1976–77 Phoenix Suns season

The 1976–77 Phoenix Suns season was the ninth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. With injuries limiting the team to only six games with a full roster, the Suns plummeted to the bottom of the Pacific division standings, missing the playoffs after appearing in the Finals just one season prior. The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

1976–77 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	John MacLeod
General manager	Jerry Colangelo
Owners	Karl Eller, Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, Richard L. Bloch
Arena	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	34–48 (.415)
Place	Division: 5th (Pacific) Conference: 10th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTAR-TV
Radio	KTAR

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1976 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	10	Ron Lee	Guard	United States	Oregon
2	30	Al Fleming	Forward	United States	Arizona
2	33	Raymond "Butch" Feher	Guard	United States	Vanderbilt
3	45	Ira Terrell	Forward	United States	Southern Methodist
4	62	Paul Miller	Forward	United States	Oregon
5	79	Ralph Walker	Guard	United States	Saint Mary's (CA)
6	97	Carl Brown	Guard	United States	Eastern Kentucky
7	115	Brad Warble	Forward	United States	Eastern Illinois
8	133	Tom DeBerry	Guard	United States	Northern Arizona
9	150	John Irving	Center	United States	Hofstra
10	166	Gary Jackson	Forward	United States	Arizona State

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From F/C 33 Adams, Alvan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1954-07-19 Oklahoma C 21 Awtrey, Dennis  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948-02-22 Santa Clara G/F 14 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA G 7 Feher, Butch 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954-05-19 Vanderbilt F 24 Heard, Garfield  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1948-05-03 Oklahoma G 30 Lee, Ron 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1952-11-02 Oregon F 18 Perry, Curtis  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-09-13 Missouri State C 54 Schlueter, Dale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1945-11-12 Colorado State G 40 Sobers, Ricky 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1953-01-15 UNLV F 32 Terrell, Ira 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1954-06-19 SMU G/F 5 Van Arsdale, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-02-22 Indiana G/F 4 Van Arsdale, Tom 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1943-02-22 Indiana G 44 Westphal, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1950-11-30 USC	Head coach John MacLeod (Bellarmine) Assistant coach(es) Al Bianchi (Bowling Green) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	–	37–4	16–25	11–5
x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	4	35–6	14–27	10–6
x-Golden State Warriors	46	36	.561	7	29–12	17–24	8–8
Seattle SuperSonics	40	42	.488	13	27–14	13–28	6–10
Phoenix Suns	34	48	.415	19	26–15	8–33	5–11

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	50	32	.610	3
3	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	4
4	x-Golden State Warriors	46	36	.561	7
5	x-Detroit Pistons	44	38	.537	9
6	x-Chicago Bulls	44	38	.537	9
7	Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	13
8	Seattle SuperSonics	40	42	.488	13
9	Indiana Pacers	36	46	.439	17
10	Phoenix Suns	34	48	.415	19
11	Milwaukee Bucks	30	52	.366	23

Record vs. opponents

1976–77 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	NYN	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–4	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	4–0	1–2	1–3
Boston	4–0	—	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–2	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	4–0	2–2	0–4
Buffalo	0–4	1–3	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	1–3	1–3	0–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	0–4
Chicago	2–2	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	1–2
Cleveland	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3
Denver	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–2	4–0	2–2
Detroit	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–3	1–3
Golden State	4–0	3–1	3–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1
Houston	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	0–3	2–2	1–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1
Indiana	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4
Kansas City	2–1	1–3	3–0	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2
Los Angeles	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	—	3–1	3–0	1–3	4–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	4–0
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	1–2	1–3	3–1	1–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3
New Orleans	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–3	2–1	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2
N.Y. Knicks	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–2	2–2
N.Y. Nets	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3	1–3	1–3
Philadelphia	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	—	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1
Phoenix	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1	—	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3
Portland	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	3–1	1–2
San Antonio	0–4	0–4	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2
Seattle	2–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	—	3–1
Washington	3–1	4–0	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–3	—

