1973–74 Phoenix Suns season

The 1973–74 Phoenix Suns season was the sixth for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. It was the first of 14 seasons head coach John MacLeod spent with Phoenix. The season would also be the last for former All-Star forward/center Connie Hawkins, traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after appearing in nine games for the Suns. Charlie Scott would repeat as an All-Star, but who missed 30 games due to injury despite his NBA career-high 25.4 points a game. The team went on to finish the season 30–52, a career-worst for MacLeod and the franchise's poorest record since their inaugural season.

1973–74 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	30–52 (.366)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTAR-TV
Radio	KTAR

Dick Van Arsdale averaged 17.8 points on the season, while Neal Walk averaged 16.8 points and a team-high 10.2 rebounds per contest. Keith Erickson, obtained by the Suns along with a future second round pick in the Hawkins trade, enjoyed a career-high 14.6 points a game in his ninth year in the NBA and first with Phoenix.

Van Arsdale was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Mike Bantom, a rookie out of Saint Joseph's, was named to the All-Rookie Team.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1973 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	8	Mike Bantom	Forward	United States	Saint Joseph's
2	33	Gary Melchionni	Guard	United States	Duke
3	42	Joe Reaves	Forward	United States	Bethel (Tennessee)
3	43	Steve Mitchell	Center	United States	Kansas State
4	60	Ron Robinson	Forward	United States	Memphis State
5	77	Clinton Harris	Forward	United States	Iowa State
6	94	Gene Doyle	Center	United States	Holy Cross
7	111	Jerry Bisbano	Guard	United States	Southwestern Louisiana
8	128	Jim Owens	Forward	United States	Arizona State
9	144	Sandy Smith	Guard	United States	Winston-Salem
10	158	Claude White	Guard	United States	Elmhurst
11	170	Lynn Greer	Guard	United States	Virginia State
12	179	Lyman Williamson	Forward	United States	Samford
13	186	Kalevi Sarkalahti	Forward	Finland	Brigham Young

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From F 40 Bantom, Mike 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1951-12-03 Saint Joseph's F 20 Calhoun, Corky 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-11-01 Penn F 24 Chamberlain, Bill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1949-12-16 North Carolina C 31 Christian, Bob 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1946-05-11 Grambling State G/F 14 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA F 16 Green, Lamar 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1947-03-22 Morehead State G 11 Haskins, Clem 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1943-07-11 Western Kentucky G 25 Melchionni, Gary 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-01-19 Duke G/F 45 Owens, Jim 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1950-05-01 Arizona State G 33 Scott, Charlie  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-12-15 North Carolina G/F 5 Van Arsdale, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-02-22 Indiana C 41 Walk, Neal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-07-29 Florida	Head coach John MacLeod (Bellarmine) Assistant coach(es) Denny Price (Oklahoma) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	47	35	.573	–	30–11	17–24	–	14–12
Golden State Warriors	44	38	.537	3	23–18	20–20	1–0	15–11
Seattle SuperSonics	36	46	.439	11	22–19	14–27	–	12–14
Phoenix Suns	30	52	.366	17	24–17	6–34	0–1	11–15
Portland Trail Blazers	27	55	.329	20	22–19	5–34	0–2	13–13

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Milwaukee Bucks	59	23	.720	–
2	x-Chicago Bulls	54	28	.659	5
3	x-Detroit Pistons	52	30	.634	7
4	y-Los Angeles Lakers	47	35	.573	12
5	Golden State Warriors	44	38	.537	15
6	Seattle SuperSonics	36	46	.439	23
7	Kansas City–Omaha Kings	33	49	.402	26
8	Phoenix Suns	30	52	.366	29
9	Portland Trail Blazers	27	55	.329	32

