From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1994–95 Phoenix Suns season

NBA team season

Field	Value
team	Phoenix Suns
end_year	1995
DivisionWin	yes
wins	59
losses	23
division	Pacific
division_place	1
conf_place	2
coach	Paul Westphal
gm	Jerry Colangelo
owner	Jerry Colangelo
arena	America West Arena
playoffs	[Conference semifinals](1995-nba-playoffs-bracket)
(lost to [Rockets](1994-95-houston-rockets-season) 3–4)
bbr_team	PHO
radio	KTAR

(lost to Rockets 3–4)

KUTP
ASPN The 1994–95 Phoenix Suns season was the 27th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Suns signed free agents, All-Star forward Danny Manning, Wayman Tisdale, and Danny Schayes. The team had the 23rd overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Wesley Person from the University of Auburn.

The Suns were led by Paul Westphal in his third year as head coach, as they held the league's best record at 38–10 before the All-Star break, and finished the regular season in first place in the Pacific Division with a 59–23 record, earning the second seed in the Western Conference; this was the first time in the team's franchise history, in which they had ended the season with 55 or more wins for three consecutive seasons.

All-Star forward Charles Barkley averaged 23.0 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while Manning averaged 17.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, but only appeared in just 46 games due to a torn ligament in his left knee, which sidelined him for the remainder of the regular season, as he did not appear in any NBA playoff games for the Suns. In addition, point guard Kevin Johnson averaged 15.5 points and led the team with 7.7 assists per game, despite only playing just 47 games due to injuries, while three-point specialist Dan Majerle provided the team with 15.6 points per game, and finished the season tied for second with 199 three-point field goals, and A.C. Green provided with 11.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Person contributed 10.4 points per game and 116 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Tisdale contributed 10.0 points per game, Elliot Perry played most of the regular season as the team's starting point guard in Johnson's absence, as he averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 assists and led the Suns with 1.9 steals per game, and Danny Ainge contributed 7.7 points per game off the bench.

During the NBA All-Star weekend, in which the Suns hosted at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Barkley and Majerle were both selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while Westphal was selected to coach the Western Conference; it was the ninth All-Star selection for Barkley, and the third and final selection for Majerle. In addition, Majerle also participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, while Person and undrafted rookie point guard Trevor Ruffin were both selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as members of the White team. After the regular season had ended, Barkley was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Perry finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting, behind Dana Barros of the Philadelphia 76ers.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 7th–seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who were led by All-Star forward Clifford Robinson, Rod Strickland, and sixth man Otis Thorpe. The Suns won the first two games over the Trail Blazers at home at the America West Arena, before winning Game 3 on the road, 117–109 at the Memorial Coliseum to win the series in a three-game sweep.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, and for the second consecutive year, the Suns faced off against the 6th–seeded, and defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, a team that featured All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon, All-Star guard Clyde Drexler, and Robert Horry. The Suns won the first two games at the America West Arena, then after losing Game 3 to the Rockets on the road, 118–85 at The Summit, the Suns won Game 4 on the road, 114–110 to take a 3–1 series lead over the Rockets. However, the Rockets managed to win the next three games, as the Suns lost Game 7 to the Rockets at the America West Arena, 115–114, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series. The Rockets would go on to defeat the Orlando Magic in a four-game sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.

The Suns finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 779,943 at the America West Arena during the regular season. Following the season, Majerle was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Ainge retired, Richard Dumas signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers, Schayes signed with the Miami Heat during the next season, and Ruffin was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies expansion team.

For the season, the Suns added new black alternate road uniforms, which would remain in use until 2000.

Draft picks

Main article: 1994 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Team
1	23	Wesley Person	SG/SF	United States	Auburn
2	29	Antonio Lang	SF	United States	Duke
2	50	Charles Claxton	C	United States Virgin Islands	Georgia
2	52	Anthony Goldwire	PG	United States	Houston

Roster

Paul Westphal
Lionel Hollins
Scotty Robertson

Regular season

Standings

Regular season

Game log

Playoffs

Game log

3–4

Awards and honors

Week/Month

Elliot Perry was named Player of the Week for games played November 14 through November 20.
Charles Barkley was named Player of the Week for games played February 13 through February 19.

