1973–74 Phoenix Suns season
Professional basketball season
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The 1973–74 Phoenix Suns season was the sixth for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. It was the first of 14 seasons head coach John MacLeod spent with Phoenix. The season would also be the last for former All-Star forward/center Connie Hawkins, traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after appearing in nine games for the Suns. Charlie Scott would repeat as an All-Star, but who missed 30 games due to injury despite his NBA career-high 25.4 points a game. The team went on to finish the season 30–52, a career-worst for MacLeod and the franchise's poorest record since their inaugural season.
OwnersKarl Eller, Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, Richard L. Bloch
| 1973–74 Phoenix Suns season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | John MacLeod |
| General manager | Jerry Colangelo |
| Owners | Karl Eller, Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, Richard L. Bloch |
| Arena | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 30–52 (.366) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 8th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KTAR-TV |
| Radio | KTAR |
Dick Van Arsdale averaged 17.8 points on the season, while Neal Walk averaged 16.8 points and a team-high 10.2 rebounds per contest. Keith Erickson, obtained by the Suns along with a future second-round pick in the Hawkins trade, enjoyed a career-high 14.6 points a game in his ninth year in the NBA and first with Phoenix.
Van Arsdale was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Mike Bantom, a rookie out of Saint Joseph's, was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Offseason
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Mike Bantom | Forward |  United States |
Saint Joseph's |
| 2 | 33 | Gary Melchionni | Guard | United States |
Duke |
| 3 | 42 | Joe Reaves | Forward | United States |
Bethel (Tennessee) |
| 3 | 43 | Steve Mitchell | Center | United States |
Kansas State |
| 4 | 60 | Ron Robinson | Forward | United States |
Memphis State |
| 5 | 77 | Clinton Harris | Forward | United States |
Iowa State |
| 6 | 94 | Gene Doyle | Center | United States |
Holy Cross |
| 7 | 111 | Jerry Bisbano | Guard | United States |
Southwestern Louisiana |
| 8 | 128 | Jim Owens | Forward | United States |
Arizona State |
| 9 | 144 | Sandy Smith | Guard | United States |
Winston-Salem |
| 10 | 158 | Claude White | Guard | United States |
Elmhurst |
| 11 | 170 | Lynn Greer | Guard | United States |
Virginia State |
| 12 | 179 | Lyman Williamson | Forward | United States |
Samford |
| 13 | 186 | Kalevi Sarkalahti | Forward |  Finland |
Brigham Young |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
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Regular season
Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | – | 30–11 | 17–24 | – | 14–12 |
| Golden State Warriors | 44 | 38 | .537 | 3 | 23–18 | 20–20 | 1–0 | 15–11 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 11 | 22–19 | 14–27 | – | 12–14 |
| Phoenix Suns | 30 | 52 | .366 | 17 | 24–17 | 6–34 | 0–1 | 11–15 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 20 | 22–19 | 5–34 | 0–2 | 13–13 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Milwaukee Bucks | 59 | 23 | .720 | – |
| 2 | x-Chicago Bulls | 54 | 28 | .659 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Detroit Pistons | 52 | 30 | .634 | 7 |
| 4 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 12 |
| 5 | Golden State Warriors | 44 | 38 | .537 | 15 |
| 6 | Seattle SuperSonics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 23 |
| 7 | Kansas City–Omaha Kings | 33 | 49 | .402 | 26 |
| 8 | Phoenix Suns | 30 | 52 | .366 | 29 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 32 |
Game log
| 1973–74 game log Total: 30–52 (home: 24–17; road: 6–35) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 2–8 (home: 2–3; road: 0–5)
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November: 5–8 (home: 3–1; road: 2–7)
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December: 8–8 (home: 6–4; road: 2–4)
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January: 6–7 (home: 5–3; road: 1–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
February: 4–12 (home: 4–3; road: 0–9)
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March: 5–9 (home: 4–3; road: 1–6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973–74 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Awards and honors
All-Star
- Charlie Scott was selected to replace Jerry West in the All-Star Game. It was his second consecutive All-Star selection.
Season
- Dick Van Arsdale was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
- Mike Bantom was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Player statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | 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
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Bantom | 76 | 37 | 26.1 | .399 | .662 | 6.8 | 2.1 | .7 | .6 | 10.1 |
| Corky Calhoun | 77 | 54 | 28.7 | .461 | .760 | 5.3 | 1.8 | .9 | .4 | 8.2 |
| Bill Chamberlain | 28 | 1 | 13.1 | .438 | .696 | 2.9 | 1.3 | .7 | .4 | 5.5 |
| Bob Christian | 81 | 1 | 15.4 | .486 | .702 | 4.2 | 1.2 | .2 | .4 | 4.8 |
| Keith Erickson* | 66 | 48 | 30.8 | .477 | .801 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 1.0 | .3 | 14.6 |
| Lamar Green | 72 | 20 | 15.3 | .407 | .559 | 4.9 | 0.6 | .4 | .5 | 4.1 |
| Clem Haskins | 81 | 20 | 22.5 | .460 | .842 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.0 | .2 | 11.1 |
| Connie Hawkins* | 8 | 7 | 27.9 | .486 | .667 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .4 | 11.3 |
| Gary Melchionni | 69 | 15 | 18.1 | .460 | .860^ | 2.1 | 2.1 | .6 | .1 | 7.2 |
| Jim Owens | 17 | 0 | 5.9 | .538† | .786 | 0.5 | 0.9 | .3 | .0 | 3.1 |
| Joe Reaves* | 7 | 0 | 5.4 | .545† | .364 | 1.1 | 0.1 | .0 | .3 | 2.3 |
| Charlie Scott | 52 | 51 | 38.5+ | .459 | .781 | 4.3 | 5.2+ | 1.9+ | .4 | 25.4+ |
| Dick Van Arsdale | 78 | 76 | 36.3+ | .500† | .853^ | 2.8 | 4.2+ | 1.2+ | .2 | 17.8+ |
| Neal Walk | 82 | 80 | 31.1 | .460 | .791 | 10.2 | 4.0 | .9 | .7 | 16.8 |
* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 560 field goal attempts.
^ – Minimum 160 free throw attempts.
+ – Minimum 70 games played.
Transactions
Trades
| October 8, 1973 | To Atlanta Hawks
1976 second-round draft pick ( Bob Carrington)
|
To Phoenix Suns
Bob Christian |
| October 9, 1973 | To Capital Bullets
Walt Wesley |
To Phoenix Suns
1974 third-round draft pick ( Earl Williams)
|
| October 30, 1973 | To Los Angeles Lakers
Connie Hawkins |
To Phoenix Suns
Keith Erickson
|
| January 24, 1974 | To Golden State Warriors
1975 third-round draft pick ( Otis Johnson) |
To Phoenix Suns
Bill Chamberlain |
Free agents
Subtractions
| Date | Player | Reason left | New team |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 14, 1973 | Paul Stovall | Waived | San Diego Conquistadors (ABA) |
| September 18, 1973 | Scott English | Waived | Virginia Squires (ABA) |
| September 19, 1973 | Mo Layton | Waived | Portland Trail Blazers |
| November 27, 1973 | Joe Reaves | Waived | Memphis Tams (ABA) |