1971–72 Phoenix Suns season

1971–72 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	Cotton Fitzsimmons
Arena	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 3rd (Midwest) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	KTAR
Phoenix Suns seasons
< 1970–71	1972–73 >

The 1971–72 Phoenix Suns season was the fourth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons lead the Suns in their debut season as members of the Pacific division. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Paul Silas again led the team in rebounds, averaging 11.9 per game, while also leading the Suns in assists with a 4.3 average. Connie Hawkins's 21 points a game led the club, while Dick Van Arsdale was second with his 19.7 average. Silas averaged 17.5 for the season, while both Clem Haskins and Neal Walk averaged 15.7.

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (Y-M-D)	From
6.0 !C	31	USA !	Counts, Mel	84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1941-10-16	Oregon State
4.5 !PF	16	USA !	Green, Lamar	79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1947-03-22	Morehead State*
1.0 !PG	23	USA !	Harris, Art	76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1947-01-13	Stanford
1.0 !PG	11	USA !	Haskins, Clem	75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1943-07-11	Western Kentucky
4.0 !F	42	USA !	Hawkins, Connie	80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1942-07-17	Iowa
1.0 !PG	1	USA !	Layton, Mo	73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1948-12-24	Southern California
6.0 !C	34	USA !	Moore, Otto	83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1946-08-27	Texas-Pan Am*
2.0 !SG	33	USA !	Scott, Charlie	77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1948-12-15	North Carolina
4.0 !F	29	USA !	Silas, Paul	79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1943-07-12	Creighton
2.5 !G/F	5	USA !	Van Arsdale, Dick	77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1943-02-22	Indiana
6.0 !C	41	USA !	Walk, Neal	82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1948-07-29	Florida
2.0 !SG	10	USA !	Webb, Jeff	76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1948-07-06	Kansas State
2.5 !G/F	25	USA !	Wetzel, John	77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1944-10-22	Virginia Tech

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Neal Walk	Otto Moore	Mel Counts
PF	Paul Silas	Lamar Green
SF	Connie Hawkins	John Wetzel
SG	Dick Van Arsdale	Charlie Scott	Jeff Webb
PG	Clem Haskins	Mo Layton		Art Harris

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	63	19	.768	–	31–5	27–12	5–2	13–5
x-Chicago Bulls	57	25	.695	6	29–12	26–12	2–1	12–6
Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	14	30–11	19–20	0–2	7–11
Detroit Pistons	26	56	.317	37	16–25	9–30	1–1	4–14

Connie Hawkins was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his third consecutive All-Star selection.
Paul Silas was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection.

April 2, 1971	To Detroit Pistons 1972 first-round draft pick	To Phoenix Suns Otto Moore
August 13, 1971	To Cleveland Cavaliers Greg Howard	To Phoenix Suns 1972 third-round draft pick Future third-round draft pick
December 27, 1971	To Cincinnati Royals Fred Taylor	To Phoenix Suns 1973 third-round draft pick
March 14, 1971	To Boston Celtics Paul Silas Cash considerations (Silas did not agree to terms with Boston until September 1972)	To Phoenix Suns Charlie Scott

Date	Player	Former Team
January 4, 1972	Jeff Webb	Milwaukee Bucks

Date	Player	Reason Left	New Team
September 21, 1971	Joe Thomas	Waived	n/a