1972–73 Phoenix Suns season

Professional basketball season January 2011 March 2026 August 2023 Phoenix Suns 1973 38 44 Pacific 3 6 Butch van Breda Kolff (fired) Jerry Colangelo Jerry Colangelo Karl Eller, Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, Richard L. Bloch Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Did not qualify PHO KTAR-TV KTAR The 1972–73 Phoenix Suns season was the fifth for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association, as well as the first season with Al McCoy taking on broadcasting duties for the team. The season began under head coach Butch Van Breda Kolff for the first seven games, before Jerry Colangelo finished coaching duties for the team. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Charlie Scott had played in six games for the Suns one season ago, after a late-season switch to the NBA from the ABA, and his first full season with the Suns was arguably his best. Scott was named to his first NBA All-Star Team, joining teammate Connie Hawkins, who was selected to his fourth and final All-Star Game of his NBA career. In addition to Scott leading the Suns with his 6.1 assist per game average, his 2,048-season-point total was fifth in the league (and the only 2,000+-point season of his career). His average of 25.3 points per contest was sixth-best in the NBA. Center Neal Walk averaged career-bests in both points and rebounds, averaging 20.2 and 12.5 on the season. Walk's rebounding average was just shy of Paul Silas's franchise record of 12.5. Dick Van Arsdale averaged 18.4 points on the season, while Connie Hawkins contributed 16.1 per contest. Offseason NBA draft 1972 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 4 David "Corky" Calhoun Forward United States Pennsylvania 3 33 Scott English Forward United States Texas El-Paso 3 34 Don Buse Guard United States Evansville 3 42 Claude Terry Guard United States Stanford 4 59 Matt Gantt Forward United States St. Bonaventure 5 75 Wardell Dyson Center United States Shaw 6 92 Charles Edge Forward United States LeMoyne-Owen 7 109 Bernie Fryer Guard United States Brigham Young 8 125 Russell Golden Forward United States Jackson State 9 140 Bill Kennedy Guard United States Arizona State 10 153 Al Vilcheck Center United States Louisville 11 164 John Belcher Center United States Arkansas State 12 172 Mark Soderberg Center United States Utah 13 179 Kelly Utley Guard United States Shaw 14 186 Ray Golson Forward United States West Texas State Roster Phoenix Suns 1972–73 #702F8B #FFFFFF #FB4417 #702F8B 20 Corky Calhoun F 6 7 210 1950-11-01 Pennsylvania 14 Scott English basketball F 6 6 205 1947-01-13 Stanford 16 Lamar Green F 6 7 210 1947-03-22 Morehead State 11 Clem Haskins G 6 3 195 1943-07-11 Western Kentucky 42 Connie Hawkins F/C 6 8 210 1942-07-17 Iowa 1 Dennis Layton G 6 1 180 1948-12-24 USC 33 Charlie Scott basketball G 6 5 175 1948-12-15 North Carolina 23 Paul Stovall G/F 6 4 215 1948-08-16 Arizona State 5 Dick Van Arsdale G/F 6 5 210 1943-02-22 Indiana 41 Neal Walk C 6 10 220 1948-07-29 Florida 31 Walt Wesley C 6 11 220 1945-01-25 Kansas Jerry Colangelo (Illinois) Regular season Standings PHO PHO Game log Phoenix Suns 1973 #423189 #FF8800 22 19 16 25 Phoenix Suns October no yes yes yes #FF8800 #423189 2 2 1 2!!Streak |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | October 13 | Milwaukee | L 105–117 | Charlie Scott (26) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,408 | 0–1 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | October 14 | @ Portland | W 124–120 | Charlie Scott (38) | Memorial Coliseum6,804 | 1–1 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | October 15 | Baltimore | W 107–98 | Neal Walk (27) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum6,372 | 2–1 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | October 21 | Seattle | W 129–117 | Charlie Scott (30) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,315 | 3–1 | W 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | October 24 | Chicago | L 106–107 | Charlie Scott (42) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum9,039 | 3–2 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | October 27 | @ Seattle | L 115–120 | Charlie Scott (23) | Seattle Center Coliseum8,201 | 3–3 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | October 29 | @ Los Angeles | L 123–133 | Charlie Scott (25) | The Forum16,148 | 3–4 | L 3 |- Phoenix Suns November no yes yes #FF8800 #423189 5 1 2 8!!Streak |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 8 | November 3 | @ Chicago | L 100–115 | Neal Walk (19) | Chicago Stadium11,089 | 3–5 | L 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 4 | @ Milwaukee | W 105–104 | Charlie Scott,Neal Walk (20) | Milwaukee Arena10,746 | 4–5 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | November 5 | @ Cleveland | W 107–106 | Dick Van Arsdale (28) | Cleveland Arena3,624 | 5–5 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 11 | November 8 | Cleveland | W 107–99 | Charlie Scott (34) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,264 | 6–5 | W 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 10 | Houston | W 115–109 | Charlie Scott (26) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,613 | 7–5 | W 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | November 12 | Philadelphia | W 119–108 | Charlie Scott (33) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,235 | 8–5 | W 5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 14 | November 14 | @ New York | L 97–103 | Charlie Scott (25) | Madison Square Garden18,720 | 8–6 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 15 | November 15 | @ Boston | L 94–113 | Charlie Scott (33) | Boston Garden8,979 | 8–7 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 16 | November 17 | @ Baltimore | L 106–117 | Charlie Scott (27) | Baltimore Civic Center5,429 | 8–8 | L 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 17 | November 18 | @ Atlanta | L 122–126 | Dick Van Arsdale (26) | Omni Coliseum7,047 | 8–9 | L 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | November 21 | @ Kansas City-Omaha | L 96–101 | Charlie Scott (23) | Municipal Auditorium5,067 | 8–10 | L 5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 | November 23 | Detroit | W 128–122 | Charlie Scott (42) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,576 | 9–10 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 20 | November 25 | Los Angeles | L 109–116 | Neal Walk (32) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,482 | 9–11 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 21 | November 26 | @ Los Angeles | L 107–112 | Neal Walk (25) | The Forum17,505 | 9–12 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 22 | November 28 | @ Golden State | L 102–110 | Charlie Scott (24) | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena5,043 | 9–13 | L 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 23 | November 29 | Atlanta | W 109–98 | Connie Hawkins,Charlie Scott (27) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,241 | 10–13 | W 1 |- Phoenix Suns December no yes yes #FF8800 #423189 6 2 3 4!!Streak |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 24 | December 1 | Golden State | W 115–106 | Connie Hawkins (31) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,067 | 11–13 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 25 | December 3 | Milwaukee | L 101–119 | Connie Hawkins (19) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,531 | 11–14 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 26 | December 5 | @ Buffalo | L 97–108 | Dick Van Arsdale (29) | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium3,573 | 11–15 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 27 | December 6 | @ Detroit | L 105–114 | Charlie Scott (28) | Cobo Arena2,864 | 11–16 | L 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 28 | December 7 | @ Philadelphia | W 117–102 | Neal Walk (27) | Pittsburgh, PA3,878 | 12–16 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 29 | December 9 | Portland | W 116–97 | Neal Walk (26) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,801 | 13–16 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 30 | December 10 | @ Seattle | L 102–110 | Dick Van Arsdale (23) | Seattle Center Coliseum10,628 | 13–17 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 31 | December 13 | Boston | L 100–105 | Connie Hawkins (27) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,596 | 13–18 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 32 | December 17 | Kansas City-Omaha | W 112–102 | Charlie Scott (26) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum6,537 | 14–18 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 33 | December 19 | New York | W 117–84 | Clem Haskins (28) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,197 | 15–18 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 34 | December 22 | @ Los Angeles | W 118–110 | Neal Walk (33) | The Forum16,733 | 16–18 | W 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 35 | December 25 | Chicago | W 115–108 | Dick Van Arsdale (32) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,420 | 17–18 | W 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 | December 26 | @ Houston | L 110–113 | Charlie Scott (32) | Hofheinz Pavilion3,577 | 17–19 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 37 | December 29 | Portland | W 106–99 | Charlie Scott (29) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,310 | 18–19 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 38 | December 30 | @ Portland | W 107–104 | Charlie Scott (38) | Memorial Coliseum8,349 | 19–19 | W 2 |- Phoenix Suns January no yes