Yes, Suns fans, the season is sadly over, and with it comes the close of the first run of our weekly Suns Spot blog. Check back here periodically this summer for updates on free agency visits and summer workouts. Only four-and-a-half months until the 2010-11 season begins!
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The first year of the Suns Spot saw the Phoenix Suns shock the world by advancing to the Western Conference Finals, but now with the summer months and offseason upon us, things will get quiet here for a while. Before Suns Spot takes some time off to enjoy the summer (and before the NBA draft and free agency ramp up) I wanted to share our thoughts on this past year.
First, I want to say how proud I am of this past season’s Suns team. They easily exceeded everyone’s expectations, and in doing so became my favorite Suns team of all time. This season, the Suns went from being pegged to miss the playoffs by most of the “experts” to becoming legitimate championship contenders and falling just two games short of the NBA Finals, all while winning the hearts of Phoenix fans along the way.
The 2009-10 Suns had everything: aging veteran leaders in Steve Nash and Grant Hill; a young, dominate offensive stud in Amar’e Stoudemire; a big presence in the middle in the form Robin Lopez; and a scrappy, defensive bench.
More amazing than the players as individuals was how they all came together as one. The Suns had their highs and lows throughout the season, and through it all the players stuck together. Whether it was during the hot start to the season in November or the struggles the team endured in December and January, the players continued to believe in one another.
In today’s world of professional sports it’s very rare to see a group of guys that enjoy spending time with each other off the court just as much as they enjoy playing with each other on the court, however, this Suns team was different. Whether it was the starters standing and cheering on the bench players, the entire team participating in Nash’s videos on the team bus or Jared Dudley tweeting for the team not to trade Stoudemire, this group of players was truly special.
During the summer, lots of things can change with this current Suns squad. They could come back exactly the same or entirely different — we won’t know until October rolls around. Regardless of what happens, we’ll always have the memories this group gave us, and with that we really can’t complain.
