1997–98 Phoenix Suns season

1997–98 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	Danny Ainge
Arena	America West Arena
Results
Record	56–26 (.683)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost in first round to San Antonio (1–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	KTAR
Phoenix Suns seasons
< 1996–97	1998–99 >

The 1997–98 Phoenix Suns season was the 30th for the National Basketball Association's Phoenix Suns. Danny Ainge returned for his first full season as the Suns head coach. The Suns posted a 56–26 record as members of the Pacific division. They would make their 10th straight playoff appearance before losing in the first round, three games to one, to San Antonio. All home games were played in America West Arena.

The team's top scorer, Rex Chapman at 15.9 points per game, was part of a Suns offense that included four other players averaging double-digits in points in Antonio McDyess, Clifford Robinson, sixth man Danny Manning and Jason Kidd. Kidd was the team's sole member to be selected as a member of the All-Star Game and finished second in the league in assists per game.

Contents 1 Offseason 1.1 NBA Draft 2 Roster 2.1 Depth chart 2.2 Salaries 3 Regular season 3.1 Standings 4 Playoffs 4.1 Game log 5 Awards and honors 5.1 Week/Month 5.2 All-Star 5.3 Season 6 Injuries/Missed games 7 Player statistics 7.1 Season 7.2 Playoffs 8 Transactions 8.1 Trades 8.2 Free agents 8.2.1 Additions 8.2.2 Subtractions 9 References

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	43	Stephen Jackson	Shooting guard	United States	Butler CC

The Suns used their only draft pick to select future star Stephen Jackson, who was waived before the start of the season. The Suns traded their first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995 when they dealt Dan Majerle and Antonio Lang for John "Hot Rod" Williams.

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From 5.5 !F/C 45 USA ! Brown, Mike 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1963–07–19 George Washington 5.5 !F/C 2 USA ! Bryant, Mark 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–04–25 Seton Hall 2.5 !G/F 3 USA ! Chapman, Rex 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1967–10–05 Kentucky 1.5 !G 7 USA ! Johnson, Kevin 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–03–04 California 1.0 !PG 32 USA ! Kidd, Jason 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1973–03–23 California 6.0 !C 17 MEX ! Llamas, Horacio 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1973–07–17 Grand Canyon* 5.5 !F/C 15 USA ! Manning, Danny  82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–05–17 Kansas 3.0 !SF 21 USA ! McCloud, George 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–05–27 Florida State 4.5 !PF 34 USA ! McDyess, Antonio 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–09–07 Alabama 6.0 !C 40 USA ! Meyer, Loren  (IN) 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1972–12–30 Iowa State 4.0 !F 20 SLO ! Milič, Marko 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1977–05–07 Slovenia 1.0 !PG 13 CAN ! Nash, Steve 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1974–02–07 Santa Clara 5.5 !F/C 30 USA ! Robinson, Clifford 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–12–16 Connecticut 3.0 !SF 4 USA ! Scott, Dennis 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) 1968–09–05 Georgia Tech 6.0 !C 18 USA ! Williams, John 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–08–09 Tulane	Head coach Danny Ainge (Brigham Young) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Clifford Robinson	Hot Rod Williams		Horacio Llamas Loren Meyer
PF	Antonio McDyess	Mark Bryant	Mike Brown	Danny Manning
SF	George McCloud	Dennis Scott	Marko Milič
SG	Rex Chapman	Kevin Johnson
PG	Jason Kidd	Steve Nash

Salaries

Player	Salary
Kevin Johnson	$8,000,000
Danny Manning	$6,833,333
Jason Kidd	$5,223,333
Hot Rod Williams	$4,550,000
Antonio McDyess	$2,876,640
Cedric Ceballos	$2,605,000
Mark Bryant	$2,250,000
Steve Nash	$1,053,360
Clifford Robinson	$1,000,000
Loren Meyer	$722,760
Mario Bennett	$630,000
Rex Chapman	$326,700
Tom Chambers	$272,250
George McCloud	$272,250
Horacio Llamas	$272,250
William Cunningham	$50,000
Total	$36,937,876

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	–	33–8	28–13	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	5	30–11	26–15	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	15	26–15	20–21	14–10
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34	21–20	6–35	6–18
Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	42	12–29	7–34	6–18
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	44	11–30	6–35	6–18

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

Playoffs

Even with a 56–26 record, the Suns were the fourth seed in the West heading into the Playoffs. They would face the fifth-seeded San Antonio Spurs, headlined by star center David Robinson and Rookie of the Year Tim Duncan. Duncan led the Spurs to a game one upset in Phoenix, scoring 28 second-half points in a 102–96 victory. The Suns recovered to win game two 108–101. Antonio McDyess led the Suns with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while holding Duncan to 16 points with six turnovers. On the night he received the Rookie of the Year Award, Duncan again led the Spurs with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Despite 26 points and 17 rebounds from McDyess, the Suns fell 88–100 and into a 1–2 series hole. The Spurs would clinch the series 3–1 in San Antonio, behind 30 points from Avery Johnson, 21 rebounds from Robinson, and 6 blocks from Duncan. McDyess pulled down 19 rebounds for the Suns, but shot only 5 of 14 from the field, while Kevin Johnson led the team with 18 points.

