlier enough in the season he would be able to play in the Suns' fourth consecutive Western Conference Semifinals. Johnson would average a team-high 7.7 assists and 15.5 points during the regular season.
Dan Majerle finished the season tied for second in made three-point field goals, 199, and averaged 15.6 points for the Suns. The Suns front court was supplanted by A.C. Green's 11.2 points and 8.2 rebounds and Wayman Tisdale's 10 points per game. The Suns' pick in the draft was used to select Wesley Person, a shooting guard out of Auburn, who contributed 10.4 points a game while connecting on a team-high 43.6% of his three-pointers. By season's end, Person was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team.
Barkley was named to his ninth All-Star Game, joined by Majerle, who was selected for his third and final All-Star Game. Barkley repeated as an All-NBA Second Team selection. Following the season, Majerle was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Contents
Offseason
NBA Draft
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Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
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1 | 23 | Wesley Person | SG/SF | United States | Auburn |
2 | 29 | Antonio Lang | SF | United States | Duke |
2 | 50 | Charles Claxton | C | United States Virgin Islands | Georgia |
2 | 52 | Anthony Goldwire | PG | United States | Houston |
The Suns used their first-round pick to select shooting guard Wesley Person from Auburn. Person averaged 19.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in four years with the Tigers. Person would be named to the All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 10.4 points a game, and shooting .436% from the three-point line. Person would spend three seasons with the Suns before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1997.
The Suns received the 29th pick from a trade with the San Antonio Spurs in 1993. With the pick they would select small forward Antonio Lang from Duke. Lang won National Championships with the Blue Devils in 1991 and 1992. Lang spent the majority of the year on the injured list, and was later traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995.
The Suns used their second-round pick to select center Charles Claxton from Georgia. Claxton would opt to play his final year with the Bulldogs. The Suns also received the 52nd pick from a trade with the New York Knicks in 1991. With the pick they would select point guard Anthony Goldwire from Houston. Goldwire was waived three days before the start of the season. He would later play for nine NBA teams over the course of eight seasons.
Roster
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Depth chart
Pos. | Starter | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
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C | Joe Kleine | Danny Schayes | ||
PF | A. C. Green | Wayman Tisdale | Danny Manning | |
SF | Charles Barkley | Dan Majerle | Antonio Lang | |
SG | Wesley Person | Danny Ainge | ||
PG | Kevin Johnson | Elliot Perry | Trevor Ruffin |
Regular season
Standings
Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
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y-Phoenix Suns | 59 | 23 | .720 | — | 32–9 | 27–14 | 23–7 |
x-Seattle SuperSonics | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2 | 32–9 | 25–16 | 16–14 |
x-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 11 | 29–12 | 19–22 | 15–15 |
x-Portland Trail Blazers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 15 | 26–15 | 18–23 | 17–13 |
Sacramento Kings | 39 | 43 | .476 | 20 | 27–14 | 12–29 | 17–13 |
Golden State Warriors | 26 | 56 | .317 | 33 | 15–26 | 11–30 | 11–19 |
Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 42 | 13–28 | 4–37 | 6–24 |
# | Western Conference | ||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
1 | z-San Antonio Spurs | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
2 | y-Phoenix Suns | 59 | 23 | .720 | 3 |
3 | x-Utah Jazz | 60 | 22 | .732 | 2 |
4 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 57 | 25 | .695 | 5 |
5 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 14 |
6 | x-Houston Rockets | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 |
7 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 |
8 | x-Denver Nuggets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 21 |
9 | Sacramento Kings | 39 | 43 | .476 | 23 |
10 | Dallas Mavericks | 36 | 46 | .439 | 26 |
11 | Golden State Warriors | 26 | 56 | .317 | 36 |
12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 21 | 61 | .256 | 41 |
13 | Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 45 |
Playoffs
Game log
Awards and honors
Week/Month
- Elliot Perry was named Player of the Week for games played November 14 through November 20.
