| 2005–06 Phoenix Suns season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Division champions | |||
| Head coach | Mike D'Antoni | ||
| General manager | Bryan Colangelo, Mike D'Antoni | ||
| Owners | Robert Sarver | ||
| Arena | America West Arena, US Airways Center | ||
| Results | |||
| Record | 54–28 (.659) | ||
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 2nd (Western) | ||
| Playoff finish | Western Conference Finals (lost toMavericks 2–4) | ||
| Local media | |||
| Television | KUTP FSN Arizona | ||
| Radio | KTAR | ||
| |||
The2005–06Phoenix Suns season was the 38th season of the franchise in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). The Suns were led by head coachMike D'Antoni, posting a 54–28 record, second best in the Western Conference and third best in the league. All home games were played at the formerAmerica West Arena, which changed its name toUS Airways Center in January 2006.
The Suns looked to improve on their league-best 62–20 record and a trip to the Western Conference finals in the2004–05 season. The Suns suffered a major setback before the season, when All-StarAmar'e Stoudemire underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee. Stoudemire returned for three games, before undergoing another surgery on his right knee. The team was led by defendingMVPSteve Nash and All-StarShawn Marion. Marion led the team in points (21.8), rebounds (11.8), steals (2.0) and blocks (1.7) per game. Nash led the league in assists with 10.5 a game, while posting a career- high 18.8 points a game, earning his second consecutive MVP award.
With injuries to Stoudemire and backup forward-centerKurt Thomas, the Suns looked to second-year forwardBoris Diaw to fill in the middle. Listed in the Suns' media guide as a guard before the season, the 6-foot 8-inch Diaw started at small forward, power forward and center throughout the season, posting 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a block a game, earningMost Improved Player honors.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Suns fell into a 1–3 hole against their longtime rivals, theLos Angeles Lakers. They became, at the time, the eighth team in NBA history to recover from a 3–1 deficit, winning the final three games of the series to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, they defeated the Lakers'Staples Center co-tenants, theLos Angeles Clippers, in another seven-game series. The Suns fell in the conference finals to theDallas Mavericks in six games.[1]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College / Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Nate Robinson | Guard |  United States | Washington |
| 2 | 57 | Marcin Gortat | Center |  Poland |  RheinEnergie Köln |
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coach Assistant(s)
Legend
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| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | - | 31–10 | 23–18 | 10–6 |
| x-Los Angeles Clippers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 7 | 27–14 | 20–21 | 7–9 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 9 | 27–14 | 18–23 | 9–7 |
| x-Sacramento Kings | 44 | 38 | .537 | 10 | 27–14 | 17–24 | 10–6 |
| Golden State Warriors | 34 | 48 | .415 | 20 | 21–20 | 13–28 | 4–12 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-San Antonio Spurs | 63 | 19 | .768 | - |
| 2 | y-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 9 |
| 3 | y-Denver Nuggets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19 |
| 4 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 3 |
| 5 | x-Memphis Grizzlies | 49 | 33 | .598 | 14 |
| 6 | x-Los Angeles Clippers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 16 |