All-Star

Charles Barkley was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his ninth consecutive All-Star selection. Barkley finished first in voting among Western Conference forwards with 1,046,105 votes.
Dan Majerle was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his third All-Star selection. Majerle finished first in voting among Western Conference guards with 868,115 votes.
Paul Westphal coached the Western Conference in the All-Star Game, which was held in Phoenix for the second time. The West defeated the East 139–112.
Other Suns players receiving All-Star votes were: Danny Manning (327,554).
Dan Majerle was selected to compete in the Three-Point Shootout. Majerle was eliminated in the first round.
Wesley Person and Trevor Ruffin were selected to play in the Rookie Challenge.

Season

Charles Barkley was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Barkley also finished sixth in MVP voting.
Wesley Person was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Elliot Perry finished second in Most Improved Player voting.

Injuries/Missed games

10/08/94: Richard Dumas: League suspension (failed drug test); reinstated March 13
11/03/94: Charles Barkley: Strained stomach muscle; placed on injured list until November 26
11/03/94: Aaron Swinson: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until November 15
11/11/94: Kevin Johnson: Sprained rib cage muscle; out until November 18
11/12/94: Danny Ainge: Flu; did not play
11/15/94: Antonio Lang: Back spasms; placed on injured list until February 6
11/16/94: Wayman Tisdale: Sprained ankle; out until November 29
11/23/94: Kevin Johnson: Sore knee; did not play
11/26/94: Kevin Johnson: Strained groin; placed on injured list until December 12
11/27/94: Charles Barkley: Strained stomach muscle; did not play
12/12/94: Kevin Johnson: Strained groin; did not play
12/12/94: Aaron Swinson: Knee tendinitis; placed on injured list until December 29
01/03/95: Kevin Johnson: Strained quadriceps; out until January 22
01/03/95: Wayman Tisdale: Flu; did not play
01/26/95: Kevin Johnson: Strained quadriceps; out until February 19
01/29/95: Wesley Person: Sore foot; out until February 3
02/03/95: Wayman Tisdale: Separated rib cartilage; out until February 17
02/06/95: Danny Manning: Torn ACL; placed on injured list for rest of season
02/17/95: Danny Ainge: League suspension (punched Chris Dudley on February 15); did not play
02/26/95: Joe Kleine: Personal reasons; did not play
02/28/95: Charles Barkley: Sprained knee; did not play
03/01/95: Charles Barkley: Sprained knee; did not play
03/14/95: Wayman Tisdale: Strained rib; placed on injured reserve until March 24
03/24/95: Trevor Ruffin: Bruised shoulder; did not play
03/24/95: Antonio Lang: Sprained knee; placed on injured list for rest of season
03/31/95: Richard Dumas: Urinary tract infection; did not play
04/02/95: Richard Dumas: Urinary tract infection; did not play
04/09/95: Danny Ainge: Bruised knee, sore back; did not play
04/09/95: Danny Ainge: Bruised knee, sore back; did not play
04/15/95: Charles Barkley: League suspension (exceeded flagrant foul limit); did not play
05/09/95: Richard Dumas: Bruised wrist; out until waived on May 18

Player statistics

Season

GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
74	1	18.6	.460	.364	.808	1.5	2.8	.6	.1	7.7
68	66	35.0	.486	.338	.748	11.1	4.1	1.6	.7+	23.0
15	1	11.1	.507	.000	.500	1.9	0.5	.7	.1	5.5
82	52	32.8	.504	.339	.732	8.2	1.5	.7	.4	11.2
47	35	28.8	.470	.154	.810	2.4	7.7+	1.0	.4	15.5
75	42	12.9	.449	.000	.857#	3.5	0.5	.2	.2	3.7
12	0	4.4	.400	.	.750	0.3	0.1	.0	.2	0.9
82	46	37.7	.425	.363	.730	4.6	4.1	1.2	.5	15.6
46	19	32.8	.547†	.286	.673	6.0	3.3	.9	1.2+	17.9
82	51	24.1	.520	.417	.810#	1.8	4.8+	1.9	.0	9.7
78	56	23.1	.484	.436^	.792	2.6	1.3	.6	.3	10.4
49	1	6.5	.426	.384	.711	0.5	1.0	.3	.0	4.8
69	27	11.9	.508	1.000^	.725	3.0	1.3	.3	.5	4.4
9	0	5.7	.556†	.	.800	0.9	0.3	.1	.0	2.7
65	13	19.6	.484	.	.770	3.8	0.7	.4	.4	10.0

† – Minimum 300 field goals made.

