1972–73 Phoenix Suns season

1972–73 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	Butch van Breda Kolff (fired) Jerry Colangelo
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	38–44 (.463)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTAR-TV
Radio	KTAR

The 1972–73 Phoenix Suns season was the fifth for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association, as well as the first season with Al McCoy taking on broadcasting duties for the team. The season began under head coach Butch Van Breda Kolff for the first seven games, before Jerry Colangelo finished coaching duties for the team. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Charlie Scott had played in six games for the Suns one season ago, after a late-season switch to the NBA from the ABA, and his first full season with the Suns was arguably his best. Scott was named to his first NBA All-Star Team, joining teammate Connie Hawkins, who was selected to his fourth and final All-Star Game of his NBA career. In addition to Scott leading the Suns with his 6.1 assist per game average, his 2,048-season-point total was fifth in the league (and the only 2,000+-point season of his career). His average of 25.3 points per contest was sixth-best in the NBA. Center Neal Walk averaged career-bests in both points and rebounds, averaging 20.2 and 12.5 on the season. Walk's rebounding average was just shy of Paul Silas's franchise record of 12.5. Dick Van Arsdale averaged 18.4 points on the season, while Connie Hawkins contributed 16.1 per contest.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1972 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	4	David "Corky" Calhoun	Forward	United States	Pennsylvania
3	33	Scott English	Forward	United States	Texas El-Paso
3	34	Don Buse	Guard	United States	Evansville
3	42	Claude Terry	Guard	United States	Stanford
4	59	Matt Gantt	Forward	United States	St. Bonaventure
5	75	Wardell Dyson	Center	United States	Shaw
6	92	Charles Edge	Forward	United States	LeMoyne-Owen
7	109	Bernie Fryer	Guard	United States	Brigham Young
8	125	Russell Golden	Forward	United States	Jackson State
9	140	Bill Kennedy	Guard	United States	Arizona State
10	153	Al Vilcheck	Center	United States	Louisville
11	164	John Belcher	Center	United States	Arkansas State
12	172	Mark Soderberg	Center	United States	Utah
13	179	Kelly Utley	Guard	United States	Shaw
14	186	Ray Golson	Forward	United States	West Texas State

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From F 20 Calhoun, Corky 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-11-01 Penn F 14 English, Scott 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1947-01-13 Stanford F 16 Green, Lamar 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1947-03-22 Morehead State G 11 Haskins, Clem 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1943-07-11 Western Kentucky F/C 42 Hawkins, Connie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1942-07-17 Iowa G 1 Layton, Dennis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1948-12-24 USC G 33 Scott, Charlie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-12-15 North Carolina G/F 23 Stovall, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1948-08-16 Arizona State G/F 5 Van Arsdale, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-02-22 Indiana C 41 Walk, Neal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-07-29 Florida C 31 Wesley, Walt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-01-25 Kansas	Head coach Jerry Colangelo (Illinois) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	60	22	.732	–	30–11	28–11	2–0	22–4
x-Golden State Warriors	47	35	.573	13	27–14	18–20	2–1	14–12
Phoenix Suns	38	44	.463	22	22–19	15–25	1–0	14–12
Seattle SuperSonics	26	56	.317	34	16–25	10–29	0–2	9–17
Portland Trail Blazers	21	61	.256	39	13–28	8–32	0–1	6–20

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732
2	y-Los Angeles Lakers	60	22	.732
3	x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622
4	x-Golden State Warriors	47	35	.573
5	Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488
6	Phoenix Suns	38	44	.463
7	Kansas City–Omaha Kings	36	46	.439
8	Seattle SuperSonics	26	56	.317
9	Portland Trail Blazers	21	61	.256