Game log

1976–77 game log Total: 34–48 (home: 26–15; road: 8–33)
October: 1–4 (home: 0–0; road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 1 October 22 @ New Orleans L 98–111 Alvan Adams (29) Louisiana Superdome 12,234 0–1 L 1 2 October 23 @ Houston L 126–129 Alvan Adams (29) The Summit 6,385 0–2 L 2 3 October 27 @ San Antonio L 106–115 Alvan Adams (24) HemisFair Arena 8,919 0–3 L 3 4 October 29 @ Chicago W 95–82 Gar Heard (23) Chicago Stadium 9,318 1–3 W 1 5 October 30 @ Denver L 107–113 Gar Heard (28) McNichols Sports Arena 17,608 1–4 L 1
November: 5–5 (home: 5–2; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 6 November 5 @ Seattle L 84–88 Ricky Sobers (18) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,902 1–5 L 2 7 November 11 Indiana W 108–98 Ricky Sobers, Paul Westphal (18) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,152 2–5 W 1 8 November 13 Cleveland L 90–103 Ricky Sobers (20) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,671 2–6 L 1 9 November 17 Milwaukee W 103–95 Dick Van Arsdale (19) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,017 3–6 W 1 10 November 18 @ Golden State L 111–131 Ricky Sobers (19) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 9,965 3–7 L 1 11 November 19 N.Y. Nets L 88–90 Paul Westphal (17) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,506 3–8 L 2 12 November 21 Chicago W 101–96 Paul Westphal (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,589 4–8 W 1 13 November 25 Washington W 104–98 Paul Westphal (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,614 5–8 W 2 14 November 27 Seattle W 119–107 Paul Westphal (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,553 6–8 W 3 15 November 30 @ Indiana L 97–103 Paul Westphal (27) Market Square Arena 8,581 6–9 L 1
December: 8–7 (home: 5–2; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 16 December 1 @ N.Y. Nets W 106–96 Paul Westphal (23) Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,103 7–9 W 1 17 December 3 Portland L 99–113 Ricky Sobers (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,339 7–10 L 1 18 December 5 San Antonio W 103–98 (OT) Paul Westphal (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,235 8–10 W 1 19 December 8 Houston W 116–95 Paul Westphal (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,117 9–10 W 2 20 December 10 @ Boston W 107–103 Ricky Sobers (25) Boston Garden 12,878 10–10 W 3 21 December 11 @ N.Y. Knicks L 96–112 Alvan Adams (17) Madison Square Garden 15,263 10–11 L 1 22 December 12 @ Atlanta W 106–91 Paul Westphal (28) Omni Coliseum 2,507 11–11 W 1 23 December 14 @ Buffalo L 99–108 Ricky Sobers (23) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 7,132 11–12 L 1 24 December 15 @ Philadelphia L 87–87 Alvan Adams (27) The Spectrum 11,363 11–13 L 2 25 December 17 @ Los Angeles L 105–118 Ricky Sobers, Paul Westphal (25) The Forum 9,816 11–14 L 3 26 December 18 Kansas City L 90–89 Ricky Sobers (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,482 11–15 L 4 27 December 23 Buffalo W 107–92 Ricky Sobers (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,834 12–15 W 1 28 December 25 Los Angeles W 113–96 Paul Westphal (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,274 13–15 W 2 29 December 28 @ Denver L 102–110 Paul Westphal (27) McNichols Sports Arena 17,595 13–16 L 1 30 December 29 Boston W 97–87 Paul Westphal (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,274 14–16 W 1
January: 8–9 (home: 7–1; road: 1–8) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 31 January 2 @ Kansas City L 88–89 Paul Westphal (20) Omaha Civic Auditorium 4,226 14–17 L 1 32 January 4 @ Milwaukee L 111–139 Curtis Perry, Ira Terrell (20) MECCA Arena 8,871 14–18 L 2 33 January 5 @ Detroit L 115–118 Alvan Adams (24) Cobo Arena 6,249 14–19 L 3 34 January 7 @ Washington L 89–99 Paul Westphal (15) Capital Centre 6,072 14–20 L 4 35 January 8 @ N.Y. Knicks L 95–102 Paul Westphal (31) Madison Square Garden 18,589 14–21 L 5 36 January 10 @ Atlanta W 93–92 Paul Westphal (20) Omni Coliseum 2,408 15–21 W 1 37 January 11 @ Chicago L 90–93 Paul Westphal (31) Chicago Stadium 6,446 15–22 L 1 38 January 13 Detroit W 131–101 Paul Westphal (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,274 16–22 W 1 39 January 15 Cleveland W 94–79 Paul Westphal (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,274 17–22 W 2 40 January 19 N.Y. Knicks W 97–90 Paul Westphal (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,035 18–22 W 3 41 January 20 @ Golden State L 103–107 Paul Westphal (25) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 10,886 18–23 L 1 42 January 21 Indiana W 125–96 Alvan Adams (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,957 19–23 W 1 43 January 23 Seattle W 98–88 Paul Westphal (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,274 20–23 W 2 44 January 25 San Antonio L 108–116 Paul Westphal (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,814 20–24 L 1 45 January 27 Philadelphia W 111–94 Ron Lee (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,274 21–24 W 1 46 January 29 New Orleans W 118–102 Paul Westphal (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,274 22–24 W 2 47 January 30 @ Portland L 91–97 Paul Westphal (24) Memorial Coliseum 12,311 22–25 L 1
