Editing Phoenix Suns (section)

===1992–1996: The Charles Barkley era===
In 1992, the Suns moved into their new arena in downtown Phoenix, the [[America West Arena]]. The arena is occasionally referred to as the "Purple Palace" due to its purple seats, one of the Suns' colors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coro |first1=Paul |title=Phoenix Suns embrace Coliseum, ready for 'The Stick' |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2015/09/15/phoenix-suns-embrace-coliseum-ready-stick/72335118/ |website=azcentral |access-date=November 29, 2019 |date=September 15, 2015}}</ref> All-Star power forward [[Charles Barkley]] was traded from the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] for Jeff Hornacek, [[Andrew Lang (basketball)|Andrew Lang]], and [[Tim Perry]]. Barkley went on to win the [[NBA Most Valuable Player Award|MVP]] award that [[1992–93 Phoenix Suns season|1992–93 season]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/18/sports/basketball-bright-day-for-suns-they-get-barkley.html|title=Basketball; Bright Day for Suns: They Get Barkley|last=Brown|first=Clifton|date=June 18, 1992|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 9, 2020|archive-date=September 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902075452/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/18/sports/basketball-bright-day-for-suns-they-get-barkley.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to Barkley, the Suns added key players to their roster, including [[Danny Ainge]] and draftees [[Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball|Arkansas]] center [[Oliver Miller]] and forward [[Richard Dumas]] (who was actually [[1991 NBA draft|drafted]] in 1991 but was suspended for his rookie year for violating the NBA drug policy).

Under [[rookie]] head coach [[Paul Westphal]], a former Suns assistant and player with the 1976 Suns in the NBA Finals, the Suns won 62 games in [[1992–93 Phoenix Suns season|1992–93]], setting a franchise record. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the eighth-seeded Lakers, coming back from a 0–2 deficit in the five-game series. The Suns then eliminated the Spurs and SuperSonics, advancing to the [[1993 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]] for the second time in franchise history. They eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls, led by eventual Hall of Famers [[Michael Jordan]] and [[Scottie Pippen]]. The series also included a triple-overtime game in game three, making this and their previous game five in the 1976 series the only triple-overtime games in the history of the NBA Finals.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paxson's Trey Propels Bulls into NBA history|url=http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19921993.html|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|access-date=April 18, 2007|archive-date=October 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025183404/http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19921993.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Triple-OT Classic Highlights Boston's 13th Title|url=http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19751976.html|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|access-date=April 18, 2007|archive-date=February 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222183120/http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19751976.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Approximately 300,000 fans braved the 105° heat to celebrate the memorable season in the downtown streets of Phoenix after the Finals had ended.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2018/06/16/phoenix-suns-fans-western-conference-champions-nba-finals-charles-barkley/700142002/ | title=Phoenix Suns – and fans – reach silver anniversary of love affair with 1993 Western Conference champions }}</ref>

[[File:Charles Barkley at East Carolina University.jpg|thumb|right|Charles Barkley won NBA MVP and led the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993.]]
The Suns continued to be successful in the regular season, going 178–68 during the [[1992–93 Phoenix Suns season|1992–93]], [[1993–94 Phoenix Suns season|1993–94]], and [[1994–95 Phoenix Suns season|1994–95]] seasons. They continued to bolster their roster by adding players such as [[A.C. Green]], [[Danny Manning]], [[Wesley Person]], [[Wayman Tisdale]], and [[Elliot Perry]]. Despite a Pacific Division title in 1995, the Suns were eliminated in consecutive Western Conference Semifinal rounds by the [[Houston Rockets]], both series going a full seven games. Manning was rarely at full strength with the Suns, injuring his [[Anterior cruciate ligament|ACL]] in 1995 just before the All-Star break. In both years, the Suns led the series by two games at one point (2–0 in 1994, 3–1 in 1995) only to see the Rockets come back to win each series.

At the end of the [[1994–95 Phoenix Suns season|1994–95 season]], Phoenix general manager [[Bryan Colangelo]], the son of Jerry, initiated an eventually costly trade,<ref name="Williams_trade">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-08-sp-54771-story.html|title=Trade of Majerle Makes Barkley Unhappy : Pro basketball: Popular player sent to Cleveland for center John 'Hot Rod' Williams.|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=October 8, 1995|accessdate=June 3, 2024}}</ref> sending the All-Star Majerle and a first-round draft pick to the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] in exchange for [[John "Hot Rod" Williams]]. Majerle was a fan favorite in Phoenix and in the Suns' locker room.<ref name="Williams_trade"/> The trade was made to address the Suns' need of a shot-blocking center but Majerle's presence was missed and Williams's production never met expectations due to injuries.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/28/sports/leave-it-to-the-nets-0-13-suns-now-1-13.html|title=Leave It To the Nets: 0-13 Suns Now 1-13|last=Diamos|first=Jason|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 28, 1996|accessdate=June 3, 2024}}</ref>

The [[1995–96 Phoenix Suns season|1995–96 season]] was a disappointing year for the Suns, despite drafting [[NBA All-Rookie First Team]] member [[Michael Finley]], who became unavailable for the playoffs due to injury. The Suns posted a 41–41 record and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the [[San Antonio Spurs]]. Westphal was fired midway through the season and replaced by Fitzsimmons, his third stint as head coach. The office unrest led to turmoil in Barkley's relationship with Jerry Colangelo, who both spurned each other publicly. This led to Barkley being traded to Houston for [[Sam Cassell]], [[Robert Horry]], [[Mark Bryant (basketball)|Mark Bryant]], and [[Chucky Brown]]. Three of the four players were not with the franchise one year later.