1982–83 Phoenix Suns season

1982–83 Phoenix Suns season
Head coachJohn MacLeod
General managerJerry Colangelo
OwnersKarl Eller, Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, Richard L. Bloch
ArenaArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record53–29 (.646)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Pacific)
Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Nuggets 1–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionKNXV
RadioKTAR

The 1982–83 Phoenix Suns season was the 15th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns were in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, extending a then-franchise record. The Suns were eliminated in the first round two games to one by the Denver Nuggets, a team they had beaten by the same margin a year earlier. The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Walter Davis led the Suns in scoring with 19 points per game. Second-year player Larry Nance, who finished the season fourth in the NBA in blocks per game, was second in team scoring at 16.7, while fellow big man Maurice Lucas averaged a double-double with 16.5 points and 10.4 rebounds a contest. Lucas, a 30-year-old veteran who had played for four NBA teams and one ABA team before reaching the Suns, returned to his first All-Star Game after two seasons when he suited up with Phoenix. Point guard Dennis Johnson earned another spot on the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1982 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 15 David Thirdkill Forward  United States Bradley
2 39 Kevin Magee Forward  United States UC Irvine
3 61 Charles Pittman Forward  United States Maryland
4 86 Rory White Forward  United States South Alabama
5 108 Marvin McCrary Guard  United States Missouri
6 130 Jake Bethany Center  United States Hardin–Simmons
7 155 Phil Ward Guard  United States North Carolina Charlotte
8 177 Rick Elrod Guard  United States Georgetown (KY)
9 199 Ken Lyles Forward  United States Washington
10 221 Dale Wilkinson Center  United States Idaho State

Roster

1982–83 Phoenix Suns roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
C 33 Alvan Adams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1954-07-19 Oklahoma
G 6 Walter Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1954-09-09 North Carolina
C 53 James Edwards 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1955-11-22 Washington
G 11 Johnny High 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1957-04-25 Nevada
G 24 Dennis Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954-09-18 Pepperdine
F/C 50 Joel Kramer 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 1955-11-30 San Diego State
F 20 Maurice Lucas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952-02-18 Marquette
G 4 Kyle Macy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1957-04-09 Kentucky
F 22 Larry Nance 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1959-02-12 Clemson
F 32 Charles Pittman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1958-03-23 Maryland
F 14 Alvin Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955-09-14 Oral Roberts
F 40 David Thirdkill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1960-04-12 Bradley
F 7 Rory White 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1959-08-16 South Alabama
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 – 33–8 25–16 21–9
x- 53 29 .646 5 32–9 21–20 21–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics 48 34 .585 10 29–12 19–22 14–16
x-Portland Trail Blazers 46 36 .561 12 31–10 15–26 16–14
Golden State Warriors 30 52 .366 28 21–20 9–32 11–19
San Diego Clippers 25 57 .305 33 18–23 7–34 7–23
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 53 29 .646 5
3 x- 53 29 .646 5
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics 48 34 .585 10
5 x-Portland Trail Blazers 46 36 .561 12
6 x-Denver Nuggets 45 37 .549 13
7 Kansas City Kings 45 37 .549 13
8 Dallas Mavericks 38 44 .463 20
9 Utah Jazz 30 52 .366 28
9 Golden State Warriors 30 52 .366 28
11 San Diego Clippers 25 57 .305 33
12 Houston Rockets 14 68 .171 44