February: 4–9 (home: 3–4; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 48 February 2 Milwaukee W 130–113 Paul Westphal (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,364 23–25 W 1 49 February 4 Golden State L 106–109 Alvan Adams (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,849 23–26 L 1 50 February 6 Denver W 115–104 Paul Westphal (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,826 24–26 W 1 51 February 8 Atlanta W 117–104 Alvan Adams (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,495 25–26 W 2 52 February 10 Washington L 103–109 Paul Westphal (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,352 25–27 L 1 53 February 15 @ Kansas City L 96–102 Paul Westphal (30) Kemper Arena 7,313 25–28 L 2 54 February 16 @ Indiana L 93–111 Ira Terrell (15) Market Square Arena 9,553 25–29 L 3 55 February 18 @ Philadelphia W 102–96 Paul Westphal (22) The Spectrum 16,660 26–29 W 1 56 February 19 @ Cleveland L 88–92 Paul Westphal (23) Coliseum at Richfield 17,882 26–30 L 1 57 February 20 @ Detroit L 107–109 Ricky Sobers (25) Cobo Arena 7,233 26–31 L 2 58 February 22 @ Buffalo L 114–115 Alvan Adams (47) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 6,143 26–32 L 3 59 February 24 Houston L 106–109 Paul Westphal (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,835 26–33 L 4 60 February 26 Boston L 104–108 Paul Westphal (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,353 26–34 L 5
March: 4–12 (home: 2–5; road: 2–7) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 61 March 2 Chicago L 104–108 (OT) Paul Westphal (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,823 26–35 L 6 62 March 4 Golden State L 87–101 Alvan Adams (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,750 26–36 L 7 63 March 6 @ Washington L 110–118 Ricky Sobers (32) Capital Centre 14,189 26–37 L 8 64 March 8 @ San Antonio L 115–122 Ricky Sobers, Paul Westphal (24) HemisFair Arena 10,011 26–38 L 9 65 March 9 @ Houston L 100–105 Alvan Adams (26) The Summit 6,421 26–39 L 10 66 March 11 @ N.Y. Nets L 73–82 Paul Westphal (16) Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,730 26–40 L 11 67 March 13 @ Boston L 107–124 Alvan Adams (29) Boston Garden 14,859 26–41 L 12 68 March 16 N.Y. Knicks W 124–91 Paul Westphal (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,177 27–41 W 1 69 March 18 New Orleans L 100–104 Paul Westphal (35) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,285 27–42 L 1 70 March 20 Portland W 126–106 Alvan Adams (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,174 28–42 W 1 71 March 24 Buffalo L 102–107 Paul Westphal (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,410 28–43 L 1 72 March 25 @ Los Angeles L 93–118 Ira Terrell (22) The Forum 13,507 28–44 L 2 73 March 26 Los Angeles L 102–109 Alvan Adams (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,150 28–45 L 3 74 March 27 @ Seattle W 121–100 Ron Lee (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 29–45 W 1 75 March 29 @ Milwaukee W 122–110 Paul Westphal (34) MECCA Arena 8,945 30–45 W 2 76 March 30 @ New Orleans L 100–112 Alvan Adams (19) Louisiana Superdome 6,237 30–46 L 1
April: 4–2 (home: 4–1; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 77 April 1 Detroit W 133–116 Paul Westphal (40) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,506 31–46 W 1 78 April 3 Denver L 109–124 Ron Lee (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,501 31–47 L 1 79 April 5 Atlanta W 108–102 Ricky Sobers (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,668 32–47 W 1 80 April 7 Kansas City W 121–110 Paul Westphal (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,462 33–47 W 2 81 April 8 @ Portland L 111–122 Alvan Adams (26) Memorial Coliseum 12,536 33–48 L 1 82 April 10 N.Y. Nets W 128–104 Ron Lee (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,476 34–48 W 1
1976–77 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

