The 1981–82 Phoenix Suns season was the 14th season for the Phoenix Suns of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. The Suns were in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the fifth consecutive season, extending a then-franchise record. In the first round,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

was taken down by the Suns, two games to one. Phoenix would find a tougher opponent, however, in the Western Conference Semifinals, getting swept four games to zero by the eventual league champions, Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns were led by

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

John MacLeod and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Dennis Johnson again earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors and was the lone

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

participant from the Suns. Additionally, he led the Suns in scoring with his 19.5 points average, a personal career-high. Truck Robinson was not far behind with his 19.1 average, and paired that with rebounding average of 9.7 a game. Fellow big man Alvan Adams brought in 7 rebounds and 15 points a contest.

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

Game log

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 20 , @

L 113–129
, Kyle Macy (22) , Truck Robinson (13) , Truck Robinson (6) , McNichols Sports Arena
17,298 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , April 23 ,

W 126–110
, Dennis Johnson (29) , Alvan Adams (9) , Dennis Johnson (8) , Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
12,798 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 24 , @

W 124–119
, Dennis Johnson (26) , Truck Robinson (9) , Rich Kelley (7) , McNichols Sports Arena
17,443 , 2–1 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 27 , @

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

L 96–115
, Johnson, Adams (20) , Truck Robinson (14) , three players tied (4) , The Forum
13,623 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 28 , @

L 98–117
, Dennis Johnson (27) , Larry Nance (11) , Dennis Johnson (6) , The Forum
15,558 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April 30 ,

L 106–114
, Alvan Adams (23) , Alvan Adams (12) , three players tied (5) , Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,660 , 0–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 2 ,

L 107–112
, Dennis Johnson (31) , Macy, Nance (6) , Alvan Adams (8) , Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
11,932 , 0–4 , -

Awards and honors

All-Star

* Dennis Johnson was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the

. Johnson finished fourth in voting among Western Conference guards with 220,914 votes. It was his fourth consecutive All-Star selection. * The other Suns player who received All-Star votes was Alvan Adams (134,441).

Season

* Kyle Macy led the league in free throw percentage with .899%. * Dennis Johnson was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Johnson also finished 21st in MVP voting.

Player statistics

Season

, - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , 79 , , 75 , , 30.3 , , .494 , , .000 , , .781 , , 7.4 , , 4.5 , , 1.4 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 1.0 , , 15.1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , 64 , , 3 , , 14.6 , , .445 , , .250 , , .740 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 5.1 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , 76 , , 22 , , 17.1 , , .422 , , .000 , , .664 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .3 , , 5.1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , 55 , , 12 , , 21.5 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , .523† , , .188 , , .820 , , 1.9 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .1 , , 14.4 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , 32 , , 0 , , 3.2 , , .459 , , .500^ , , .778 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , 80 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 77 , , 36.7 , , .470 , , .190 , , .806 , , 5.1 , , 4.6 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 19.5 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , 81 , , 39 , , 23.4 , , .467 , , .000 , , .749 , , 6.1 , , 3.6 , , .8 , , .9 , , 7.9 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , 56 , , 0 , , 9.8 , , .414 , , . , , .786 , , 1.9 , , 0.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 2.6 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 82 , , 72 , , 34.7 , , .514 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , .390^ , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , .899 , , 3.2 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 4.7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 1.7 , , .1 , , 14.2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , 8 , , 0 , , 2.9 , , .692† , , . , , .600 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.6 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , 80 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .521 , , .000 , , .641 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .9 , , 6.6 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , 74 , , 72 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 37.1 , , .513 , , 1.000^ , , .687 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 9.7 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .4 , , 19.1 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , 81 , , 38 , , 21.5 , , .497 , , .000 , , .730 , , 3.6 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .9 , , 6.0 † – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 25 three-pointers made.

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 33.3 , , .522 , , . , , .786 , , 7.3 , , 3.7 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , 16.9 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 0 , , 3.4 , , .250 , , . , , 1.000^ , , 0.1 , , 0.7 , , .1 , , .1 , , 0.7 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 0 , , 6.4 , , .500 , , . , , . , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 0 , , 24.7 , , .448 , , .333 , , .917 , , 3.1 , , 4.3 , , .7 , , .1 , , 18.1 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .167 , , . , , . , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 38.7 , , .477 , , .000 , , .769 , , 4.4 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 4.6 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 2.1 , , .6 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 22.3 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 27.3 , , .500 , , . , , .700 , , 6.9 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , 9.7 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .714† , , . , , .667 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 34.7 , , .427 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , .364 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , .938^ , , 3.1 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 13.6 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 0 , , 18.3 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , .610† , , . , , .500 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 7.7 , - align="center" bgcolor="" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 30.4 , , .563 , , . , , .300 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7.6 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .1 , , 13.3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" , , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 7 , , 0 , , 18.1 , , .438 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" , 1.9 , , 4.6 † – Minimum 20 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 10 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

References

Standings on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1981-82 Phoenix Suns season Phoenix Suns seasons Ph