yes #FF8800 #423189 2 6 4 2!!Streak |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 39 | January 2 | @ Cleveland | L 88–111 | Connie Hawkins (19) | Cleveland Arena2,850 | 19–20 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 40 | January 3 | @ Detroit | L 105–119 | Charlie Scott (27) | Cobo Arena3,626 | 19–21 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 41 | January 5 | @ Chicago | W 126–115 | Dick Van Arsdale (37) | Chicago Stadium9,091 | 20–21 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | January 6 | @ Kansas City-Omaha | W 118–112 | Charlie Scott (28) | Omaha Civic Auditorium5,183 | 21–21 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | January 10 | Detroit | W 123–121 | Charlie Scott (37) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,099 | 22–21 | W 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 44 | January 12 | Golden State | L 107–108 | Charlie Scott (33) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,103 | 22–22 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | January 13 | @ Golden State | W 116–110 | Neal Walk (28) | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena8,484 | 23–22 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 46 | January 14 | Baltimore | L 94–95 | Charlie Scott (32) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,186 | 23–23 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 47 | January 16 | New York | L 101–102 | Dick Van Arsdale (23) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,252 | 23–24 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 48 | January 18 | Kansas City-Omaha | L 96–119 | Dick Van Arsdale (18) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,117 | 23–25 | L 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 49 | January 20 | Los Angeles | L 104–124 | Neal Walk (29) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,608 | 23–26 | L 4 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 50 | January 25 | Seattle | W 112–109 | Charlie Scott (34) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum5,701 | 24–26 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 51 | January 26 | @ Portland | W 120–116 | Charlie Scott (33) | Memorial Coliseum10,057 | 25–26 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 52 | January 27 | Portland | L 109–117 | Dick Van Arsdale (28) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,215 | 25–27 | L 1 |- Phoenix Suns February no yes yes #FF8800 #423189 4 4 3 5!!Streak |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 53 | February 1 | Los Angeles | L 106–120 | Neal Walk (29) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,705 | 25–28 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 54 | February 3 | Houston | W 132–123 | Charlie Scott,Dick Van Arsdale (26) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,282 | 26–28 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 55 | February 6 | @ Milwaukee | L 111–126 | Charlie Scott (29) | Milwaukee Arena9,285 | 26–29 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 56 | February 7 | @ Detroit | L 107–113 | Charlie Scott,Dick Van Arsdale (21) | Cobo Arena4,491 | 26–30 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 57 | February 8 | Seattle | W 125–112 | Charlie Scott (28) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,084 | 27–30 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 58 | February 10 | Philadelphia | W 126–121 | Charlie Scott (27) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum9,176 | 28–30 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 59 | February 14 | Buffalo | W 124–107 | Neal Walk (25) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum6,871 | 29–30 | W 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 60 | February 16 | Atlanta | L 104–111 | Dick Van Arsdale (28) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,155 | 29–31 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 61 | February 17 | @ Houston | L 111–127 | Charlie Scott (41) | Hofheinz Pavilion3,119 | 29–32 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 62 | February 18 | Portland | L 118–119 | Neal Walk (23) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum5,260 | 29–33 | L 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 63 | February 20 | @ Boston | L 97–107 | Charlie Scott (25) | Boston Garden9,954 | 29–34 | L 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 64 | February 21 | @ Baltimore | W 107–98 | Charlie Scott (27) | Baltimore Civic Center5,525 | 30–34 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 65 | February 23 | @ Buffalo | W 125–106 | Charlie Scott (29) | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium5,830 | 31–34 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 66 | February 24 | @ Chicago | L 100–122 | Charlie Scott (26) | Chicago Stadium12,753 | 