Editing Phoenix Suns (section)

===1968–1976: Team creation and early years===
The Suns were one of two franchises to join the NBA at the start of the 1968–69 season, alongside the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] from [[Milwaukee]]. They were the first [[Major professional sports teams of the United States and Canada|major professional sports franchise]] in the Phoenix market and in the entire state of Arizona, and remained the only one for the better part of 20 years (a [[Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA)|Phoenix Roadrunners]] team played in the [[World Hockey Association]] from 1974 to 1977) until the [[Arizona Cardinals]] of the [[National Football League]] relocated from [[St. Louis]] in 1988. The Suns played their first 24 seasons at [[Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum]], called the "Madhouse on McDowell", located slightly northwest of downtown Phoenix. The franchise was formed by an ownership group led by [[Karl Eller]], owner of a public enterprise, the investor Donald Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, and [[Richard L. Bloch]]. Other owners with a minority stake consisted of entertainers, such as [[Andy Williams]], [[Bobbie Gentry]] and [[Ed Ames]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murtha |first1=Tara |title=Ode to Billie Joe |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=New York, NY |isbn=9781623562212 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCihBQAAQBAJ&dq=%22bobbie+gentry%22+and+%22phoenix+suns%22&pg=PT22 |access-date=December 11, 2021}}</ref> There were many critics, including then-NBA commissioner [[J. Walter Kennedy]], who said that Phoenix was "too hot," "too small," and "too far away" to be considered a successful NBA market.<ref name="The Arizona Republic">{{cite web |last1=Bardow |first1=Scott |title=Phoenix, Milwaukee awarded NBA expansion franchises 50 years ago |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2018/01/22/phoenix-milwaukee-awarded-nba-expansion-franchises-50-years-ago/1056335001/ |website=azcentral.com |publisher=The Arizona Republic |access-date=December 11, 2021}}</ref> This was despite the fact that the Phoenix metropolitan area was growing rapidly, and the Suns would have built-in geographical foes in places like in [[San Diego Rockets|San Diego]], [[Los Angeles Lakers|Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco Warriors|San Francisco]], and [[Seattle SuperSonics|Seattle]].

After continual prodding by Bloch (who became president of the Phoenix Suns), in 1968 the NBA Board of Governors granted franchises to Phoenix and Milwaukee on January 22, 1968, with an entry fee of $2 million. The Suns nickname was among 28,000 entries that were formally chosen in a name-the-team contest sponsored by ''[[The Arizona Republic]]'', with the winner awarded $1,000 and season tickets for the inaugural season.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Prickly Pears?|url=https://www.nba.com/suns/00644119.html|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=Suns.com|access-date=July 7, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709220811/https://www.nba.com/suns/00644119.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Allen|first=Scott|title=The Origins of All 30 NBA Team Names|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/23115/origins-all-30-nba-team-names|website=MentalFloss.com|date=October 17, 2018|access-date=July 7, 2021|archive-date=January 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114064246/http://mentalfloss.com/article/23115/origins-all-30-nba-team-names|url-status=live}}</ref> Suns was preferred over Scorpions, Rattlers, Thunderbirds, Wranglers, Mavericks, Tumbleweeds, Mustangs and Cougars. Stan Fabe, who owned a commercial printing plant in Tucson, designed the team's first iconic logo for a mere $200.<ref name="The Arizona Republic"/>

In the [[1968 NBA expansion draft]], notable Suns pickups were future Hall of Famer [[Gail Goodrich]] and [[Dick Van Arsdale]].

[[File:Colangelo.jpg|144px|thumb|left|In 1968, Jerry Colangelo became the Suns first general manager, at age 28]]
[[Jerry Colangelo]], then a player scout, came over from the [[Chicago Bulls]],<ref>{{cite news|last=McPeek|first=Jeramie|title=Colangelo's 40-year journey reaches Hall of Fame|url=http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_040910.html|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=Suns.com|date=September 10, 2004|access-date=October 2, 2018|archive-date=December 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201225725/http://www.nba.com/suns/news/tribune_040910.html|url-status=live}}</ref> a franchise formed [[1966–67 NBA season|two years earlier]], as the Suns' first general manager at the age of 28, along with [[Johnny "Red" Kerr]] as head coach. Unlike the first-year success that Colangelo and Kerr had in Chicago, in which the Bulls finished with a first-year expansion record of 33 wins and a playoff berth (plus a [[NBA Coach of the Year Award|Coach of the Year]] award for Kerr), Phoenix finished its [[1968–69 Phoenix Suns season|first year]] at 16–66, and finished 25 games out of the final playoff spot.

Both Goodrich and Van Arsdale were selected to the [[1969 NBA All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] in their first season with the Suns. Goodrich returned to his former team, the Lakers, after two seasons with the Suns, but Van Arsdale spent the rest of his playing days as a Sun and a one-time head coach for Phoenix.