Game log

First Round: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 23 San Antonio L 96–102 Kevin Johnson (18) George McCloud (9) Jason Kidd (11) America West Arena 19,023 0–1 2 April 25 San Antonio W 108–101 George McCloud (22) Antonio McDyess (11) Jason Kidd (10) America West Arena 19,023 1–1 3 April 27 @ San Antonio L 88–100 Antonio McDyess (26) Antonio McDyess (17) Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd (6) Alamodome 20,486 1–2 4 April 29 @ San Antonio L 80–99 Kevin Johnson (18) Antonio McDyess (19) Steve Nash (5) Alamodome 27,528 1–3
1998 playoff schedule

Awards and honors

Week/Month

• Jason Kidd was named Player of the Week for games played March 8 through March 14.
• Jason Kidd was named Player of the Week for games played April 12 through April 18.

All-Star

• Jason Kidd was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his second All-Star selection. Kidd finished fifth in voting among Western Conference guards with 305,834 votes.

Season

• Danny Manning was awarded the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
• Jason Kidd finished 13th in MVP voting.

Injuries/Missed games

• 10/28/97: George McCloud: Deep knee bruise; did not play
• 10/30/97: Loren Meyer: Lumbar spine surgery; placed on injured reserve for season
• 10/30/97: Tom Chambers; Strained lower back; placed on injured list until November 21
• 10/31/97: George McCloud: Concussion; did not play
• 11/20/97: Horacio Llamas: Strained lower back; placed on injured list until January 30
• 12/02/97: Kevin Johnson: Right knee tendinitis; out until December 11
• 12/09/97: George McCloud: Flu; did not play
• 12/09/97: Rex Chapman: Strained left hamstring; out until December 16
• 12/11/97: Kevin Johnson: Right knee tendinitis; placed on injured list until January 31
• 12/26/97: George McCloud: Thigh bruise; did not play
• 12/26/97: Brooks Thompson: Ill; did not play
• 12/29/97: Danny Manning: Abdominal strain; out until January 12
• 01/04/98: Jason Kidd: Sprained right ankle; left game
• 01/18/98: Hot Rod Williams; Flu, did not play
• 01/30/98: Cedric Ceballos: Strained right calf; placed on injured list until February 12
• 02/12/98: Horacio Llamas: Bruised left heel; placed on injured list until April 9
• 02/17/98: Rex Chapman: Sprained left ankle; did not play
• 02/22/98: Steve Nash: Did not play
• 03/05/98: Rex Chapman: Sore right foot; out until March 13
• 03/09/98: Antonio McDyess: Suspended one game for fighting Hakeem Olajuwon on March 7; did not play
• 03/13/98: Mark Bryant: Flu; out until March 17
• 03/25/98: Rex Chapman: Pulled right groin; out until April 4
• 04/06/98: Steve Nash: Did not play
• 04/09/98: Danny Manning: Injured right ACL; placed on injured list, out for season
• 04/18/98: Rex Chapman: Aggravated left hamstring; placed on injured reserve until April 23
• 04/23/98: Rex Chapman: Aggravated left hamstring; did not play
• 04/29/98: Rex Chapman: Aggravated left hamstring; did not play

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Bryant, Mark !Mark Bryant	70	22	15.9	.484	.000	.768	3.5	0.7	.5	.2	4.2
Ceballos, Cedric !Cedric Ceballos*	35	16	17.9	.500	.300	.714	4.3	1.0	.6	.2	9.5
Chapman, Rex !Rex Chapman	68	67	33.3	.427	.386	.781	2.5	3.0	1.0	.2	15.9
Johnson, Kevin !Kevin Johnson	50	12	25.8	.447	.154	.871	3.3	4.9	.5	.2	9.5
Kidd, Jason !Jason Kidd	82	82	38.0	.416	.313	.799	6.2	9.1	2.0	.3	11.6
Llamas, Horacio !Horacio Llamas	8	0	5.3	.381	.333	.700	2.3	0.1	.1	.4	3.0
Manning, Danny !Danny Manning	70	11	25.6	.516	.000	.739	5.6	2.0	1.0	.7	13.5
McCloud, George !George McCloud	63	13	19.3	.405	.341	.765	3.5	1.3	.9	.2	7.2
McDyess, Antonio !Antonio McDyess	81	81	30.1	.536†	.000	.702	7.6	1.3	1.2	1.7	15.1
Milič, Marko !Marko Milič	33	0	4.9	.609†	.500^	.647	0.8	0.4	.3	.0	2.8
Nash, Steve !Steve Nash	76	9	21.9	.459	.415^	.860	2.1	3.4	.8	.1	9.1
Robinson, Clifford !Clifford Robinson	80	64	29.5	.479	.321	.689	5.1	2.1	1.2	1.1	14.2
Scott, Dennis !Dennis Scott*	29	3	17.0	.438	.449^	.667	1.7	0.8	.3	.2	6.2
Thompson, Brooks !Brooks Thompson*	13	0	3.5	.370	.313	.333	0.4	0.2	.3	.0	2.0
Williams, John !John Williams	71	30	18.8	.470	.	.699	4.4	0.7	.5	.8	3.6

* - Stats with the Suns.
† - Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ - Minimum 55 three-pointers made.