Record vs. opponents

1973–74 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CAP	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCO	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA
Atlanta	—	1–5	2–4	4–4	1–3	4–3	0–4	1–3	5–2	1–3	4–0	1–3	1–5	3–3	1–3	2–2	4–0
Boston	5–1	—	5–2	2–4	2–2	4–2	3–1	3–1	4–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	5–2	7–1	3–1	4–0	2–2
Buffalo	4–2	2–5	—	3–3	1–3	5–1	1–3	1–3	4–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	4–4	6–1	3–1	3–1	2–2
Capital	4–4	4–2	3–3	—	1–3	6–1	2–2	3–1	4–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–3	4–2	2–2	3–1	2–2
Chicago	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	—	4–0	5–2	4–2	4–0	5–2	1–5	3–3	2–2	3–1	4–2	4–2	4–2
Cleveland	3–4	2–4	1–5	1–6	0–4	—	2–2	0–4	4–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	1–5	5–1	1–3	4–0	2–2
Detroit	4–0	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–5	2–2	—	5–1	3–1	4–2	4–2	3–4	1–3	2–2	6–0	5–1	5–1
Golden State	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–4	4–0	1–5	—	4–0	3–3	4–2	3–3	1–3	3–1	5–2	3–4	3–3
Houston	2–5	2–4	2–4	3–4	0–4	4–4	1–3	0–4	—	2–2	2–2	0–4	4–2	4–2	2–2	3–1	1–3
Kansas City-Omaha	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–5	4–0	2–4	3–3	2–2	—	1–5	0–7	1–3	1–3	4–2	4–2	2–4
Los Angeles	0–4	2–2	4–0	2–2	5–1	1–3	2–4	2–4	2–2	5–1	—	4–2	2–2	4–0	4–2	4–3	4–3
Milwaukee	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–3	4–0	4–3	3–3	4–0	7–0	2–4	—	2–2	4–0	5–1	6–0	4–2
New York	5–1	2–5	4–4	3–3	2–2	5–1	3–1	3–1	2–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	4–3	3–1	2–2	4–0
Philadelphia	3–3	1–7	1–6	2–4	1–3	1–5	2–2	1–3	2–4	3–1	0–4	0–4	3–4	—	3–1	2–2	0–4
Phoenix	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–4	3–1	0–6	2–5	2–2	2–4	2–4	1–5	1–3	1–3	—	3–3	4–3
Portland	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–4	0–4	1–5	4–3	1–3	2–4	3–4	0–6	2–2	2–2	3–3	—	3–3
Seattle	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–4	2–2	1–5	3–3	3–1	4–2	3–4	2–4	0–4	4–0	3–4	3–3	—

