Mike D’Antoni’s entry into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame begs the question: Who was the best Phoenix Suns head coach ever?
The Arizona Republic has chosen John MacLeod, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Monty Williams, Paul Westphal and D’Antoni as the top contenders. We've included them in our poll below, which will remain open until Aug. 25 at 12:30 p.m.
Print readers can find the poll online with this story atazcentral.com/sports/suns-nba/.
Here's a summary of each of our selections:
John MacLeod (1973-87)
Naismith HOF: No.
Suns Ring of Honor: Yes (2012).
NBA Coach of the Year: No.
Regular season record: 579-543 (all-time leader in wins).
Most wins in a single season: 57-25 (1980-81).
Postseason record: 37-44 (all-time leader postseason wins).
Notable Suns he coached: Walter Davis,
Larry Nance, Alvan Adams, Paul Westphal, Don Buse, Dick Van Arsdale, Charlie Scott, Garfield Heard, Connie Hawkins, Dennis Johnson.
Case for MacLeod
He coached the Suns to their first NBA Finals in 1976. The ‘Sunderella Suns’ upset the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
Phoenix lost to the Boston Celtics in the finals. The Suns took the Celtics to triple overtime in “the greatest game ever,” best remembered for Heard's turnaround rainbow jumper as time expired in the second overtime to force the third OT. The Suns ended up losing, 128-126, at Boston Garden.
MacLeod preached professionalism, fundamentals, teamwork, unselfishness and being well -conditioned. His teams averaged 108.6 points a game and led the NBA in defensive rating twice (1977-78 and 1980-81).
MacLeod is the longest tenured coach in franchise history. He coached the Suns to three straight 50-win seasons.
The Suns reached the conference finals three times under MacLeod, beating the Warriors in 1976, losing to the Seattle Supersonics in 1979 and falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984. The Sonics won the NBA title in 1979.
Cotton Fitzsimmons (1970-72, 88-92, 95-97)
Naismith HOF: Yes (2021, contributor).
Suns Ring of Honor: Yes (2005).
NBA Coach of the Year: Twice (1979 Kansas City Kings, 1989 Suns).
Regular season record: 341-208 (Second-most wins).
Most wins in a single season: 55-27 (1988-89, 1990-91).
Postseason record: 22-22 (5th all-time playoff wins).
Notable Suns he coached: Tom Chambers, Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Eddie Johnson, Jeff Hornacek, Dan Majerle, Xavier McDaniel, Tyrone Corbin, Michael Finley.
Case for Fitzsimmons
He had three different stints with the Suns, his best being a four-year run from 1988 to 1992, during which they posted 50-plus wins each season.
Phoenix reached the conference finals in 1989 and 1990, losing to the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively.
Those teams were nicknamed “The Cotton Express” for their high-scoring offenses.
The Suns led the NBA in scoring in 1988-89 at 118.6 points a game and finished second in 1989-90 at 114.9.
Fitzsimmons was known for showing tough love and being a fatherly figure. He earned a reputation for turning around franchises as was the case in his first two stints in Phoenix.
The Suns went from 39 wins in 1969-70 to 48 under Fitzsimmons in 1970-71. Nearly 20 years later, Fitzsimmons took over a Phoenix team that went 28-54 the season before he arrived and posted a 55-27 record in 1988-89.
Fitzsimmons only had one losing season in Phoenix when he started his final season 0-8 in 1996-97. Danny Ainge replaced him and went 40-34.
Mike D’Antoni (2003-08)
Naismith HOF: Yes (2026, contributor).
Suns Ring of Honor: No.
NBA Coach of the Year: Twice (2005 Suns, 2017 Houston Rockets).
Regular season record: 253-136 (Third-most wins).
Most wins in a single season: 62-20 (2004-05).
Postseason record: 26-25 (3rd all-time playoff wins).
Notable Suns he coached: Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa, Joe Johnson, Quentin Richardson, Raja Bell, Grant Hill.
Case for D’Antoni
He coached the Suns to the NBA’s best record in 2004-05 at 62-20 with his ‘Seven Seconds or Less” offense built on playing fast, shooting 3s and small ball.
