The

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 2003–04 NBA season was the culmination of ...

was the 36th for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in 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 ...

. It was also the last season under longtime associate

Jerry Colangelo Jerry Colangelo (born November 20, 1939) is an American businessman and sports executive. He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the A ...

's ownership, as he later sold the franchise to an ownership group led by Robert Sarver starting the following season. After advancing to the playoffs the previous season, the Suns started off to a disappointing start under head coach Frank Johnson. With the team at 8–13, team management elected to turn to assistant coach

Mike D'Antoni Michael Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an American-Italian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While h ...

to take over for Johnson. Under D'Antoni, the Suns would lose 40 of their next 61 games and miss 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 ...

, finishing sixth in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

division with a 29–53 regular season record, the first time since the 1987–88 season the Suns recorded 50 losses or more. The Suns played their home games at

America West Arena The PHX Arena (formerly America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix Suns Arena and Footprint Center) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It opened under the name America West Arena on June 6, 1992, at ...

. Before the halfway mark of the season, the Suns sent starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who was also the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from 2019–2023. After his freshman year ...

along with

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway played colle ...

to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

for Antonio McDyess, and a lack of offense was felt the rest of the season. Marbury, a future All-Star, was replaced with rookie SG Leandro Barbosa, who only averaged eight points per game. The oft-injured

Tom Gugliotta Thomas James Gugliotta (born December 19, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. Drafted with the sixth pick in the 1992 NBA draft, he played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6'11 power forwa ...

was released and signed as a free agent with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. The Suns found the injury bug, with reigning Rookie of the Year

Amar'e Stoudemire Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire (born November 16, 1982) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a player development assistant for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

missing nearly 30 games (and the Suns his 20 points and nine

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game).

Power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

Shawn Marion Shawn Dwayne Marion (born May 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Marion finished his career as a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All- ...

did not repeat as an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

, despite ending the season averaging 19 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and finishing second in the league in steals per game. Joe Johnson had a breakthrough year in his third season NBA season, leading the league in minutes played and providing the Suns nearly 17 points a game. By trading Marbury, the Suns were without a point guard to lead an improving young core of Stoudemire, Marion, Johnson and Barbosa, all 25 years of age or younger. By shedding the injury-riddled Hardaway and Gugliotta, as well as Marbury, the Suns ended the season with a need for a club leader and money at their disposal. Following the season, McDyess signed as a free agent with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. For the season, they added new orange alternate road uniforms with grey side panels to their jerseys and shorts they remained in used until

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

Awards and honors

All-Star

was selected to play for the Sophomore team in the Rookie Challenge.

Season

led the league in steals with 167. * Joe Johnson led the league in minutes played with 3,331. * Joe Johnson finished ninth in Most Improved Player voting.

Player statistics

Season

* - Stats with the Suns.
+ - Minimum 70 games played or 2000 minutes, 400 assists, 100 blocks, 1400 points.
† - Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ - Minimum 55 three-pointers made.
# - Minimum 125 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

References

Standings on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Phoenix Suns season Phoenix Suns seasons