- Charles Barkley was named Player of the Week for games played February 13 through February 19.
All-Star
- Charles Barkley was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his ninth consecutive All-Star selection. Barkley finished first in voting among Western Conference forwards with 1,046,105 votes.
- Dan Majerle was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his third All-Star selection. Majerle finished first in voting among Western Conference guards with 868,115 votes.
- Paul Westphal coached the Western Conference in the All-Star Game, which was held in Phoenix for the second time. The West defeated the East 139–112.
- Other Suns players receiving All-Star votes were: Danny Manning (327,554).
- Dan Majerle was selected to compete in the Three-Point Shootout. Majerle was eliminated in the first round.
- Wesley Person and Trevor Ruffin were selected to play in the Rookie Challenge.
Season
- Charles Barkley was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Barkley also finished sixth in MVP voting.
- Wesley Person was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.
Injuries/Missed games
- 10/08/94: Richard Dumas: League suspension (failed drug test); reinstated March 13
- 11/03/94: Charles Barkley: Strained stomach muscle; placed on injured list until November 26
- 11/03/94: Aaron Swinson: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until November 15
- 11/11/94: Kevin Johnson: Sprained rib cage muscle; out until November 18
- 11/12/94: Danny Ainge: Flu; did not play
- 11/15/94: Antonio Lang: Back spasms; placed on injured list until February 6
- 11/16/94: Wayman Tisdale: Sprained ankle; out until November 29
- 11/23/94: Kevin Johnson: Sore knee; did not play
- 11/26/94: Kevin Johnson: Strained groin; placed on injured list until December 12
- 11/27/94: Charles Barkley: Strained stomach muscle; did not play
- 12/12/94: Kevin Johnson: Strained groin; did not play
- 12/12/94: Aaron Swinson: Knee tendinitis; placed on injured list until December 29
- 01/03/95: Kevin Johnson: Strained quadriceps; out until January 22
- 01/03/95: Wayman Tisdale: Flu; did not play
- 01/26/95: Kevin Johnson: Strained quadriceps; out until February 19
- 01/29/95: Wesley Person: Sore foot; out until February 3
- 02/03/95: Wayman Tisdale: Separated rib cartilage; out until February 17
- 02/06/95: Danny Manning: Torn ACL; placed on injured list for rest of season
- 02/17/95: Danny Ainge: League suspension (punched Chris Dudley on February 15); did not play
- 02/26/95: Joe Kleine: Personal reasons; did not play
- 02/28/95: Charles Barkley: Sprained knee; did not play
- 03/01/95: Charles Barkley: Sprained knee; did not play
- 03/14/95: Wayman Tisdale: Strained rib; placed on injured reserve until March 24
- 03/24/95: Trevor Ruffin: Bruised shoulder; did not play
- 03/24/95: Antonio Lang: Sprained knee; placed on injured list for rest of season
- 03/31/95: Richard Dumas: Urinary tract infection; did not play
- 04/02/95: Richard Dumas: Urinary tract infection; did not play
- 04/09/95: Danny Ainge: Bruised knee, sore back; did not play
- 04/09/95: Danny Ainge: Bruised knee, sore back; did not play
- 04/15/95: Charles Barkley: League suspension (exceeded flagrant foul limit); did not play
