1979–80 Phoenix Suns season

The 1979–80 Phoenix Suns season was the 12th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association and at 55–27, the team's best regular season record since the franchise's inception. The Suns defeated Western Conference foe Kansas City in the opening round of the playoffs, marking the first time the Suns had won a playoff series in back-to-back seasons. In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Suns would lose to the Pacific-winning Los Angeles Lakers, who later went on to win the season's championship. The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod, his seventh season with the team, and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

1979–80 Phoenix Suns season
Head coachJohn MacLeod
General managerJerry Colangelo
OwnersRichard Bloch
ArenaArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record55–27 (.671)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Pacific)
Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finishLost in Semifinals to Los Angeles (1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKPNX
RadioKTAR

Paul Westphal led the Suns in scoring with a 21.9 point-per-game average and earned All-NBA First Team honors, while Walter Davis was second in team scoring with a 21.5 average. Both Westphal and Davis would return as selections to the All-Star Game. Truck Robinson and Alvan Adams provided an inside presence, averaging 17 and 15 points per game to go with nine and eight rebounds each. Robinson would play in just three of the eight Suns' playoff games, however.

Offseason

NBA Draft
Main article: 1979 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 22 Kyle Macy Guard  United States Kentucky
2 24 Johnny High Guard  United States Nevada
3 64 Al Green Guard  United States Louisiana State
4 86 Malcolm Cesare Forward  United States Florida
5 107 Mark Eaton Center  United States Cypress JC
6 127 Dale Shackelford Forward  United States Syracuse
7 147 Ollie Matson Forward  United States Pepperdine
8 165 Charles Jones Center  United States Albany State
9 183 Hosea Champine Guard  United States Robert Morris
10 201 Korky Nelson Center  United States Santa Clara

Roster
Phoenix Suns roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOB (Y-M-D)From
F/C 33 Adams, Alvan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1954-07-19 Oklahoma
G 23 Bratz, Mike 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955-10-17 Stanford
G 10 Buse, Don 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1950-08-10 Evansville
F/C 45 Cook, Jeff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1956-10-21 Idaho State
G/F 6 Davis, Walter 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954-09-09 North Carolina
C 35 Forrest, Bayard  (IN) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1954-07-08 Grand Canyon
F 24 Heard, Garfield 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1948-05-03 Oklahoma
G 22 High, Johnny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1957-04-25 Nevada
C 53 Kelley, Rich 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1953-03-23 Stanford
F 50 Kramer, Joel  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1955-11-30 San Diego State
F 21 Robinson, Leonard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1951-10-04 Tennessee State
F 14 Scott, Alvin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955-09-14 Oral Roberts
G 44 Westphal, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1950-11-30 Southern California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 6022.732–37–423–1819–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics 5626.683433–823–1818–12
x-Phoenix Suns 5527.671537–518–2219–11
x-Portland Trail Blazers 3844.4632226–1512–2913–17
San Diego Clippers 3547.4272524–1711–3013–17
Golden State Warriors 2458.2933615–269–328–22
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers6022.732–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks4933.59811
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics5626.6834
4 x-Phoenix Suns5527.6715
5 x-Kansas City Kings4735.57313
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers3844.46322
7 San Diego Clippers3547.42725
8 Chicago Bulls3052.36630
9 Denver Nuggets3052.36630
10 Utah Jazz2458.29336
11 Golden State Warriors2458.29336

Record vs. opponents
1979–80 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —2–41–14–21–16–02–02–44–20–21–11–14–24–24–21–12–05–11–10–22–03–3
Boston 4–2—2–04–22–06–02–06–04–21–10–22–05–15–13–31–12–04–22–00–22–04–2
Chicago 1–10–2—2–02–41–14–21–10–23–31–51–51–10–21–11–53–30–24–22–42–40–2
Cleveland 2–42–40–2—1–16–02–02–42–42–01–10–23–33–31–51–10–24–21–10–21–13–3
Denver 1–10–24–21–1—1–13–31–11–10–61–53–31–11–10–21–52–41–13–31–53–31–1
Detroit 0–60–61–10–61–1—1–11–51–50–20–21–12–42–41–50–20–22–40–20–21–12–4
Golden State 0–20–22–40–23–31–1—1–11–13–31–50–62–00–20–22–42–40–23–30–63–30–2
Houston 4–20–61–14–21–15–11–1—4–20–20–21–13–33–32–41–11–13–32–01–12–02–4
Indiana 2–42–42–04–21–15–11–12–4—1–10–20–22–44–21–50–22–02–41–10–21–14–2
Kansas City 2–01–13–30–26–02–03–32–01–1—2–43–31–11–11–11–51–51–15–13–36–02–0
Los Angeles 1–12–05–11–15–12–05–12–02–04–2—3–32–02–01–13–32–42–05–14–26–01–1
Milwaukee 1–10–25–12–03–31–16–01–12–03–33–3—1–11–10–24–25–10–24–22–44–21–1
New Jersey 2–41–51–13–31–14–20–23–34–21–10–21–1—2–41–51–10–23–31–11–11–13–3
New York 2–41–52–03–31–14–22–03–32–41–10–21–14–2—0–62–02–04–21–10–21–13–3
Philadelphia 2–43–31–15–12–05–12–04–25–11–11–12–05–16–0—1–12–04–21–11–11–15–1
Phoenix 1–11–15–11–15–12–04–21–12–05–13–32–41–10–21–1—6–01–12–44–26–02–0
Portland 0–20–23–32–04–22–04–21–10–25–14–21–52–00–20–20–6—1–14–21–53–31–1
San Antonio 1–52–42–02–41–14–22–03–34–21–10–22–03–32–42–41–11–1—2–01–11–14–2
San Diego 1–10–22–41–13–32–03–30–21–11–51–52–41–11–11–14–22–40–2—3–35–11–1
Seattle 2–02–04–22–05–12–06–01–12–03–32–44–21–12–01–12–45–11–13–3—5–11–1
Utah 0–20–24–21–13–31–13–30–21–10–60–62–41–11–11–10–63–31–11–51–5—0–2
Washington 3–32–42–03–31–14–22–04–22–40–21–11–13–33–31–50–21–12–41–11–12–0—