D’Antoni has the second-highest winning percentage in Suns history at 65%.
Nash won back-to-back NBA MVPs (2005, 2006) playing for D’Antoni.
Phoenix reached the conference finals in back-to-back seasons, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and Dallas Mavericks in 2006.
The Suns won 61 games in 2006-07. They fell to the Spurs in the conference semifinals. San Antonio won the NBA championship in 2005 and 2007.
The Suns led the NBA in scoring three times in D’Antoni’s final four seasons as their head coach. He was interim in 2003-04 in replacing Frank Johnson.
- 2004-05 – 110.4 points a game. (1st in NBA).
- 2005-06 – 108.4 points a game. (1st).
- 2006-07 – 110.2 points a game (1st).
- 2007-08 – 110.1 points a game (3rd).
The Suns lead the NBA in offensive rating from 2004 to 2007 and finished second to the Utah Jazz by 0.1 percentage point in 2007-08.
Monty Williams (2019-23)
Naismith HOF: No.
Suns Ring of Honor: No.
NBA Coach of the Year: Once (2022 Suns).
Regular season record: 194-115 (Fourth-most wins).
Most wins in a single season: 64-18 (2021-22, franchise record).
Postseason record: 27-19 (2nd all-time playoff wins).
Notable Suns he coached: Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr.
Case for Williams
He coached the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals two years after Phoenix won just 19 games the year before he took the job, replacing Igor Kokoskov.
Williams ran a point-5 offense which is designed for players to either pass, drive or shoot the ball in 0.5 seconds. His philosophy was all about playing to the limit on defense, sharing the ball and competing with intensity and discipline.
The Suns went 8-0 in the Orlando Bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic to end Williams’ first year in 2019-20. That set the foundation for their finals run the next season.
Paul teamed up with Booker in a shortened 2020-21 season and Phoenix posted a 51-21 record.
Phoenix topped LeBron James and the defending NBA champion Lakers in the fist round, swept the Denver Nuggets led by NBA MVP Nikola Jokic in the conference semifinals and took down the Los Angeles Clippers in the conference finals.
The Suns lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the finals, 4-2.
Phoenix followed that up with a historic 64-win season under Williams. The Suns won a franchise-record 18 consecutive games after starting 1-3.
Posting the NBA’s best record that season, Phoenix lost to the Mavs in the conference semifinals in seven games.
Williams went 45-37 in his final season, losing to the Nuggets in the 2023 conference semifinals. Denver won the NBA championship that season.
Williams has the second-highest playoff winning percentage in franchise history at 58.7%.
Paul Westphal (1992-96)
Naismith HOF: Yes (2019, player).
Suns Ring of Honor: Yes (1989, player).
NBA Coach of the Year: No.
Regular season record: 191-88 (Fifth-most wins in Suns history).
Most wins in a single season: 62-20 (1992-93).
Playoff record: 25-19 (4th all-time in playoff wins).
Notable Suns he coached: Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Danny Ainge, Cedric Ceballos, Mark West, A.C. Green, Danny Manning, Wesley Person.
Case for Westphal
He coached the Suns to the NBA’s best record in his first season as head coach in 1992-93 after serving as an assistant under Fitzsimmons. Barkley, who was traded to the Suns prior to that season, won his one NBA MVP playing for Westphal that season.
Phoenix led the NBA in scoring in 1992-93 at 113.4 points a game, ranking first in offensive rating.
The Suns valued paint touches and 3s under Westphal, who coached in Phoenix with fun, flair, creativity and a fearlessness that resonated with his players.
Westphal has the highest winning percentage in franchise history at 68.5%.
The Suns defeated the Lakers, Spurs and Sonics in their postseason run to the 1993 finals. They fell to Michael Jordan and the three-peat Chicago Bulls in the finals.
He coached the Phoenix to 50-plus victories in each of the next two seasons.. The Suns fell to the eventual NBA champion Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals in 1994 and 1995 as both series went seven games.
Westphal started the 1996-97 season 14-19 before Fitzsimmons replaced him.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Vote: Who was the Phoenix Suns all-time greatest head coach?