^ – Minimum 50 three-pointers made.

– Minimum 125 free-throws made.

– Minimum 50 games played.

Playoffs

GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
10	0	13.7	.500	.462	.909	1.0	1.0	.5	.0	6.0
10	10	39.0	.500	.257	.733	13.4	3.2	1.3	1.1	25.7
3	0	1.7	.250	.	.	0.3	0.0	.0	.0	0.7
10	10	36.8	.462	.083	.873	12.0	1.3	.6	.2	12.8
10	10	37.1	.573	.500	.845	4.1	9.3	.9	.4	24.8
10	10	16.7	.574	.500^	.	3.1	0.8	.5	.3	6.3
10	0	30.7	.370	.364	.706	3.1	1.7	1.4	.3	8.2
9	0	11.8	.476	.400	.800	1.1	1.3	.6	.0	6.9
10	10	24.7	.410	.378	.917	2.1	1.1	.3	.2	9.6
3	0	2.2	.500	.250	.200	0.6	0.4	.2	.0	2.0
10	0	14.6	.379	.000	.875	2.0	0.8	.3	.3	2.9
10	0	17.0	.451	.000	.643	3.0	1.1	.0	.4	7.3

^ – Minimum 5 three-pointers made. Player statistics citation:

Transactions

Trades

September 23, 1994	To Los Angeles Lakers	To Phoenix Suns

Free agents

Additions

Phoenix Suns}}" width="10%"	Date	Phoenix Suns}}" width="10%"	Player	Phoenix Suns}}" width="10%"	Contract	Phoenix Suns}}" width="15%"	Former Team
		Signed 5-year contract for $25 million	Phoenix Suns
		Signed 1-year contract for $1 million	Atlanta Hawks
		Undisclosed	Auburn Tigers
		Signed 1-year contract	Houston Rockets
		Signed 1-year contract for $850,000	Sacramento Kings
		Signed 1-year contract for $672,000	Los Angeles Lakers
		Signed 1-year contract for $143,860	Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Subtractions

Phoenix Suns}}" width="10%"	Date	Phoenix Suns}}" width="10%"	Player	Phoenix Suns}}" width="10%"	Reason left	Phoenix Suns}}" width="15%"	New team
		Retired
		Waived	Grand Rapids Hoops (CBA)
		Waived	P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki (Greece)
		Free agent	Detroit Pistons
		Waived	Omaha Racers (CBA)
		Waived	Minnesota Timberwolves
		Waived	Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
		Waived	Omaha Racers (CBA)
		Waived	Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
		Waived	Philadelphia 76ers

Player Transactions Citation:

References

"1994-95 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats".
(July 29, 1994). "Manning Set to Sign with Suns". The New York Times.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (September 8, 1994). "Manning True to Word, Signs with Suns". Los Angeles Times.
(September 9, 1994). "Suns Sign Manning". Deseret News.
(September 17, 1994). "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Phoenix Suns Sign Tisdale". The New York Times.
(September 17, 1994). "Transactions". The Free Lance-Star.
(September 23, 1994). "Suns Traded Ceballos to Lakers". United Press International.
(October 1, 1994). "Transactions". The New York Times.
Baker, Chris. (June 30, 1994). "NBA DRAFT: Clippers Select Murray: Pro Basketball: Cal Forward Drafted Amid Rumors of Impending Mark Jackson Trade". Los Angeles Times.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (June 30, 1994). "NBA DRAFT: Lakers Recall the Past: Pro Basketball: Temple Guard Jones Reminiscent of Former Great Michael Cooper". Los Angeles Times.
"1994 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.
"NBA Games Played on February 9, 1995". Basketball-Reference.
"1994–95 Phoenix Suns Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
(February 7, 1995). "PRO BASKETBALL; Manning Injured, Out for Season". The New York Times.
Baker, Chris. (February 7, 1995). "Injured Knee Puts Manning Out for Season: Pro Basketball: A Similar Mishap to the Other Leg Cost Sun Forward Much of His Rookie Season with the Clippers". Los Angeles Times.
(February 7, 1995). "Manning Hurt, Out for Season". The Washington Post.
(February 20, 1995). "Results Plus". The New York Times.
"1994–95 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
Cotton, Anthony. (February 12, 1995). "New-Age NBA Reaches for the Stars". The Washington Post.
(September 13, 2021). "1995 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com.
"1995 NBA All-Star Game: West 139, East 112". Basketball-Reference.
(February 11, 1995). "Basketball". The Tuscaloosa News.
"NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference.
"1995 NBA Rising Stars: White 83, Green 79 (OT)". Basketball-Reference.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (May 24, 1995). "It's a Slam Dunk: Robinson Wins MVP: Pro Basketball: Spurs' Center Receives 73 First-Place Votes to 12 for Magic's O'Neal". Los Angeles Times.
"1994–95 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference.
(May 11, 1995). "Most Improved Player". The Telegraph-Herald.
(May 3, 1995). "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Suns, Spurs and Pacers Make It a Sweeps Night". The New York Times.
(May 3, 1995). "Spurs, Suns, Pacers Complete Sweeps". Deseret News.
"1995 NBA Western Conference First Round: Trail Blazers vs. Suns". Basketball-Reference.
(May 15, 1995). "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Johnson and Suns Rise as the Rockets Cling". The New York Times.
(May 15, 1995). "Rockets No Match for Johnson's Magic: NBA Playoffs: He Scores 43 as Suns Rally for 114-110 Victory and 3-1 Lead in Series". Los Angeles Times.
Justice, Richard. (May 15, 1995). "Johnson's 43 Defuse Rockets". The Washington Post.
Friend, Tom. (May 21, 1995). "1995 N.B.A. Playoffs; Rockets Retire Suns, and Maybe Barkley". The New York Times.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (May 21, 1995). "NBA PLAYOFFS: Rockets Still Know How to Survive: Western Conference: Elie's Shot Beats Suns, 115-114, and Completes Comeback from 3-1 Deficit". Los Angeles Times.
"1995 NBA Western Conference Semifinals: Rockets vs. Suns". Basketball-Reference.
Brown, Clifton. (June 15, 1995). "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Rockets Sweep to 2d Straight Championship". The New York Times.
Howard-Cooper, Scott. (June 15, 1995). "NBA FINALS: Two-Ring Circus Hits Houston: Pro Basketball: Olajuwon (who else?) Is MVP Again After Leading Rockets to Sweep of Magic". Los Angeles Times.
"1995 NBA Finals: Rockets vs. Magic". Basketball-Reference.
"1994–95 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
(October 8, 1995). "Suns Trade Majerle to Cavs". The New York Times.
(October 8, 1995). "Suns Trade Majerle for "Hot Rod" Williams: Pro Basketball: The Cavaliers Also Get Lang and a First-Round Draft Pick from Phoenix". Los Angeles Times.
(October 8, 1995). "Suns Deal Majerle, Lang, No. 1 Pick for Cavs' Hot Rod". Deseret News.
(September 18, 1995). "Ainge Retires to Pursue Broadcast Career". United Press International.
Brown, Clifton. (October 15, 1995). "PRO BASKETBALL; For Lucas, Risky Business Comes Naturally". The New York Times.
Winderman, Ira. (December 13, 1995). "Heat Looks to Schayes for Quick Help at Center". Sun Sentinel.
Wise, Mike. (June 25, 1995). "PRO BASKETBALL; Anthony Is No. 2 of the Secaucus 27". The New York Times.
Heisler, Mark. (June 25, 1995). "Armstrong Becomes Top Expansion Pick: NBA: Raptors Take Guard from Bulls. Massenburg Also Headed to Toronto, While Lakers Lose Harvey to Vancouver". Los Angeles Times.
"1995 NBA Expansion Draft". Basketball-Reference.
"Phoenix Suns Uniform".
"1994–95 Phoenix Suns Transactions". Basketball-Reference.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

phoenix-suns-seasons

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1994–95 Phoenix Suns season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report