- 05/09/95: Richard Dumas: Bruised wrist; out until waived on May 18
Player statistics
Legend | |||||
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GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Season
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Danny Ainge | 74 | 1 | 18.6 | .460 | .364 | .808 | 1.5 | 2.8 | .6 | .1 | 7.7 |
Charles Barkley | 68 | 66 | 35.0 | .486 | .338 | .748 | 11.1 | 4.1 | 1.6 | .7+ | 23.0 |
Richard Dumas | 15 | 1 | 11.1 | .507 | .000 | .500 | 1.9 | 0.5 | .7 | .1 | 5.5 |
A. C. Green | 82 | 52 | 32.8 | .504 | .339 | .732 | 8.2 | 1.5 | .7 | .4 | 11.2 |
Kevin Johnson | 47 | 35 | 28.8 | .470 | .154 | .810 | 2.4 | 7.7+ | 1.0 | .4 | 15.5 |
Joe Kleine | 75 | 42 | 12.9 | .449 | .000 | .857# | 3.5 | 0.5 | .2 | .2 | 3.7 |
Antonio Lang | 12 | 0 | 4.4 | .400 | . | .750 | 0.3 | 0.1 | .0 | .2 | 0.9 |
Dan Majerle | 82 | 46 | 37.7 | .425 | .363 | .730 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 1.2 | .5 | 15.6 |
Danny Manning | 46 | 19 | 32.8 | .547† | .286 | .673 | 6.0 | 3.3 | .9 | 1.2+ | 17.9 |
Elliot Perry | 82 | 51 | 24.1 | .520 | .417 | .810# | 1.8 | 4.8+ | 1.9 | .0 | 9.7 |
Wesley Person | 78 | 56 | 23.1 | .484 | .436^ | .792 | 2.6 | 1.3 | .6 | .3 | 10.4 |
Trevor Ruffin | 49 | 1 | 6.5 | .426 | .384 | .711 | 0.5 | 1.0 | .3 | .0 | 4.8 |
Danny Schayes | 69 | 27 | 11.9 | .508 | 1.000^ | .725 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .3 | .5 | 4.4 |
Aaron Swinson | 9 | 0 | 5.7 | .556† | . | .800 | 0.9 | 0.3 | .1 | .0 | 2.7 |
Wayman Tisdale | 65 | 13 | 19.6 | .484 | . | .770 | 3.8 | 0.7 | .4 | .4 | 10.0 |
† - Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ - Minimum 50 three-pointers made.
# - Minimum 125 free-throws made.
+ - Minimum 50 games played.
Playoffs
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Danny Ainge | 10 | 0 | 13.7 | .500 | .462 | .909 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .5 | .0 | 6.0 |
Charles Barkley | 10 | 10 | 39.0 | .500 | .257 | .733 | 13.4 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 25.7 |
Richard Dumas | 3 | 0 | 1.7 | .250 | . | . | 0.3 | 0.0 | .0 | .0 | 0.7 |
A. C. Green | 10 | 10 | 36.8 | .462 | .083 | .873 | 12.0 | 1.3 | .6 | .2 | 12.8 |
Kevin Johnson | 10 | 10 | 37.1 | .573 | .500 | .845 | 4.1 | 9.3 | .9 | .4 | 24.8 |
Joe Kleine | 10 | 10 | 16.7 | .574 | .500^ | . | 3.1 | 0.8 | .5 | .3 | 6.3 |
Dan Majerle | 10 | 0 | 30.7 | .370 | .364 | .706 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .3 | 8.2 |
Elliot Perry | 9 | 0 | 11.8 | .476 | .400 | .800 | 1.1 | 1.3 | .6 | .0 | 6.9 |
Wesley Person | 10 | 10 | 24.7 | .410 | .378 | .917 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .3 | .2 | 9.6 |
Trevor Ruffin | 3 | 0 | 2.2 | .500 | .250 | .200 | 0.6 | 0.4 | .2 | .0 | 2.0 |
Danny Schayes | 10 | 0 | 14.6 | .379 | .000 | .875 | 2.0 | 0.8 | .3 | .3 | 2.9 |
Wayman Tisdale | 10 | 0 | 17.0 | .451 | .000 | .643 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .0 | .4 | 7.3 |
^ - Minimum 5 three-pointers made.
Transactions
Trades
August 1, 1994 |
To Detroit Pistons---- | To Phoenix Suns----
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September 23, 1994 |
To Los Angeles Lakers---- | To Phoenix Suns---- |
Free agents
Additions
Subtractions
References |