31–35 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 67 | February 25 | @ Kansas City-Omaha | W 111–109 | Charlie Scott (24) | Municipal Auditorium10,007 | 32–35 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 68 | February 28 | Kansas City-Omaha | L 107–109 | Charlie Scott (29) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,230 | 32–36 | L 1 |- Phoenix Suns March no yes yes #FF8800 #423189 3 4 3 4!!Streak |- |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 69 | March 4 | Chicago | L 117–118 (OT) | Neal Walk (30) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,085 | 32–37 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 70 | March 6 | Cleveland | W 110–102 | Neal Walk (26) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum5,236 | 33–37 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 71 | March 8 | Boston | L 134–141 (OT) | Charlie Scott (29) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,052 | 33–38 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 72 | March 10 | Detroit | L 110–117 | Clem Haskins,Charlie Scott (23) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,510 | 33–39 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 73 | March 12 | @ Milwaukee | L 95–126 | Neal Walk (22) | Milwaukee Arena10,746 | 33–40 | L 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 74 | March 13 | @ New York | L 111–115 | Charlie Scott (33) | Madison Square Garden19,674 | 33–41 | L 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 75 | March 14 | @ Philadelphia | W 120–114 | Charlie Scott (32) | The Spectrum5,641 | 34–41 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 76 | March 16 | @ Atlanta | L 127–135 | Charlie Scott (31) | Omni Coliseum6,512 | 34–42 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 77 | March 18 | @ Los Angeles | L 113–131 | Charlie Scott (35) | The Forum17,505 | 34–43 | L 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 78 | March 21 | Buffalo | W 134–124 (OT) | Charlie Scott (30) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum7,603 | 35–43 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 79 | March 23 | Golden State | W 125–124 | Charlie Scott (28) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum8,197 | 36–43 | W 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 80 | March 25 | Milwaukee | L 112–114 | Neal Walk (24) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum9,386 | 36–44 | L 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 81 | March 26 | @ Golden State | W 120–114 | Connie Hawkins (29) | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena3,677 | 37–44 | W 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 82 | March 28 | @ Seattle | W 127–125 | Neal Walk (27) | Seattle Center Coliseum11,246 | 38–44 | W 2 |- PHO 1973 Awards and honors All-Star Charlie Scott was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection. Connie Hawkins was selected to replace Rick Barry in the All-Star Game. It was his fourth consecutive All-Star selection. Player statistics Legend   GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  PPG  Points per game Season Player GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG Calhoun, Corky Corky Calhoun 82 24.7 .469 .740 4.1 0.9 6.0 English, Scott Scott English 29 6.8 .387 .724 1.5 0.5 3.2 Green, Lamar Lamar Green 80 25.6 .431 .754 9.3 1.1 6.7 Haskins, Clem Clem Haskins 77 20.5 .464 .833 2.2 2.6 10.5 Hawkins, Connie Connie Hawkins 75 36.9 .479 .797 8.5 4.1 16.1 Johnson, Gus Gus Johnson* 21 19.9 .381 .694 6.5 1.5 7.8 Layton, Mo Mo Layton 65 15.2 .431 .756 1.2 2.1 7.1 Scott, Charlie Charlie Scott 81 37.8 .446 .784 4.2 6.1 25.3 Stovall, Paul Paul Stovall 25 8.4 .342 .632 2.4 0.5 3.0 Van Arsdale, Dick Dick Van Arsdale 81 36.8 .476 .859 4.0 3.3 18.4 Walk, Neal Neal Walk 81 38.4 .466 .786 12.4 3.5 20.2 Wesley, Walt Walt Wesley* 45 8.1 .406 .529 2.5 0.5 3.2 Transactions Trades April 7, 1972 To Houston Rockets USA Otto Moore To Phoenix Suns 1972 first-round draft pick (USA Corky Calhoun) April 10, 1972 To Baltimore Bullets 1972 second-round draft pick (USA Tom Patterson) To Phoenix Suns USA Gus Johnson September 19, 1972 To Los Angeles Lakers 1974 second-round draft pick (USA Truck Robinson) Future draft pick To Phoenix Suns USA Paul Stovall October 10, 1972 To Philadelphia 76ers USA Mel Counts To Phoenix Suns 1973 second-round draft pick (USA Gary Melchionni) November 22, 1972 To Cleveland Cavaliers 1973 second-round draft pick (USA Allan Hornyak) To Phoenix Suns USA Walt Wesley Free agents Subtractions Date Player Reason left New team September 25, 1972 Jeff Webb Waived (Retired) September 29, 1972 Art Harris Waived Belgium Lions October 9, 1972 John Wetzel Waived Atlanta Hawks December 1, 1972 Gus Johnson Waived Indiana Pacers (ABA) References Standings on Basketball Reference Phoenix Category:Phoenix Suns seasons