We are lucky to be fans of the Phoenix Suns.
If you are reading this, then that means we have two things in common: we are both Phoenix Suns sickos and we are both missing Suns basketball.
And let’s be honest, last season was not “Suns Basketball,” so it has been at least a calendar year since we watched any Suns basketball that made us feel good. If you are an Arizona Sports fan in general, now that the Diamondbacks are dead in the water, we have nothing until the Cardinals start in September, before they inevitably disappoint us.
So, I decided to rewatch some of the best games Suns you can find on YouTube, and give you my elevator pitch as to why you should watch them this month.
Will I get all the rewatchable moments? No. The Suns have won 2,465 regular-season games and 160 playoff games, and different people have different connections to each season and each win. I will focus mainly on regular-season games because that’s what we sickos are craving right now, but there are some playoff games that I just had to include.
Since I was born after the year 2000, all of these games will have occurred in my lifetime. If you have one that predates 2000, post the link in the comments, and I will watch it.
With that being said, here is the list in no particular order.
Phoenix Suns vs Dallas Mavericks, March 14, 2007
The best two teams in the NBA joined up to make an instant classic where Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki dueled at the absolute peak of their powers. If not for David Stern and the Spurs, this game would have started the championship DVD for the ‘07 Suns. It is basically impossible to not love basketball after watching this game.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, Bill Walton and Mike Tirico are incredible.
Phoenix Suns vs New Jersey Nets, December 7, 2006
Quite possibly the greatest point guard battle of all time. Read a full breakdown of this game here.
Phoenix Suns vs Seattle Supersonics, December 17, 2004
The Suns and Supersonics were the two best offenses in the league, and the Suns held on to win a tight game on the road as it continued to shock the NBA world early in the season.
Phoenix Suns vs Dallas Mavericks, May 20, 2005
There are very few things in sports better than revenge. Steve Nash was dumped to the side by the Dallas Mavericks, and the very next season eliminated them from the playoffs and won the MVP. In this closeout game, Nash stuck his dagger in deep into the hearts of Mavs fans and twisted it. Watching this did make me reflect on the oddity of the Mavs not signing Steve Nash and the Suns not drafting Luka Doncic as some twisted plot to drive both fanbases near insanity.
Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers, May 4, 2006
I had never watched this game all the way through until now. Backs against the wall, without the entire team, the Suns somehow pulled out a win against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Tim Thomas makes an incredible shot to keep the Suns alive, ultimately leading the Suns to come back from down 3-1 in the series. The fact that Nash was able to win this game shows just how great a player he was.
Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs, May 7, 2010
If you lived through this era of Suns basketball, you know wins against the Spurs were hard to come by and the 2010 Suns had a decade of demons to exorcise. In Game 3 the Suns were down late in the third quarter and despite being up 2-0 in the series, butts were tight. Then comes along this Slovenian Dragon named Goran Dragic, who killed the Spurs with a dazzling display of shotmaking (yet he managed to miss a pair of free throws) in the fourth quarter to put the nail in the coffin on the Spurs.
Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Clippers, August 4, 2020
The beginning of the Suns return to glory happened during this game. That Devin Booker shot kickstarted the beginning of one of the best three year runs in Phoenix Suns history. Not much else needs to be said.
Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets, March 24, 2022
The Suns were on the road, in Denver and won a grueling 140-130 contest against Nikola Jokic. It included one of Devin Booker’s best performances of his career including a stretch where he stole a rebound for a 3-point-play and picked Jokic’s pocket for a fastbreak slam on back to back plays. After this game it felt like the Suns winning the title was inevitable even though they did not.
Even though the Suns have not won a championship, watching old games with Nash, Stoudemire, Booker, CP3, etc., the ride has been worth it. Despite the poor luck and heartbreak Valley Sports fans have experienced over the decades, my takeaway after watching these games is that we are lucky to be fans of the Phoenix Suns.
Share your favorite game(s) to rewatch in the comments below.
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