Record vs. opponents

1972–73 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCO	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA
Atlanta	—	3–4	1–5	5–1	2–2	3–4	2–2	1–3	4–4	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–3	6–0	3–1	4–0	3–1
Baltimore	4–3	—	1–5	5–1	0–4	8–0	2–2	3–1	5–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–3	5–1	2–2	4–0	4–0
Boston	5–1	5–1	—	7–0	3–1	5–1	3–1	3–1	5–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	4–4	7–0	4–0	4–0	4–0
Buffalo	1–5	1–5	0–7	—	2–2	1–5	1–3	0–4	1–5	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–6	7–1	1–3	2–2	2–2
Chicago	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	—	3–1	3–4	3–3	4–0	5–2	1–5	2–4	3–1	4–0	4–2	5–1	5–1
Cleveland	4–3	0–8	1–5	5–1	1–3	—	1–3	1–3	4–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–6	6–0	1–3	1–3	3–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	4–3	3–1	—	2–4	1–3	3–3	1–5	2–5	1–3	3–1	4–2	6–0	2–4
Golden State	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	3–3	3–1	4–2	—	3–1	4–2	3–4	1–5	2–2	4–0	2–4	5–1	4–3
Houston	4–4	2–5	1–5	5–1	0–4	3–4	3–1	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–5	5–1	2–2	2–2	2–2
Kansas City-Omaha	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–5	2–2	3–3	2–4	4–0	—	1–5	1–6	0–4	3–1	3–3	4–2	4–2
Los Angeles	1–3	3–1	0–4	4–0	5–1	3–1	5–1	4–3	3–1	5–1	—	3–3	2–2	4–0	6–1	6–0	6–0
Milwaukee	3–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–2	3–1	5–2	5–1	3–1	6–1	3–3	—	2–2	3–1	5–1	5–1	5–1
New York	3–3	3–3	4–4	6–1	1–3	6–0	3–1	2–2	5–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	—	6–1	3–1	3–1	4–0
Philadelphia	0–6	1–5	0–7	1–7	0–4	0–6	1–3	0–4	1–5	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–6	—	0–4	1–3	1–3
Phoenix	1–3	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–4	3–1	2–4	4–2	2–2	3–3	1–6	1–5	1–3	4–0	—	5–2	4–2
Portland	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–5	3–1	0–6	1–5	2–2	2–4	0–6	1–5	1–3	3–1	2–5	—	3–4
Seattle	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–5	1–3	4–2	3–4	2–2	2–4	0–6	1–5	0–4	3–1	2–4	4–3	—