Record vs. opponents

1982–83 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta — 1–5 5–1 6–0 1–1 1–1 3–3 0–2 2–0 6–0 0–2 0–2 1–4 2–4 3–2 2–4 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 4–2
Boston 5–1 — 3–2 5–1 2–0 2–0 3–3 1–1 2–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 3–3 5–1 3–3 3–3 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–3
Chicago 1–5 2–3 — 5–1 1–1 1–1 2–4 2–0 1–1 4–2 0–2 0–2 1–5 2–4 1–4 1–5 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–5
Cleveland 0–6 1–5 1–5 — 2–0 0–2 1–5 2–0 2–0 5–1 1–1 0–2 1–5 0–6 1–5 0–5 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 3–2
Dallas 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 — 3–3 2–0 3–2 5–1 2–0 3–3 2–3 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 2–3 3–2 2–4 5–0 2–3 2–4 0–2
Denver 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 3–3 — 2–0 4–1 5–1 1–1 3–3 1–4 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–2 4–1 2–3 2–4 3–2 3–2 4–2 1–1
Detroit 3–3 3–3 4–2 5–1 0–2 0–2 — 2–0 2–0 4–2 0–2 0–2 3–3 3–2 1–5 0–6 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 3–2
Golden State 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–3 1–4 0–2 — 3–2 1–1 1–4 1–5 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–4 2–4 1–4 3–3 3–3 3–2 2–0
Houston 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–5 1–5 0–2 2–3 — 2–0 1–5 0–5 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–5 0–5 1–5 2–3 1–4 0–6 1–1
Indiana 0–6 1–4 2–4 1–5 0–2 1–1 2–4 1–1 0–2 — 1–1 0–2 1–5 0–6 3–3 1–4 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–5
Kansas City 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–3 3–3 2–0 4–1 5–1 1–1 — 1–4 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–4 2–3 3–3 4–1 1–4 4–2 2–0
Los Angeles 2–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 3–2 4–1 2–0 5–1 5–0 2–0 4–1 — 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–2 3–3 3–3 1–4 5–1 5–1 4–1 1–1
Milwaukee 4–1 3–3 5–1 5–1 2–0 0–2 3–3 1–1 2–0 5–1 1–1 0–2 — 3–2 4–2 1–5 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–2 2–0 3–2
New Jersey 4–2 1–5 4–2 6–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 2–0 1–1 6–0 1–1 1–1 2–3 — 4–2 3–3 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–2
New York 2–3 3–3 4–1 5–1 2–0 2–0 5–1 1–1 2–0 3–3 1–1 0–2 2–4 2–4 — 1–5 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 4–2
Philadelphia 4–2 3–3 5–1 5–0 2–0 2–0 6–0 2–0 2–0 4–1 2–0 2–0 5–1 3–3 5–1 — 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 4–2
Phoenix 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0 3–2 1–4 1–1 4–2 5–0 1–1 4–1 3–3 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 — 5–1 3–2 4–2 5–1 5–0 0–2
Portland 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–3 3–2 1–1 4–2 5–0 2–0 3–2 3–3 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–5 — 2–3 5–1 3–3 3–2 1–1
San Antonio 2–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 4–2 4–2 1–1 4–1 5–1 2–0 3–3 4–1 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–3 3–2 — 4–1 1–4 5–1 2–0
San Diego 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–5 2–3 1–1 3–3 3–2 1–1 1–4 1–5 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–4 1–5 1–4 — 0–6 2–3 0–2
Seattle 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–2 2–3 2–0 3–3 4–1 1–1 4–1 1–5 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–5 3–3 4–1 6–0 — 5–0 1–1
Utah 0–2 0–2 1–1 2–0 4–2 2–4 2–0 2–3 6–0 0–2 2–4 1–4 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–5 2–3 1–5 3–2 0–5 — 0–2
Washington 2–4 3–3 5–1 2–3 2–0 1–1 2–3 0–2 1–1 5–1 0–2 1–1 3–3 3–3 2–4 2–4 2–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 —

Playoffs

Game log

1983 playoff game log
First Round: 1–2 (home: 1–1; road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 19 Denver W 121–108 Dennis Johnson (28) Dennis Johnson (12) Dennis Johnson (8) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
11,901 		1–0
2 April 21 @ Denver L 99–113 Walter Davis (31) James Edwards (9) Dennis Johnson (5) McNichols Sports Arena
15,903 		1–1
3 April 24 Denver L 112–117 (OT) Walter Davis (29) Larry Nance (12) Alvan Adams (9) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
14,660 		1–2
1983 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

  • Maurice Lucas was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. Lucas finished first in voting among Western Conference forwards with 431,288 votes. It was his fifth All-Star selection.
  • The other Suns player receiving All-Star votes was Dennis Johnson (306,470).

