I'm new here, but very excited to explore your tour of NBA history. And impressed with what I've seen thus far.
But I gotta take issue with your Tom Chambers takedown. He was more important to the franchise than you give him credit. When the Suns signed him in 1988, they were coming out of the drug scandal that almost destroyed the organization and came close to forcing them to move to another city. They'd fired their most successful coach, John MacLeod. The Suns had traded the face of their franchise, Larry Nance, to get Mark West, Kevin Johnson and Ty Corbin. Fan support and faith in the organization was in the toilet, and they were teetering on the edge of irrelevance. We all know what KJ turned out to be, but at the time, none of those guys was a certified star or proven fan-draw.
The Suns had a hugely productive off-season, hiring Cotton Fitzsimmons a second time as their head coach, and drafting Dan Majerle, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry, all of whom made the rotation, along with holdovers KJ, the perpetually-underrated Eddie Johnson and Jeff Hornacek. But they were still missing the go-to scorer in the front court , someone who could pair with KJ to score outside or in and strike fear in the defense.
Enter Tom Chambers, the NBA's first unrestricted free agent. The Suns signed him minutes after free agency opened. He was exactly what the team needed and, as KJ and Majerle matured, he became the linchpin and face of the team, priority number 1 for opposing defenses and, along with KJ, the most important reason the Suns improved by 25 games over the prior year. Fans came back in droves.
His first two years with the team were extraordinary, and his production only declined after that due to age and the emergence of Hornacek, Ceballos and Majerle as dependable scoring options. There was a time when Chambers/KJ rivaled Stockton/Malone in greatest-pick-and-roll-duo debates... and a lot of people preferred the Suns' combo, as Stockton and Malone hadn't quite matured yet.
When Charles Barkley showed up in 1992, the team's entire focus, philosophy and offense changed, and Tommy Gun's day was effectively over. But he'd done everything he'd been acquired to do, and probably more.
"Turd in the punch bowl?" Shame on you - Tom Chambers was either reason 1A or 1B the Suns stayed in Phoenix and made the franchise an attractive destination for Barkley, leading to their considerable success in the 90s. That makes him worthy of a spot in the Ring of Honor, for sure.
Bit off topic, catching up on emails. My comment on Tom chambers: that dunk on mark jackson was what sealed deal for chambers. As good as marion was (I'm a spurs fan and did a little dance when he left sun's) his signature was that broken jumper that was still effective but made one wince. I'm old guy but despite his defensive prowess, I'm struggle to remember a moment.
I'm new here, but very excited to explore your tour of NBA history. And impressed with what I've seen thus far.
But I gotta take issue with your Tom Chambers takedown. He was more important to the franchise than you give him credit. When the Suns signed him in 1988, they were coming out of the drug scandal that almost destroyed the organization and came close to forcing them to move to another city. They'd fired their most successful coach, John MacLeod. The Suns had traded the face of their franchise, Larry Nance, to get Mark West, Kevin Johnson and Ty Corbin. Fan support and faith in the organization was in the toilet, and they were teetering on the edge of irrelevance. We all know what KJ turned out to be, but at the time, none of those guys was a certified star or proven fan-draw.
The Suns had a hugely productive off-season, hiring Cotton Fitzsimmons a second time as their head coach, and drafting Dan Majerle, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry, all of whom made the rotation, along with holdovers KJ, the perpetually-underrated Eddie Johnson and Jeff Hornacek. But they were still missing the go-to scorer in the front court , someone who could pair with KJ to score outside or in and strike fear in the defense.
Enter Tom Chambers, the NBA's first unrestricted free agent. The Suns signed him minutes after free agency opened. He was exactly what the team needed and, as KJ and Majerle matured, he became the linchpin and face of the team, priority number 1 for opposing defenses and, along with KJ, the most important reason the Suns improved by 25 games over the prior year. Fans came back in droves.
His first two years with the team were extraordinary, and his production only declined after that due to age and the emergence of Hornacek, Ceballos and Majerle as dependable scoring options. There was a time when Chambers/KJ rivaled Stockton/Malone in greatest-pick-and-roll-duo debates... and a lot of people preferred the Suns' combo, as Stockton and Malone hadn't quite matured yet.
When Charles Barkley showed up in 1992, the team's entire focus, philosophy and offense changed, and Tommy Gun's day was effectively over. But he'd done everything he'd been acquired to do, and probably more.
"Turd in the punch bowl?" Shame on you - Tom Chambers was either reason 1A or 1B the Suns stayed in Phoenix and made the franchise an attractive destination for Barkley, leading to their considerable success in the 90s. That makes him worthy of a spot in the Ring of Honor, for sure.
That sounded more harsh on marion than meant to be. I agree fully marion was better player. Just harder to remember moments
Bit off topic, catching up on emails. My comment on Tom chambers: that dunk on mark jackson was what sealed deal for chambers. As good as marion was (I'm a spurs fan and did a little dance when he left sun's) his signature was that broken jumper that was still effective but made one wince. I'm old guy but despite his defensive prowess, I'm struggle to remember a moment.
Randy