1997–98 Phoenix Suns season

Off-season

During the off-season, the Suns acquired Antonio McDyess from the Denver Nuggets in a three-team trade,^[2][3][4] and signed free agents Clifford Robinson,^[5][6][7] and George McCloud.^[8][9] The team also signed former Suns, and All-Star forward Tom Chambers, who played for the team from 1988 to 1993, and also appeared in the 1993 NBA Finals; however, he was out due to a lower strained back injury prior to the regular season.^[10][11][12] In November, Chambers got into trouble after punching Suns strength and conditioning coach Robin Pound during an altercation,^[13][12][14] and was soon traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Slovenian rookie forward Marko Milič; Chambers would play one game for the 76ers before retiring from the NBA in December.^[15][16][12]

Regular season

In Danny Ainge's first full season as the team's head coach, and with the addition of McDyess and Robinson, the Suns won nine of their first eleven games of the regular season, and later on held a 31–15 record at the All-Star break.^[17] At mid-season, the team traded Cedric Ceballos to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for three-point specialist Dennis Scott;^[18][19][20] before the trade, Ceballos averaged 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 35 games.^[21] The Suns posted a 10-game winning streak between March and April, won eleven of their final twelve games of the season, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 56–26 record, earning the fourth seed in the Western Conference;^[22] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the tenth consecutive year.^[1]

The team's top scorer Rex Chapman led the Suns with 15.9 points per game, and 120 three-point field goals, while McDyess averaged 15.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and Robinson provided the team with 14.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Jason Kidd contributed 11.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while sixth man Danny Manning averaged 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game off the bench,^[21] and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year,^[23][24][25] and Kevin Johnson averaged 9.5 points and 4.9 assists per game, but only played just 50 games, starting in just 12 of them due to tendinitis in his right knee.^[26][27][28] Meanwhile, second-year guard Steve Nash provided with 9.1 points and 3.4 assists per game, McCloud contributed 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, Scott contributed 6.2 points per game in 29 games after the trade, Mark Bryant averaged 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and Hot Rod Williams provided with 3.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.^[21]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Kidd was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[29][30][31] Meanwhile, Nash participated in the inaugural NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Michele Timms of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.^[32][33] Kidd also finished tied in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Ainge finished tied in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[34]

The Suns finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 779,943 at the America West Arena during the regular season.^[21][35]

NBA playoffs

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 5th–seeded San Antonio Spurs, who were led by All-Star center David Robinson, All-Star forward and Rookie of the Year, Tim Duncan, and Avery Johnson. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the Suns had home-court advantage in the series; however, the team was without Manning, who was out due to a season-ending knee injury.^[36] The Suns lost Game 1 to the Spurs at home, 102–96 at the America West Arena, but managed to win Game 2 at home, 108–101 to even the series.^[37][38] However, the Suns lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Spurs at the Alamodome, 99–80, thus losing the series in four games.^[39][40][41]

Notable highlights

One notable highlight of the regular season occurred on November 14, 1997, in which the Suns defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on the road in quadruple-overtime, 140–139 at the Rose Garden Arena. Manning posted a double-double of 35 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Chapman scored 28 points, and McDyess added 17 points; Johnson posted a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Kidd contributed 16 assists and 5 steals.^[42][43][44]

Aftermath

Following the season, McDyess re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Denver Nuggets after only one season with the Suns,^[45][46][47] while Kevin Johnson retired after eleven seasons in the NBA, but would make a comeback late during the 1999–2000 season.^[48][49][50] Meanwhile, Nash was traded to the Dallas Mavericks,^[51][52][53] Williams signed as a free agent with the Mavericks,^[47][54] Scott signed with the New York Knicks,^[55][56] and Bryant was traded to the Chicago Bulls.^[57][58]

NBA draft

More information Round, Pick ...

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	43	Stephen Jackson	SF/SG	United States	Butler CC

Close

The Suns used their only draft pick to select future star Stephen Jackson, who was waived before the start of the season. The Suns traded their first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995 when they dealt Dan Majerle and Antonio Lang for John "Hot Rod" Williams.

Roster Notes

• Center Mike Brown did not play in any regular season games with the Suns this season, due to previously playing overseas in Italy. However, he was re-signed by the team on April 18, 1998, just one day before the final day of the regular season, and only played in one playoff game.
• Center Loren Meyer was on the injured reserve list due to a back injury, and missed the entire regular season.^[59][60]

Salaries

Standings

Game log

Week/Month

• Jason Kidd was named Player of the Week for games played March 8 through March 14.
• Jason Kidd was named Player of the Week for games played April 12 through April 18.

All-Star

• Jason Kidd was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his second All-Star selection. Kidd finished fifth in voting among Western Conference guards with 305,834 votes.

Season

• Danny Manning was awarded the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
• Jason Kidd finished in 13th place in MVP voting.^[61][34]

Season

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 55 three-pointers made.

Playoffs

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

Player statistics citation:^[21]

Trades

October 1, 1997	To Denver Nuggets 1998 first-round draft pick ( Tyronn Lue) 1999 first-round draft pick ( James Posey) 2000 second-round draft pick ( Dan McClintock) 2001 first-round draft pick ( Joseph Forte) 2002 second-round draft pick ( Rod Grizzard)	To Phoenix Suns Antonio McDyess 2005 first-round draft pick ( Sean May)	To Cleveland Cavaliers Wesley Person Tony Dumas
November 21, 1997	To Philadelphia 76ers Tom Chambers	To Phoenix Suns Marko Milič
February 18, 1998	To Dallas Mavericks Cedric Ceballos	To Phoenix Suns Dennis Scott

Free agents