• Paul Westphal was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection. Westphal finished first in voting among Western Conference guards with 163,173 votes.

Season

• Paul Westphal was named to the All-NBA First Team.
• Ron Lee was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	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%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alvan Adams	72	67	31.6	.474	.754	9.1+	4.5	1.3	1.2	18.0
Dennis Awtrey	72	26	24.4	.429	.722	4.9	2.5	.3	.4	5.7
Keith Erickson	50	3	19.0	.483	.740	2.9	2.1	.6	.1	6.4
Butch Feher	48	9	10.1	.531+	.768	1.5	0.8	.2	.1	5.2
Garfield Heard	46	35	29.6	.379	.725	9.6+	1.9	1.2	1.2	9.7
Ron Lee	82	34	22.5	.441	.676	3.6	3.2	1.9	.4	10.2
Curtis Perry	44	42	31.6	.432	.789	9.0	1.8	1.1	.6	10.7
Dale Schlueter	39	0	8.6	.361	.581	2.1	1.0	.2	.2	1.8
Ricky Sobers	79	48	25.4	.496	.841	3.0	3.0	1.2	.2	13.6
Ira Terrell	78	36	22.4	.508	.631	5.0	1.3	.5	.6	8.5
Dick Van Arsdale	78	3	19.7	.456	.873	1.5	1.5	.4	.1	7.7
Tom Van Arsdale	77	28	18.5	.433	.703	2.4	0.9	.3	.0	5.8
Paul Westphal	81	79	32.1	.518+	.825	2.3	5.7	1.7	.3	21.3

+ – Minimum 50 games played.

Transactions

Trades

August 25, 1976	To Buffalo Braves 1977 second-round draft pick ( Glenn Williams) Cash considerations	To Phoenix Suns Tom Van Arsdale
March 18, 1977	To Seattle SuperSonics 1979 second-round draft pick ( Paul Mokeski) Cash considerations	To Phoenix Suns Rights to Bayard Forrest

Free agents

Additions

Date	Player	Contract	Old Team
September 23, 1976	Marv Roberts	Undisclosed	Virginia Squires (ABA)
December 7, 1976	Dale Schlueter	Undisclosed	Buffalo Braves

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason Left	New Team
August 26, 1976	John Wetzel	Retired	—
September 15, 1976	Paul Miller	Waived	— (Retired)
September 21, 1976	Pat Riley	Retired	—
October 3, 1976	Carl Brown	Waived	— (Retired)
October 4, 1976	Al Fleming	Waived	Indiana Pacers
October 15, 1976	Marv Roberts	Waived	Los Angeles Lakers
October 15, 1976	Nate Hawthorne	Waived	— (Retired)
October 15, 1976	Phil Lumpkin	Waived	— (Retired)