Here’s a look back at the Phoenix Suns’ history drafting from the 29th spot.
Draft season has officially arrived now that the NBA Draft Lottery is behind us. No, the Phoenix Suns won’t be picking 10th overall. We all know that pick belongs to the Houston Rockets, the cost of a window that never quite opened. But they will be selecting at 29 and 52, and for new general manager Brian Gregory, who has expressed an appreciation for player development, that presents an opportunity. A chance to infuse the organization with two more young prospects, to build something sustainable beneath the star-studded surface.
The Suns took a similar approach last year, selecting Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro with the 28th and 40th picks. Quiet additions, but meaningful ones, especially for a team desperate to find balance between experience and youth. So, for those clamoring for the Suns to get younger, they are. As long as they keep the picks.
This won’t be the first time Phoenix holds the 29th overall pick. In fact, June 25 will mark the fifth such occasion in franchise history. The past results? Mixed. Two of those selections never suited up in a Suns uniform. One never truly panned out. Another was packaged in a trade alongside a franchise icon. So is 29 a lucky number? A cursed one? Or is this finally the year it yields something different?
And that brings us here, on the edge of summer, staring down the unknown. So let’s do what we always do when the games stop and the speculation begins. Let’s take that familiar offseason detour down memory lane and revisit the Suns’ history at 29.
1970: Joe DePre
The Phoenix Suns’ first flirtation with the 29th overall pick came all the way back in the 1970 NBA Draft, back when the 29th pick was actually the 12th selection of the second round. With it, they selected a 6’3” shooting guard out of St. John’s: Joe DePre.
Ring a bell? Probably not. That’s because DePre never played a single minute for the Suns.
The pick itself was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers, who sent it to Phoenix in exchange for Bill Melchionni. Melchionni had originally been drafted by the Sixers, only to be snagged by the Suns in the 1968 expansion draft. It seems Philly had second thoughts. And Phoenix obliged. For the record, Melchionni never suited up for the Suns either.
As for DePre, his time in Phoenix was over before it began. Waived prior to the start of the season, he would go on to play three years with the ABA’s New York Nets. A short, unremarkable career and a forgettable chapter in Suns history.
But hey, every franchise has to start somewhere with a pick that ends in disappointment.
1994: Antonio Lang
Here’s a name that might ring a bell for Suns fans: Antonio Lang.
A versatile forward out of Duke, Lang was selected with the 29th overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, which was the second pick of the second round. The Suns, fresh off a 56–26 season and a second-round playoff exit at the hands of the eventual champion Houston Rockets, had acquired the pick through a winding path. Originally belonging to the Detroit Pistons, it was passed to San Antonio, then flipped to Phoenix in a 1993 trade for Negele Knight.
Lang arrived in the desert with a pedigree — four years at Duke, two national championships under Coach K — but injuries quickly stalled his momentum. He suited up for just 12 games during his rookie campaign.
So why is his name still remembered? Because of what came next.
In 1995, Lang was packaged in a trade that sent Dan Majerle, an integral part of the 1993 Finals run, out of Phoenix. The Suns received Hot Rod Williams in return, and in doing so, closed a chapter on a beloved era of Suns basketball. Lang may not have made a major on-court impact, but his name is forever tethered to one of the more emotionally charged trades in franchise history.
2007: Alando Tucker
Ah, Alando Tucker. The final pick of the first round in 2007.
I remember the Suns selecting him out of Wisconsin and thinking, ‘maybe this is the guy’. Maybe he’d be the bridge, the next wave to carry Phoenix beyond the Seven Seconds or Less era. There was reason to believe it, too. He was a seasoned college scorer with athleticism, leadership, and a motor. A natural fit, at least on paper.
And after all, the Suns had spent the three previous drafts giving away talent that could’ve helped build that bridge: Rajon Rondo in 2006, Nate Robinson in 2005, Luol Deng in 2004. All drafted. All traded. Tucker felt like a chance to potentially course-correct. A player they might actually keep. A step toward seeing the long game rather than cashing out early.
But it never materialized.
Over three seasons in Phoenix, Tucker appeared in just 47 games. Understandable, in hindsight. This was the tail end of Seven Seconds or Less. Every rotation spot mattered. Every minute was about chasing a championship. There was no room for projects, and Tucker, despite the hope, was just that. A project. And one who didn’t fit the system. On a team built around spacing and shooting, he hit just 29.4% from deep. He averaged 4.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game.
Eventually, the Suns shipped him out with cash in exchange for Jason Hart, who never suited up for Phoenix. Another dead end. Another missed opportunity in a string of them.
2021 Day’Ron Sharpe
The last time the Suns held the 29th overall pick, they didn’t use it for themselves. In the 2021 NBA Draft, Phoenix selected Day’Ron Sharpe, but it was on behalf of the Brooklyn Nets.
That pick, along with Javon Carter, had been dealt to Brooklyn in exchange for Landry Shamet. And we all know how that story ends. A short stint, a few flashes, and ultimately a player who never quite became what the Suns hoped he’d be. Another move made in pursuit of ready-now help, and another pick shipped off that could’ve contributed to a longer-term foundation.
So what have we really learned about pick No. 29? For the Phoenix Suns, it’s been little more than a dead end. The most mileage they’ve ever gotten from it was Alando Tucker and his 47 games across three unremarkable seasons. Hardly the kind of return that justifies banging the drum for production at that draft slot.
But maybe this year will be different.
Maybe the Suns, a team still searching for an identity, will stumble into a player who reflects the values they’ve yet to fully define. Maybe they’ll find someone worth developing, someone worth believing in. Maybe, for once, the 29th pick won’t be a footnote.
Maybe.
Listen to the latest podcast episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast below. Stay up to date on every episode, subscribe to the pod on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, Castbox.
Please subscribe, rate, and review.