The1977–78 Phoenix Suns season was the tenth season for thePhoenix Suns of theNational Basketball Association. The team finished second in aPacific division that did not have a team finish below .500, as the Suns returned to theplayoffs for the third time in franchise history. The Suns were led byhead coachJohn MacLeod and played all home games inArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

BothPaul Westphal andWalter Davis, arookie from theUniversity of North Carolina, were selected to participate in theAll-Star Game and by the end of the season, both were members of theAll-NBA Second Team. Davis became the second Sun in three years to be selected asRookie of the Year, an award teammateAlvan Adams had collected after the1975–76 season.

Both Westphal and rookie Davis averaged career-highs in scoring, averaging 25.2 and 24.2points a game. The combined averaged of 49.4 points made for the league's highest-scoring duo on the season. Additionally, Westphal and Davis broke a franchise record of 45.9 points a game, a mark set byConnie Hawkins andDick Van Arsdale during the1969–70 season.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	5	Walter Davis	Guard	United States	North Carolina
3	66	Mike Bratz	Guard	United States	Stanford
4	71	Greg Griffin	Forward	United States	Idaho State
5	93	Cecil Rellford	Forward	United States	St. John's
6	115	Billy McKinney	Guard	United States	Northwestern
7	136	Alvin Scott	Forward	United States	Oral Roberts
8	156	Alvin Joseph	Center	United States	California-Riverside

The Suns used their first-round pick to selectswingmanWalter Davis fromNorth Carolina. Davis averaged 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in four years with theTar Heels. He would make an immediate impact with the Suns, helping the team make a 15-game improvement and return to the playoffs. Averaging 24.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game his first season, Davis was namedRookie of the Year, receiving 49 1/4 of 66 votes.^[1] He would also be named to theAll-NBA Second Team, and would finish fifth inMost Valuable Player voting, behind winnerBill Walton,George Gervin,David Thompson andKareem Abdul-Jabbar.^[2] Davis spent his first eleven seasons with the Suns before joining theDenver Nuggets as the league's second unrestricted free agent in 1988. He left as the Suns' all-time leading scorer (15,666 points), and had his #6 jersey retired by the franchise in 1994.

1977–78 Phoenix Suns roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 33 Alvan Adams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1954-07-19 Oklahoma C 21 Dennis Awtrey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948-02-22 Santa Clara G 23 Mike Bratz 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955-10-17 Stanford G 10 Don Buse 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1950-08-10 Evansville G/F 6 Walter Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954-09-09 North Carolina C 35 Bayard Forrest 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1954-07-08 Grand Canyon F 25 Greg Griffin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1952-09-06 Idaho State F 24 Garfield Heard 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1948-05-03 Oklahoma G 30 Ron Lee 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1952-11-02 Oregon F 18 Curtis Perry  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-09-13 Missouri State F 14 Alvin Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955-09-14 Oral Roberts F 32 Ira Terrell  (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1954-06-19 SMU G 44 Paul Westphal 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1950-11-30 USC

Head coach John MacLeod (Bellarmine) Assistant(s) Al Bianchi (Bowling Green) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

• Paul Westphal was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in theAll-Star Game. It was his second consecutive All-Star selection. Westphal finished second in voting among Western Conference guards with 264,006 votes.
• Walter Davis was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in theAll-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection.

• Walter Davis received theRookie of the Year Award.
• Paul Westphal was named to theAll-NBA Second Team. Westphal also finished sixth inMVP voting.
• Walter Davis was named to theAll-NBA Second Team. Davis also finished fifth inMVP voting.
• Don Buse was named to theNBA All-Defensive First Team.
• Walter Davis was named to theNBA All-Rookie First Team.
• Ron Lee led the league insteals per game with a 2.74 average, and total steals with 225.

July 15, 1977	ToPortland Trail Blazers Dale Schlueter	ToPhoenix Suns 1978 fourth-round draft pick ( Wayne Smith)
September 6, 1977	ToIndiana Pacers Ricky Sobers	ToPhoenix Suns Don Buse

• Phoenix Suns seasons
• 1977–78 NBA season

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