Game log

1972–73 game log Total: 38–44 (home: 22–19; road: 16–25)
October: 3–4 (home: 2–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 1 October 13 Milwaukee L 105–117 Charlie Scott (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,408 0–1 L 1 2 October 14 @ Portland W 124–120 Charlie Scott (38) Memorial Coliseum 6,804 1–1 W 1 3 October 15 Baltimore W 107–98 Neal Walk (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,372 2–1 W 2 4 October 21 Seattle W 129–117 Charlie Scott (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,315 3–1 W 3 5 October 24 Chicago L 106–107 Charlie Scott (42) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,039 3–2 L 1 6 October 27 @ Seattle L 115–120 Charlie Scott (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,201 3–3 L 2 7 October 29 @ Los Angeles L 123–133 Charlie Scott (25) The Forum 16,148 3–4 L 3
November: 7–9 (home: 5–1; road: 2–8) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 8 November 3 @ Chicago L 100–115 Neal Walk (19) Chicago Stadium 11,089 3–5 L 4 9 November 4 @ Milwaukee W 105–104 Charlie Scott, Neal Walk (20) Milwaukee Arena 10,746 4–5 W 1 10 November 5 @ Cleveland W 107–106 Dick Van Arsdale (28) Cleveland Arena 3,624 5–5 W 2 11 November 8 Cleveland W 107–99 Charlie Scott (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,264 6–5 W 3 12 November 10 Houston W 115–109 Charlie Scott (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,613 7–5 W 4 13 November 12 Philadelphia W 119–108 Charlie Scott (33) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,235 8–5 W 5 14 November 14 @ New York L 97–103 Charlie Scott (25) Madison Square Garden 18,720 8–6 L 1 15 November 15 @ Boston L 94–113 Charlie Scott (33) Boston Garden 8,979 8–7 L 2 16 November 17 @ Baltimore L 106–117 Charlie Scott (27) Baltimore Civic Center 5,429 8–8 L 3 17 November 18 @ Atlanta L 122–126 Dick Van Arsdale (26) Omni Coliseum 7,047 8–9 L 4 18 November 21 @ Kansas City-Omaha L 96–101 Charlie Scott (23) Municipal Auditorium 5,067 8–10 L 5 19 November 23 Detroit W 128–122 Charlie Scott (42) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,576 9–10 W 1 20 November 25 Los Angeles L 109–116 Neal Walk (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,482 9–11 L 1 21 November 26 @ Los Angeles L 107–112 Neal Walk (25) The Forum 17,505 9–12 L 2 22 November 28 @ Golden State L 102–110 Charlie Scott (24) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 5,043 9–13 L 3 23 November 29 Atlanta W 109–98 Connie Hawkins, Charlie Scott (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,241 10–13 W 1
December: 9–6 (home: 6–2; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 24 December 1 Golden State W 115–106 Connie Hawkins (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,067 11–13 W 2 25 December 3 Milwaukee L 101–119 Connie Hawkins (19) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,531 11–14 L 1 26 December 5 @ Buffalo L 97–108 Dick Van Arsdale (29) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 3,573 11–15 L 2 27 December 6 @ Detroit L 105–114 Charlie Scott (28) Cobo Arena 2,864 11–16 L 3 28 December 7 @ Philadelphia W 117–102 Neal Walk (27) Pittsburgh, PA 3,878 12–16 W 1 29 December 9 Portland W 116–97 Neal Walk (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,801 13–16 W 2 30 December 10 @ Seattle L 102–110 Dick Van Arsdale (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,628 13–17 L 1 31 December 13 Boston L 100–105 Connie Hawkins (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,596 13–18 L 2 32 December 17 Kansas City-Omaha W 112–102 Charlie Scott (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,537 14–18 W 1 33 December 19 New York W 117–84 Clem Haskins (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,197 15–18 W 2 34 December 22 @ Los Angeles W 118–110 Neal Walk (33) The Forum 16,733 16–18 W 3 35 December 25 Chicago W 115–108 Dick Van Arsdale (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,420 17–18 W 4 36 December 26 @ Houston L 110–113 Charlie Scott (32) Hofheinz Pavilion 3,577 17–19 L 1 37 December 29 Portland W 106–99 Charlie Scott (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,310 18–19 W 1 38 December 30 @ Portland W 107–104 Charlie Scott (38) Memorial Coliseum 8,349 19–19 W 2
January: 6–8 (home: 2–6; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 39 January 2 @ Cleveland L 88–111 Connie Hawkins (19) Cleveland Arena 2,850 19–20 L 1 40 January 3 @ Detroit L 105–119 Charlie Scott (27) Cobo Arena 3,626 19–21 L 2 41 January 5 @ Chicago W 126–115 Dick Van Arsdale (37) Chicago Stadium 9,091 20–21 W 1 42 January 6 @ Kansas City-Omaha W 118–112 Charlie Scott (28) Omaha Civic Auditorium 5,183 21–21 W 2 43 January 10 Detroit W 123–121 Charlie Scott (37) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,099 22–21 W 3 44 January 12 Golden State L 107–108 Charlie Scott (33) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,103 22–22 L 1 45 January 13 @ Golden State W 116–110 Neal Walk (28) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,484 23–22 W 1 46 January 14 Baltimore L 94–95 Charlie Scott (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,186 23–23 L 1 47 January 16 New York L 101–102 Dick Van Arsdale (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,252 23–24 L 2 48 January 18 Kansas City-Omaha L 96–119 Dick Van Arsdale (18) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,117 23–25 L 3 49 January 20 Los Angeles L 104–124 Neal Walk (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,608 23–26 L 4 All-Star Break 50 January 25 Seattle W 112–109 Charlie Scott (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,701 24–26 W 1 51 January 26 @ Portland W 120–116 Charlie Scott (33) Memorial Coliseum 10,057 25–26 W 2 52 January 27 Portland L 109–117 Dick Van Arsdale (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,215 25–27 L 1
February: 7–9 (home: 4–4; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 53 February 1 Los Angeles L 106–120 Neal Walk (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,705 25–28 L 2 54 February 3 Houston W 132–123 Charlie Scott, Dick Van Arsdale (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,282 26–28 W 1 55 February 6 @ Milwaukee L 111–126 Charlie Scott (29) Milwaukee Arena 9,285 26–29 L 1 56 February 7 @ Detroit L 107–113 Charlie Scott, Dick Van Arsdale (21) Cobo Arena 4,491 26–30 L 2 57 February 8 Seattle W 125–112 Charlie Scott (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,084 27–30 W 1 58 February 10 Philadelphia W 126–121 Charlie Scott (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,176 28–30 W 2 59 February 14 Buffalo W 124–107 Neal Walk (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,871 29–30 W 3 60 February 16 Atlanta L 104–111 Dick Van Arsdale (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,155 29–31 L 1 61 February 17 @ Houston L 111–127 Charlie Scott (41) Hofheinz Pavilion 3,119 29–32 L 2 62 February 18 Portland L 118–119 Neal Walk (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,260 29–33 L 3 63 February 20 @ Boston L 97–107 Charlie Scott (25) Boston Garden 9,954 29–34 L 4 64 February 21 @ Baltimore W 107–98 Charlie Scott (27) Baltimore Civic Center 5,525 30–34 W 1 65 February 23 @ Buffalo W 125–106 Charlie Scott (29) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 5,830 31–34 W 2 66 February 24 @ Chicago L 100–122 Charlie Scott (26) Chicago Stadium 12,753 31–35 L 1 67 February 25 @ Kansas City-Omaha W 111–109 Charlie Scott (24) Municipal Auditorium 10,007 32–35 W 1 68 February 28 Kansas City-Omaha L 107–109 Charlie Scott (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,230 32–36 L 1
March: 6–8 (home: 3–4; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 69 March 4 Chicago L 117–118 (OT) Neal Walk (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,085 32–37 L 2 70 March 6 Cleveland W 110–102 Neal Walk (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,236 33–37 W 1 71 March 8 Boston L 134–141 (OT) Charlie Scott (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,052 33–38 L 1 72 March 10 Detroit L 110–117 Clem Haskins, Charlie Scott (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,510 33–39 L 2 73 March 12 @ Milwaukee L 95–126 Neal Walk (22) Milwaukee Arena 10,746 33–40 L 3 74 March 13 @ New York L 111–115 Charlie Scott (33) Madison Square Garden 19,674 33–41 L 4 75 March 14 @ Philadelphia W 120–114 Charlie Scott (32) The Spectrum 5,641 34–41 W 1 76 March 16 @ Atlanta L 127–135 Charlie Scott (31) Omni Coliseum 6,512 34–42 L 1 77 March 18 @ Los Angeles L 113–131 Charlie Scott (35) The Forum 17,505 34–43 L 2 78 March 21 Buffalo W 134–124 (OT) Charlie Scott (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,603 35–43 W 1 79 March 23 Golden State W 125–124 Charlie Scott (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,197 36–43 W 2 80 March 25 Milwaukee L 112–114 Neal Walk (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,386 36–44 L 1 81 March 26 @ Golden State W 120–114 Connie Hawkins (29) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 3,677 37–44 W 1 82 March 28 @ Seattle W 127–125 Neal Walk (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,246 38–44 W 2
1972–73 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

