One of the unfortunate realities of being a Phoenix Suns fan is that whenever history enters the conversation, especially anything tied to championships or monumental moments, the Suns always seem to find themselves on the wrong side of it. As much as we try to outrun the past, we are constantly reminded that the Suns are a franchise that has accumulated 2,510 wins, owns the fifth-best winning percentage in NBA history at .535, and still has never won a championship.
On Friday night, we received another
reminder. A reminder of a history that has never included the Suns winning the final game of an NBA season.
As the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs battle in the 2026 NBA Finals, the Spurs have become only the third team in league history to fall behind 0-2 in the Finals after winning Game 1 on the road. And the first team to ever find itself in that position? You guessed it. The Phoenix Suns.
The Phoenix Suns made their second NBA Finals appearance in 1993 behind an MVP season from Charles Barkley, posting a league-best 62-20 record, the same mark the San Antonio Spurs finished with this season. After surviving a seven-game battle with the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals, much like San Antonio recently did against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix earned home-court advantage and hosted the first two games of the NBA Finals.
The difference? The Suns ran into Michael Jordan. While the New York Knicks don’t have their own version of Jordan standing across from them, the Suns had to deal with the real thing, along with a Chicago Bulls team chasing its third consecutive championship.
And things started poorly. Phoenix dropped both games at home at America West Arena, immediately falling into a 0-2 hole. Game 1 saw the Suns lose 100-92 despite 21 points and 11 rebounds from Charles Barkley and 20 and 12 from Richard Dumas. Barkley scored 42 points in Game 2, but so did Jordan, as Chicago won 111-108.
To their credit, the Suns fought back. They won a thrilling triple-overtime Game 3 and eventually pushed the series to Game 6, earning one more opportunity on their home floor to extend the Finals. It wasn’t enough. They lost Game 6 at home, and with it their championship hopes.
What Phoenix ultimately ran into was arguably the greatest Finals performance of Jordan’s career. Across the six-game series, he averaged 41.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. As great as that Suns team was, and as magical as that season felt, the greatest player in the world simply wasn’t going to be denied.
One of the reasons I look forward to summer is that there are fewer lines of demarcation reminding Suns fans where the franchise stands historically. Of course, then there’s the draft. The Phoenix Suns have had only one No. 1 overall pick in franchise history. We all know how that turned out.
There’s something unique about being a Suns fan. It takes a certain mentality to survive all of the near misses, heartbreaks, and historical reminders that seem to pop up every time the NBA decides to celebrate something significant.
We’ll see if the San Antonio Spurs can avoid the fate that befell Phoenix, who were later joined by the Orlando Magic in 1995 as the only teams to lose the first two games of an NBA Finals at home. Maybe San Antonio can reverse the trend. I’d be lying if I said I was rooting for that outcome.
As a Suns fan, I’m clearly pulling for the New York Knicks. Part of that is historical grudges that will never dissipate. Part of that is because I’d like to see Mikal Bridges finally get one. He’s been up 2-0 in a series before, just like he is now, and watched it slip away. I’d like to see this one end differently. And sure, it wouldn’t hurt to see Landry Shamet get a ring too.
We’ll see what the Spurs can do on Monday, as the NBA Finals continue at 5:30pm on ABC, this time from Madison Square Garden.