Game log

1973–74 game log Total: 30–52 (home: 24–17; road: 6–35)
October: 2–8 (home: 2–3; road: 0–5) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 1 October 10 Seattle W 115–111 Charlie Scott (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,738 1–0 W 1 2 October 12 Milwaukee L 84–107 Lamar Green (14) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,033 1–1 L 1 3 October 14 Golden State L 95–120 Charlie Scott (19) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,030 1–2 L 2 4 October 20 Atlanta W 118–108 Dick Van Arsdale (37) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,009 2–2 W 1 5 October 21 @ Seattle L 112–116 Charlie Scott (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,964 2–3 L 1 6 October 23 @ Golden State L 109–121 Charlie Scott, Dick Van Arsdale (23) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 3,007 2–4 L 2 7 October 24 Detroit L 99–115 Mike Bantom (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,307 2–5 L 3 8 October 26 @ Kansas City-Omaha L 93–98 Charlie Scott (26) Municipal Auditorium 4,917 2–6 L 4 9 October 27 @ Milwaukee L 95–104 Milwaukee Arena 9,975 2–7 L 5 10 October 30 @ Atlanta L 101–122 Joe Reaves (21) Omni Coliseum 9,070 2–8 L 6
November: 5–8 (home: 3–1; road: 2–7) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 11 November 2 @ Detroit L 107–114 Charlie Scott (30) Cobo Arena 5,317 2–9 L 7 12 November 4 @ Capital L 99–102 Dick Van Arsdale, Neal Walk (19) Capital Centre 5,316 2–10 L 8 13 November 7 @ Philadelphia L 115–122 Charlie Scott (31) The Spectrum 4,366 2–11 L 9 14 November 9 @ Boston L 107–122 Charlie Scott (24) Boston Garden 9,953 2–12 L 10 15 November 13 Chicago W 116–108 Charlie Scott (38) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,045 3–12 W 1 16 November 15 Philadelphia W 116–94 Charlie Scott (33) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,142 4–12 W 2 17 November 17 Los Angeles L 110–130 Charlie Scott (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,498 4–13 L 1 18 November 20 @ Buffalo L 100–127 Dick Van Arsdale (23) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 6,088 4–14 L 2 19 November 21 @ Detroit L 104–107 Charlie Scott, Neal Walk (32) Cobo Arena 3,534 4–15 L 3 20 November 23 @ Chicago W 99–94 Charlie Scott (30) Chicago Stadium 8,742 5–15 W 1 21 November 27 @ Houston L 111–125 Dick Van Arsdale (27) Hofheinz Pavilion 2,756 5–16 L 1 22 November 29 Kansas City-Omaha W 119–99 Mike Bantom (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,386 6–16 W 1 23 November 30 @ Portland W 107–99 Clem Haskins (36) Memorial Coliseum 10,720 7–16 W 2
December: 8–8 (home: 6–4; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 24 December 1 Detroit L 109–121 Dick Van Arsdale (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,496 7–17 L 1 25 December 4 @ Los Angeles L 103–120 Charlie Scott (23) The Forum 11,746 7–18 L 2 26 December 5 Golden State W 103–97 Charlie Scott (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,553 8–18 W 1 27 December 7 Capital W 114–92 Charlie Scott (40) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,089 9–18 W 2 28 December 9 @ Cleveland W 117–106 Charlie Scott (31) Cleveland Arena 3,042 10–18 W 3 29 December 11 @ New York L 97–105 Dick Van Arsdale (23) Madison Square Garden 18,366 10–19 L 1 30 December 13 Portland L 108–119 Charlie Scott (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,494 10–20 L 2 31 December 15 Boston W 121–120 Charlie Scott (41) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,362 11–20 W 1 32 December 16 @ Seattle W 113–109 Charlie Scott (38) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,778 12–20 W 2 33 December 18 @ Portland L 117–133 Dick Van Arsdale (26) Memorial Coliseum 5,982 12–21 L 1 34 December 19 Philadelphia L 98–101 Charlie Scott (44) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,246 12–22 L 2 35 December 22 Milwaukee W 121–112 Charlie Scott (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,013 13–22 W 1 36 December 25 Los Angeles W 135–100 Charlie Scott (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,253 14–22 W 2 37 December 27 Seattle W 111–100 Charlie Scott (33) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,755 15–22 W 3 38 December 28 @ Los Angeles L 107–119 Charlie Scott (29) The Forum 13,685 15–23 L 1 39 December 29 Buffalo L 108–120 Charlie Scott (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,116 15–24 L 2
January: 6–7 (home: 5–3; road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 40 January 2 @ Atlanta W 116–113 Dick Van Arsdale (28) Omni Coliseum 9,232 16–24 W 1 41 January 4 @ Kansas City-Omaha L 97–122 Charlie Scott (28) Municipal Auditorium 4,837 16–25 L 1 42 January 5 @ Milwaukee L 109–118 Dick Van Arsdale (22) Milwaukee Arena 9,812 16–26 L 2 43 January 6 @ Chicago L 116–120 (OT) Charlie Scott (30) Chicago Stadium 6,013 16–27 L 3 44 January 9 Houston W 105–101 Charlie Scott (19) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,924 17–27 W 1 45 January 11 Kansas City-Omaha L 100–117 Charlie Scott (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,747 17–28 L 1 46 January 13 Seattle L 112–123 Neal Walk (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,769 17–29 L 2 All-Star Break 47 January 17 @ Golden State L 120–127 Charlie Scott (31) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 3,011 17–30 L 3 48 January 19 New York W 112–89 Charlie Scott (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,468 18–30 W 1 49 January 23 Cleveland W 110–103 Charlie Scott (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,017 19–30 W 2 50 January 25 Milwaukee L 108–112 Charlie Scott (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,660 19–31 L 1 51 January 27 Capital W 127–107 Keith Erickson (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,277 20–31 W 1 52 January 31 Portland W 112–100 Charlie Scott (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,252 21–31 W 2
February: 4–12 (home: 4–3; road: 0–9) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 53 February 1 @ Los Angeles L 110–121 Gary Melchionni, Dick Van Arsdale (20) The Forum 13,478 21–32 L 1 54 February 2 Los Angeles W 119–112 Dick Van Arsdale, Neal Walk (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,068 22–32 W 1 55 February 5 @ New York L 90–106 Dick Van Arsdale (27) Madison Square Garden 18,884 22–33 L 1 56 February 6 @ Capital L 101–109 Clem Haskins (23) Capital Centre 6,738 22–34 L 2 57 February 8 Detroit L 94–99 Dick Van Arsdale (18) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,511 22–35 L 3 58 February 10 Golden State L 105–121 Bob Christian (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,121 22–36 L 4 59 February 12 @ Portland L 104–113 Keith Erickson (24) Memorial Coliseum 4,189 22–37 L 5 60 February 14 Houston W 107–99 Dick Van Arsdale (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,661 23–37 W 1 61 February 16 Atlanta W 124–123 (OT) Neal Walk (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,518 24–37 W 2 62 February 17 Portland W 112–100 Mike Bantom (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,575 25–37 W 3 63 February 19 @ Chicago L 96–130 Dick Van Arsdale (20) Chicago Stadium 7,451 25–38 L 1 64 February 22 @ Kansas-City Omaha L 104–119 Keith Erickson (23) Municipal Auditorium 8,322 25–39 L 2 65 February 23 @ Detroit L 107–119 Dick Van Arsdale (18) Cobo Arena 7,926 25–40 L 3 66 February 24 @ Cleveland L 97–101 Keith Erickson, Neal Walk (22) Cleveland Arena 3,288 25–41 L 4 67 February 26 @ Golden State L 100–120 Clem Haskins (31) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 3,234 25–42 L 5 68 February 27 Chicago L 95–107 Keith Erickson (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,105 25–43 L 6
March: 5–9 (home: 4–3; road: 1–6) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 69 March 1 @ Houston L 111–117 Keith Erickson (23) Hofheinz Pavilion 2,547 25–44 L 7 70 March 3 Kansas City-Omaha W 113–100 Dick Van Arsdale, Neal Walk (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,780 26–44 W 1 71 March 5 Chicago L 91–111 Neal Walk (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,156 26–45 L 1 72 March 7 Boston L 97–99 Gary Melchionni (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,242 26–46 L 2 73 March 9 Cleveland W 109–100 Dick Van Arsdale (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,153 27–46 W 1 74 March 11 @ Milwaukee L 92–105 Neal Walk (20) Milwaukee Arena 9,027 27–47 L 1 75 March 12 @ Buffalo L 94–124 Keith Erickson (20) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 14,244 27–48 L 2 76 March 13 @ Boston L 97–104 Corky Calhoun, Keith Erickson, Dick Van Arsdale (15) Boston Garden 6,751 27–49 L 3 77 March 15 @ Philadelphia L 101–108 Keith Erickson (24) Hershey, PA 4,473 27–50 L 4 78 March 17 @ Seattle W 133–108 Keith Erickson (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,007 28–50 W 1 79 March 20 New York L 104–106 (OT) Keith Erickson, Neal Walk (18) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,054 28–51 L 1 80 March 22 Buffalo W 126–119 Mike Bantom, Clem Haskins, Gary Melchionni (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,687 29–51 W 1 81 March 24 Golden State W 134–121 Keith Erickson (40) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,011 30–51 W 2 82 March 27 @ Seattle L 123–127 Clem Haskins (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,528 30–52 L 1
1973–74 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