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brown, Mike !Mike Brown	1	0	1.0	.	.	.	0.0	0.0	.0	.0	0.0
Bryant, Mark !Mark Bryant	4	1	10.0	.500	.	.500	5.8	0.3	1.0	.5	10.0
Chapman, Rex !Rex Chapman	2	2	29.0	.261	.000	.857	0.0	2.0	1.0	.0	9.0
Johnson, Kevin !Kevin Johnson	4	1	30.5	.548	.250	.667	2.3	4.8	.5	.2	13.8
Kidd, Jason !Jason Kidd	4	4	42.8	.379	.000	.813	5.8	7.8	4.0	.5	14.3
McCloud, George !George McCloud	4	3	31.5	.512	.571	.750	4.8	2.0	.2	.2	14.3
McDyess, Antonio !Antonio McDyess	4	4	36.8	.477	.	.643	13.3	1.0	.5	1.5	17.8
Milič, Marko !Marko Milič	2	0	2.0	.667	.	.	0.5	0.0	.5	.0	2.0
Nash, Steve !Steve Nash	4	1	12.8	.444	.200	.625	2.5	1.8	.5	.0	5.5
Robinson, Clifford !Clifford Robinson	4	4	23.0	.273	.000	.778	3.0	0.8	.7	.5	6.3
Scott, Dennis !Dennis Scott	4	0	15.5	.412	.375	.	2.0	0.3	.2	.0	4.3
Williams, John !John Williams	3	0	11.0	.286	.	.667	1.3	0.3	.0	.7	2.0

Transactions

Trades

October 1, 1997	To Denver Nuggets 1998 first-round draft pick ( Tyronn Lue) 1999 first-round draft pick ( James Posey) 2000 second-round draft pick ( Dan McClintock) 2001 first-round draft pick ( Joseph Forte) 2002 second-round draft pick ( Rod Grizzard)	To Phoenix Suns Antonio McDyess 2005 first-round draft pick ( Sean May)	To Cleveland Cavaliers Wesley Person Tony Dumas
November 21, 1997	To Philadelphia 76ers Tom Chambers	To Phoenix Suns Marko Milič
February 18, 1998	To Dallas Mavericks Cedric Ceballos	To Phoenix Suns Dennis Scott

Free agents

Additions Date Player Contract Former Team June 23, 1997 Kevin Johnson Signed one-year contract for $8,000,000 Phoenix Suns July 1, 1997 Mark Bryant Signed two-year contract for $4,300,000 Phoenix Suns July 8, 1997 John "Hot Rod" Williams Signed one-year contract for $4,550,000 Phoenix Suns July 8, 1997 Rex Chapman Signed one-year contract for $326,700 Phoenix Suns July 8, 1997 Horacio Llamas Signed one-year contract for $272,250 Phoenix Suns August 22, 1997 Tom Chambers Signed one-year contract for $272,250 Charlotte Hornets August 22, 1997 William Cunningham Undisclosed n/a August 25, 1997 Clifford Robinson Signed one-year contract for $1 million Portland Trail Blazers September 2, 1997 George McCloud Signed one-year contract for $272,250 Los Angeles Lakers December 11, 1997 Brooks Thompson Undisclosed Denver Nuggets January 9, 1998 Brooks Thompson Signed two 10-day contracts Phoenix Suns April 18, 1998 Mike Brown Signed for rest of season Viola Reggio Calabria (Italy) Subtractions Date Player Reason Left New Team May 3, 1997 Kevin Johnson Retired Phoenix Suns July 1, 1997 Wayman Tisdale Free agent n/a July 1, 1997 Mike Brown Free agent Viola Reggio Calabria (Italy) September 29, 1997 Ben Davis Free agent Miami Heat October 13, 1997 William Cunningham Waived Utah Jazz October 30, 1997 Stephen Jackson Waived La Crosse Bobcats (CBA) January 7, 1998 Brooks Thompson Waived Phoenix Suns January 29, 1998 Brooks Thompson 10-day contract expired New York Knicks References Pacific Division standings on Basketball Reference 1960s 1968–69 1970s 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1980s 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1990s 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 2000s 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2010s 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 1997–98 NBA season by team 1997 NBA Draft • All-Star Game • Playoffs • Finals • Transactions Eastern Atlantic Boston • Miami • New Jersey • New York • Orlando • Philadelphia • Washington Central Atlanta • Charlotte • Chicago • Cleveland • Detroit • Indiana • Milwaukee • Toronto Western Midwest Dallas • Denver • Houston • Minnesota • San Antonio • Utah • Vancouver Pacific Golden State • L.A. Clippers • L.A. Lakers • Phoenix • Portland • Sacramento • Seattle