For professional basketball fans in Arizona, the Steve Nash-led teams were a wonderful time despite never winning a championship. What was once the hottest sell in Phoenix is now a consistent showcase of ineptitude. Suns fans are dying for their team to be respectable but who knows when that is? A franchise that was among the league’s elite has not made the playoffs since 2010 and only had a winning record once in that time. Being a suns fan has been tough for the last decade and here is a few reasons why.
1. You are the greatest loser of all time.
The Phoenix Suns have the fourth highest winning percentage of all time despite winning a title. The three teams ahead of them? The San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics who have combined for 38 NBA titles between them. Which means, the Phoenix Suns are the bridesmaid of NBA basketball. When they are good they are never the chosen one to take the next step.
2. Something will go wrong if you make the playoffs.
The Suns have always caught bad breaks at the worst possible times whenever they were actually good enough to make the playoffs. Whether it is key players getting injured, untimely plays, or questionable officiating, something will always go wrong for the Suns.
3. The Spurs
Piggybacking from how things go wrong in the playoffs, the Suns almost always received the short stick when playing the Spurs. In 2007, the Suns-Spurs playoff series was refereed by the disgraced Tim Donaghy and the Suns ended up losing 4-2 that year. The next year the Suns were leading by three in the final seconds of game one in what looked like a win. However Tim Duncan, who had not made a single three all season, made a game-tying three to send it to overtime. The Spurs would go on to win that game and the series because the Suns never have nice things.
4. Consistent mediocrity.
The Suns forte is being good enough to contend for a playoff spot, but they are just bad enough to miss out on the postseason. Unlike teams such as Minnesota or Philadelphia, who have tons of young talent beaming with potential. The Suns consistently pick on the outside of the lottery and miss out on game changing talent. There are exceptions to this trend of course but they have picked in the top-five only once since 2009. In that same timespan, they have only made the playoffs once so it is basically the worst of both worlds.
While the future is looking bright with Devin Booker and Dragen Bender until then, more suffering will ensue. Being in the same division as the Golden State Warriors and L.A. Clippers to a lesser extent makes you a punching bag to them. But one day, the Sun will rise again.