• Charlie Scott was selected to replace Jerry West in the All-Star Game. It was his second consecutive All-Star selection.

Season

• Dick Van Arsdale was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
• Mike Bantom 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
Mike Bantom	76	37	26.1	.399	.662	6.8	2.1	.7	.6	10.1
Corky Calhoun	77	54	28.7	.461	.760	5.3	1.8	.9	.4	8.2
Bill Chamberlain	28	1	13.1	.438	.696	2.9	1.3	.7	.4	5.5
Bob Christian	81	1	15.4	.486	.702	4.2	1.2	.2	.4	4.8
Keith Erickson*	66	48	30.8	.477	.801	6.3	3.1	1.0	.3	14.6
Lamar Green	72	20	15.3	.407	.559	4.9	0.6	.4	.5	4.1
Clem Haskins	81	20	22.5	.460	.842	2.7	3.2	1.0	.2	11.1
Connie Hawkins*	8	7	27.9	.486	.667	5.4	3.5	1.0	.4	11.3
Gary Melchionni	69	15	18.1	.460	.860^	2.1	2.1	.6	.1	7.2
Jim Owens	17	0	5.9	.538†	.786	0.5	0.9	.3	.0	3.1
Joe Reaves*	7	0	5.4	.545†	.364	1.1	0.1	.0	.3	2.3
Charlie Scott	52	51	38.5+	.459	.781	4.3	5.2+	1.9+	.4	25.4+
Dick Van Arsdale	78	76	36.3+	.500†	.853^	2.8	4.2+	1.2+	.2	17.8+
Neal Walk	82	80	31.1	.460	.791	10.2	4.0	.9	.7	16.8

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 560 field goal attempts.
^ – Minimum 160 free throw attempts.
+ – Minimum 70 games played.

Transactions

Trades

October 8, 1973	To Atlanta Hawks 1976 second-round draft pick ( Bob Carrington) 1977 third-round draft pick ( Eddie Johnson)	To Phoenix Suns Bob Christian
October 9, 1973	To Capital Bullets Walt Wesley	To Phoenix Suns 1974 third-round draft pick ( Earl Williams) 1975 third-round draft pick ( Bayard Forrest)
October 30, 1973	To Los Angeles Lakers Connie Hawkins	To Phoenix Suns Keith Erickson 1974 second-round draft pick ( Fred Saunders)
January 24, 1974	To Golden State Warriors 1975 third-round draft pick ( Otis Johnson)	To Phoenix Suns Bill Chamberlain

Free agents

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason Left	New Team
September 14, 1973	Paul Stovall	Waived	San Diego Conquistadors (ABA)
September 18, 1973	Scott English	Waived	Virginia Squires (ABA)
September 19, 1973	Mo Layton	Waived	Portland Trail Blazers
November 27, 1973	Joe Reaves	Waived	Memphis Tams (ABA)

References

• Standings on Basketball Reference