Game log
1979–80 game log
Total: 55–27 (Home: 36–5; Road: 19–22)
October: 7–4 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–3)
November: 9–5 (Home: 6–2; Road: 3–3)
December: 10–5 (Home: 6–0; Road: 4–5)
January: 9–5 (Home: 7–1; Road: 2–4)
February: 8–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 4–4)
March: 12–3 (Home: 9–0; Road: 3–3)
1979 schedule

Playoffs

Game log
1980 playoff game log
First Round: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1)
Conference Semifinals: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
1980 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star
  • Paul Westphal was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his fourth consecutive All-Star selection. Westphal finished fourth in voting among Western Conference guards with 127,409 votes.
  • Walter Davis was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his third consecutive All-Star selection. Davis finished fourth in voting among Western Conference forwards with 100,546 votes.

Season

Player statistics
Legend
  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
Phoenix Suns statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Alvan Adams756328.9.531.000.7978.14.31.4.7+14.9
Mike Bratz82119.4.392.244.8702.02.71.1.18.5
Don Buse818130.9.443.241.6642.94.01.6.17.7
Jeff Cook661413.7.469.000.8063.71.3.4.35.5
Walter Davis757330.8.563.000.8193.64.51.5.321.5
Garfield Heard82517.1.417.000.7444.61.21.0.65.0
Johnny High82013.7.446.143.6742.11.5.9.25.0
Rich Kelley*23016.2.506..7835.12.21.2.7+5.8
Joel Kramer54613.2.469.000.8002.81.4.5.13.5
Truck Robinson828233.0.512..6679.41.7.7.717.3
Alvin Scott79316.5.422.333†.7792.91.2.6.74.4
Paul Westphal828232.5.525.280†.8622.35.11.5.421.9

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 25 three-pointers made.
+ – Minimum 50 games played.

Playoffs
Phoenix Suns statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Alvan Adams8831.4.566†..895^9.65.8.91.316.1
Mike Bratz8021.1.512.391.900^2.52.01.1.013.0
Don Buse8829.5.438.385.6362.65.5.8.08.5
Jeff Cook7014.0.667†..8463.01.0.6.37.7
Walter Davis8830.6.504.000.7372.94.4.5.120.8
Garfield Heard8627.9.393..7336.41.51.11.46.9
Johnny High8015.0.387.000.5003.12.5.8.34.0
Rich Kelley8018.3.432.000.900^4.52.81.1.95.9
Truck Robinson3221.3.375..7146.71.31.0.75.7
Alvin Scott8017.5.515.000.5002.81.3.5.64.8
Paul Westphal8831.6.486.083.8751.33.91.4.420.9

† – Minimum 20 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 10 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades
June 22, 1979
 To Washington Bullets----
  • Rights to Steve Malovic
 To Phoenix Suns----
August 20, 1979
 To Detroit Pistons---- To Phoenix Suns----
February 15, 1980
 To New Jersey Nets---- To Phoenix Suns----

Additions
Date Player Contract Old Team
May 22, 1979 Jeff Cook Undisclosed Washington Lumberjacks (WBA)
September 13, 1979 Greg Griffin Undisclosed Phoenix Suns

Subtractions
Date Player Reason Left New Team
September 4, 1979 Ted McClain Waived
October 1, 1979 Al Green Waived
October 1, 1979 Charles Jones Waived Maine Lumberjacks (CBA)
October 1, 1979 Greg Griffin Waived
October 12, 1979 Andre Wakefield Waived Utah Jazz

References
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