• Charlie Scott was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection.
• Connie Hawkins was selected to replace Rick Barry in the All-Star Game. It was his fourth consecutive All-Star selection.

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game
PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Corky Calhoun	82	24.7	.469	.740	4.1	0.9	6.0
Scott English	29	6.8	.387	.724	1.5	0.5	3.2
Lamar Green	80	25.6	.431	.754	9.3	1.1	6.7
Clem Haskins	77	20.5	.464	.833	2.2	2.6	10.5
Connie Hawkins	75	36.9	.479	.797	8.5	4.1	16.1
Gus Johnson*	21	19.9	.381	.694	6.5	1.5	7.8
Mo Layton	65	15.2	.431	.756	1.2	2.1	7.1
Charlie Scott	81	37.8	.446	.784	4.2	6.1	25.3
Paul Stovall	25	8.4	.342	.632	2.4	0.5	3.0
Dick Van Arsdale	81	36.8	.476	.859	4.0	3.3	18.4
Neal Walk	81	38.4	.466	.786	12.4	3.5	20.2
Walt Wesley*	45	8.1	.406	.529	2.5	0.5	3.2

Transactions

Trades

April 7, 1972	To Houston Rockets Otto Moore	To Phoenix Suns 1972 first-round draft pick ( Corky Calhoun)
April 10, 1972	To Baltimore Bullets 1972 second-round draft pick ( Tom Patterson)	To Phoenix Suns Gus Johnson
September 19, 1972	To Los Angeles Lakers 1974 second-round draft pick ( Truck Robinson) Future draft pick	To Phoenix Suns Paul Stovall
October 10, 1972	To Philadelphia 76ers Mel Counts	To Phoenix Suns 1973 second-round draft pick ( Gary Melchionni)
November 22, 1972	To Cleveland Cavaliers 1973 second-round draft pick ( Allan Hornyak)	To Phoenix Suns Walt Wesley

Free agents

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason Left	New Team
September 25, 1972	Jeff Webb	Waived	— (Retired)
September 29, 1972	Art Harris	Waived	Belgium Lions
October 9, 1972	John Wetzel	Waived	Atlanta Hawks
December 1, 1972	Gus Johnson	Waived	Indiana Pacers (ABA)

References

• Standings on Basketball Reference