Fansided

Every NBA team’s best iteration ever

By Micah Wimmer

PORTLAND, OR - 1987: Head Coach Pat Riley leads Magic Johnson #32, Byron Scott #4, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 during a game played circa 1987 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1987 NBAE (Photo by Brian Drake/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - 1987: Head Coach Pat Riley leads Magic Johnson #32, Byron Scott #4, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 during a game played circa 1987 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1987 NBAE (Photo by Brian Drake/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Standing (L-R) Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa (10), center Amare Stoudemire (1), guard Steve Nash (13), and forward Shawn Marion (31) wait for a fouls shot to be completed in the game against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Suns defeated the Wizards 122-107. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
Standing (L-R) Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa (10), center Amare Stoudemire (1), guard Steve Nash (13), and forward Shawn Marion (31) wait for a fouls shot to be completed in the game against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Suns defeated the Wizards 122-107. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images) /

Phoenix Suns: 2006-07

In Steve Nash’s first two years in Phoenix, he and Coach Mike D’Antoni had helped to revitalize a franchise that had been caught in mediocrity for the last decade. Nash won the MVP in both 2005 and 2006, but the 2006 season had been marred by the absence of Amar’e Stoudemire due to injury and the 2006-07 team looked like the one primed to finally make it over the hump and win a championship. Apart from Nash and Stoudemire, who formed one of the most exciting and efficient pick and roll duos ever, there was the do everything forward Shawn Marion who could score, rebound, and defend all equally well. There was also the dynamic and speedy Brazilian Blur, Leandro Barbosa – the eventual Sixth Man of the Year — coming off the bench, adding 18 points per game. Finally, they had Boris Diaw, big man who was great at passing and creating for others from the high post. Unsurprisingly, for the second time in three years, they had the most efficient offense in the NBA and led the league in scoring for the third year in a row.

Yet despite their regular season success, bad luck found the Suns in the Playoffs yet again. At the end of Game 4, Steve Nash was hip checked into the scorer’s table by Robert Horry of the Spurs, prompting Stoudemire and Diaw to leave the Suns bench. Due to the NBA rule prohibiting players from leaving the bench during any altercations, both Stoudemire and Diaw were suspended for Game 5, which the Suns lost. The Spurs went on to win the series in six games, ensuring that the Seven Seconds or Less Suns, notable and influential as they were, would never win an NBA title. However, the Suns kind of won the war in the long run as their style — reliant on picking up the pace and launching lots and lots of 3s — became the go to throughout the league. Even their foes, the San Antonio Spurs, won a title in 2014 using a variant of it. I’m sure that’s not a ton of consolation for Suns fans, but hey, it’s something.

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