The Suns' last-place finish that season led to a coin flip for the number-one overall pick for the [[1969 NBA draft]] with the expansion-mate Bucks. Milwaukee won the flip, and the rights to draft [[UCLA]] center [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]] (then known as Lew Alcindor), while Phoenix settled on drafting center [[Neal Walk]] from [[Florida Gators men's basketball|Florida]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Coro|first=Paul|title=1969 coin flip changed a lot for Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers|url=http://archive.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/20121116coin-flip-changed-lot-phoenix-suns-los-angeles-lakers.html|newspaper=[[The Arizona Republic]]|date=November 16, 2012|access-date=December 18, 2014|archive-date=December 18, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141218134923/http://archive.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/20121116coin-flip-changed-lot-phoenix-suns-los-angeles-lakers.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[1969–70 Phoenix Suns season|1969–70 season]] posted better results for the Suns, finishing 39–43, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. The next two seasons ([[1970–71 Phoenix Suns season|1970–71]] and [[1971–72 Phoenix Suns season|1971–72]]), the Suns finished with 48- and 49-win seasons, but did not qualify for the playoffs in either year, and did not reach the playoffs again until 1976. The major draw for the franchise in this era was the dramatic play of Connie Hawkins.

This era was also marked by the arrival of longtime Suns [[play-by-play]] and [[Curt Gowdy Media Award|Naismith Hall of Fame]] announcer [[Al McCoy (announcer)|Al McCoy]], hired by Jerry Colangelo before the start of the [[1972–73 NBA season]]. Soon locally renowned as "the Voice of the Suns", his broadcasts were [[simulcast]] on both [[television]] and [[radio]] from 1972 until 2003 when he became exclusive to the Suns Radio Network. He was still broadcasting Suns home games on radio as of the 2022–23 season, having called all three [[NBA Finals]] appearances for the franchise (in [[1976 NBA Finals|1976]], [[1993 NBA Finals|1993]], and [[2021 NBA Finals|2021]]).

Colangelo called Al McCoy "the greatest [[salesman]] for the game of basketball in our entire state" and said that "he had as much to do with the success of the Suns as any player, coach or manager".<ref name="McCoy's-Book">{{cite book |last1=McCoy |first1=Al |title=The Real McCoy |last2=Wolfe |first2=Rich |date=2009 |publisher=Lone Wolfe Press |isbn=9780980097870}}</ref>

====1975–1976: Trip to the NBA Finals====
The [[1975–76 Phoenix Suns season|1975–76 season]] proved to be a pivotal year for the Suns as they made several key moves, including the off-season trade of former All-Star guard [[Charlie Scott (basketball)|Charlie Scott]] to the [[Boston Celtics]] in exchange for guard [[Paul Westphal]], a member of Boston's [[1974 NBA Finals|1974 championship team]]. They also drafted center and eventual fan favorite [[Alvan Adams]] from the [[Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball|University of Oklahoma]] and guard [[Ricky Sobers]] of [[UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball|UNLV]]. The Suns and [[Buffalo Braves]] made a midseason trade, with Phoenix sending forward/center [[John Shumate]] to Buffalo in exchange for forward [[Garfield Heard]].

Phoenix had an inconsistent regular season, starting out at 14–9 (then the best start in team history), then went 4–18 during a stretch where the team sustained several injuries (including [[Dick Van Arsdale]] breaking his right arm in a February game). The Suns then went 24–13 in the final 37 games to finish 42–40, clinching their first playoff spot since 1970. The Suns faced the [[Seattle SuperSonics]] in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, winning the series four games to two, and beat the defending NBA champion [[Golden State Warriors]] in the Western Conference finals, four games to three, to advance to their first NBA Finals.

[[File:Paul Westphal 1975 press photo.jpg|thumb|right|[[Paul Westphal]] led the Suns to their first-ever NBA Finals in 1976]]
The Suns faced an experienced Celtics team, led by eventual Hall of Famers [[Dave Cowens]], [[John Havlicek]] and [[Jo Jo White]]. Game five of the [[1976 NBA Finals]] took place at [[Boston Garden]], where the Suns came back from a 22-point first-half deficit to force overtime. Havlicek made what was supposed to be a game-winning basket, but due to fans rushing the floor before time officially expired, officials put one second back on the clock with Phoenix having possession of the ball, but under their own basket. Instead of attempting a desperation heave, the Suns' Westphal intentionally called a timeout that they did not have, a technical foul, giving the Celtics a free throw, which Jo Jo White converted to put them up 112–110. However, this advanced the ball to half-court, and once the Suns had possession, [[Garfield Heard]] made a buzzer-beating turnaround jump shot to force a third overtime. The Suns' hard-fought battle was short-lived, as Boston's reserve player [[Glenn McDonald]] scored six of his eight points in the third overtime to lead the Celtics to a 128–126 win. Boston eventually won the series in six games, clinching the championship at the Coliseum, defeating Phoenix in game six, 87–80.