Season

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season

Phoenix Suns statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Alvan Adams 80 75 30.6 .486 .333 .829 6.9 4.7 1.4 .9 14.2
Jeff Cook* 45 2 12.2 .430 .000 .759 2.9 1.3 .3 .3 3.6
Walter Davis 80 79 31.1 .516 .304 .818 2.5 5.0 1.5 .2 19.0
James Edwards* 16 1 17.8 .487 . .660 3.7 1.7 .3 .3 8.8
Johnny High 82 2 14.1 .461 .200 .463 1.8 1.9 1.0 .4 3.2
Dennis Johnson 77 74 33.1 .462 .161 .791 4.4 5.0 1.3 .5 14.2
Joel Kramer 54 4 8.5 .423 .000 .875^ 1.6 0.7 .3 .1 1.9
Maurice Lucas 77 71 33.6 .474 .333 .781 10.4 2.8 .7 .6 16.5
Kyle Macy 82 9 22.4 .517 .303 .872^ 2.0 3.4 .8 .1 9.9
Larry Nance 82 82 35.5 .550 .333 .672 8.7 2.4 1.2 2.6 16.7
Charles Pittman 28 0 6.1 .475 .000 .676 1.1 0.3 .1 .3 2.3
Alvin Scott 81 9 14.1 .479 .000 .736 2.8 1.2 .6 .4 4.1
David Thirdkill 49 2 10.6 .435 .143 .577 1.5 0.7 .4 .1 4.0
Rory White 65 0 9.6 .543 .000 .642 1.6 0.5 .2 .0 5.0

* – Stats with the Suns.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

Phoenix Suns statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Alvan Adams 3 3 28.0 .469 . .714 6.0 4.7 .7 1.7 11.7
Walter Davis 3 3 37.7 .435 .500 .810 5.0 4.3 2.0 1.7 26.0
James Edwards 3 0 18.0 .423 . 1.000 6.0 1.3 .3 .3 9.3
Johnny High 3 0 15.0 .455 .000 .000 3.3 2.0 1.0 .3 3.3
Dennis Johnson 3 3 36.0 .458 .000 .833 7.7 5.7 1.7 .7 18.0
Joel Kramer 2 0 3.0 .000 . . 0.0 0.0 .0 .0 0.0
Maurice Lucas 2 2 28.5 .571 . .500 6.0 4.0 1.5 .0 13.0
Kyle Macy 3 0 24.0 .429 .000 .714 2.7 3.0 .3 .0 11.7
Larry Nance 3 3 34.3 .400 . .800 8.3 1.0 1.0 2.0 12.0
Charles Pittman 1 0 1.0 . . . 0.0 0.0 .0 .0 0.0
Alvin Scott 3 1 20.7 .462 . 1.000 4.0 1.7 .7 1.7 4.7
Rory White 3 0 13.3 .500 .000 .500 3.3 0.0 .0 .0 5.3

Transactions

Trades

June 21, 1982 To Denver Nuggets
United States Rich Kelley 		To Phoenix Suns
1982 first-round draft pick (United States David Thirdkill)
July 7, 1982 To New York Knicks
United States Truck Robinson 		To Phoenix Suns
United States Maurice Lucas
February 7, 1983---- To Cleveland Cavaliers
United States Jeff Cook
1983 first-round draft pick (United States Roy Hinson)
1983 third-round draft pick (United States Derrick Hord)
Cash considerations
 To Phoenix Suns
United States James Edwards
1983 first-round draft pick (United States Greg Kite)

Free agents

Additions

Date Player Contract Old Team
May 17, 1982 Art Housey Undisclosed
July 7, 1982 Johnny High Undisclosed Phoenix Suns
February 7, 1983 Charles Pittman Undisclosed Phoenix Suns

Subtractions

Date Player Reason left New team
July 1, 1982 Dudley Bradley Waived Chicago Bulls
October 21, 1982 Art Housey Waived
October 28, 1982 Charles Pittman Waived Phoenix Suns
December 21, 1982 Craig Dykema Waived

References

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