| 7 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 18 |
| 8 | x-Sacramento Kings | 44 | 38 | .537 | 19 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 10 | New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets | 38 | 44 | .463 | 25 |
| 11 | Seattle SuperSonics | 35 | 47 | .427 | 28 |
| 12 | Golden State Warriors | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 |
| 13 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 29 |
| 14 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 33 | 49 | .402 | 30 |
| 15 | Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 61 | .256 | 42 |
| 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 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leandro Barbosa | 57 | 11 | 27.9 | .481 | .444 | .755 | 2.6 | 2.8 | .8 | .1 | 13.1 |
| Andre Barrett* | 2 | 0 | 10.5 | .429 | .000 | 1.000^ | 1.5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 4.5 |
| Raja Bell | 79 | 79 | 37.5 | .457 | .442 | .788 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .3 | 14.7 |
| Pat Burke | 42 | 0 | 8.2 | .496 | .286 | .619 | 1.7 | 0.4 | .1 | .3 | 3.4 |
| Josh Davis* | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | .333 | .000 | .667 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 4.0 |
| Boris Diaw | 81 | 70 | 35.5 | .526† | .267 | .731 | 6.9 | 6.2 | .7 | 1.0 | 13.3 |
| Sharrod Ford | 3 | 0 | 4.3 | .667† | . | . | 1.0 | 0.0 | .0 | .3 | 1.3 |
| Brian Grant | 21 | 2 | 11.8 | .415 | . | .875 | 2.7 | 0.3 | .2 | .1 | 2.9 |
| Eddie House | 81 | 0 | 17.5 | .422 | .389 | .805 | 1.6 | 1.8 | .5 | .1 | 9.8 |
| Jim Jackson* | 27 | 1 | 15.6 | .295 | .222 | .692 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .4 | .2 | 3.7 |
| James Jones | 75 | 24 | 23.6 | .418 | .386 | .851 | 3.4 | 0.8 | .5 | .7 | 9.3 |
| Shawn Marion | 81 | 81 | 40.3 | .525 | .331 | .809 | 11.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 21.8 |
| Steve Nash | 79 | 79 | 35.4 | .512 | .439 | .921^ | 4.2 | 10.5 | .8 | .2 | 18.8 |
| Amar'e Stoudemire | 3 | 3 | 16.7 | .333 | .000 | .889 | 5.3 | 0.7 | .3 | 1.0 | 8.7 |
| Kurt Thomas | 53 | 50 | 26.6 | .486 | . | .815 | 7.8 | 1.1 | .4 | 1.0 | 8.6 |
| Tim Thomas* | 26 | 10 | 24.4 | .435 | .429 | .667 | 4.9 | 0.7 | .6 | .2 | 11.0 |
| Dijon Thompson | 10 | 0 | 4.3 | .440 | .364 | 1.000^ | 1.1 | 0.1 | .3 | .1 | 2.8 |
| Nikoloz Tskitishvili* | 12 | 0 | 7.2 | .364 | .333 | .667 | 1.7 | 0.3 | .1 | .2 | 2.8 |
* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leandro Barbosa | 20 | 3 | 31.6 | .470 | .391 | .862 | 1.6 | 2.7 | .8 | .2 | 14.2 |
| Raja Bell | 17 | 17 | 39.6 | .479 | .465^ | .829 | 2.8 | 2.2 | .6 | .2 | 13.6 |
| Pat Burke | 3 | 0 | 2.3 | .500 | .500^ | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | .0 | .3 | 1.7 |
| Boris Diaw | 20 | 20 | 39.8 | .526 | .429 | .761 | 6.7 | 5.2 | .9 | 1.1 | 18.7 |
| Brian Grant | 5 | 0 | 2.4 | .333 | . | .000 | 0.4 | 0.0 | .0 | .0 | 0.4 |
| Eddie House | 14 | 0 | 9.3 | .365 | .214 | .750 | 0.6 | 0.4 | .1 | .1 | 3.1 |
| James Jones | 20 | 6 | 17.7 | .341 | .308 | .846 | 3.6 | 0.3 | .3 | .9 | 4.3 |
| Shawn Marion | 20 | 20 | 42.5 | .489 | .314 | .881 | 11.7 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 20.4 |
| Steve Nash | 20 | 20 | 39.9 | .502 | .368 | .912 | 3.7 | 10.2 | .4 | .3 | 20.4 |
| Kurt Thomas | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | . | . | .500 | 1.0 | 0.0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
| Tim Thomas | 20 | 14 | 31.8 | .491 | .444 | .776 | 6.3 | 1.3 | .9 | .4 | 15.1 |
| Nikoloz Tskitishvili | 4 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .500 | 0.3 | 0.5 | .0 | .0 | 0.3 |
^ – Minimum 5 three-pointers made.
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