2004–05 Phoenix Suns season

2004–05 Phoenix Suns season
Division Champions
Head coach	Mike D'Antoni
General manager	Bryan Colangelo
Owner(s)	Robert Sarver
Arena	America West Arena
Results
Record	62–20 (.756)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost in Conference Finals to San Antonio (1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	KTAR

The 2004–05 Phoenix Suns season was the 37th for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns finished with the best record in the NBA at 62–20 under head coach Mike D'Antoni. The Suns sent three players to the All-Star Game, in Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion. The Suns gained from solid play from guards Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson. Nash finished the season averaging 11.5 assists per game while making 50.2% of his field goals and 43.1% of his three-pointers in the regular season, he ended up winning the MVP award. D'Antoni was awarded Coach of the Year and Bryan Colangelo Executive of the Year.

The team's season roster is featured in the video game NBA 2K16.^[1]

After spending four and a half seasons in Phoenix, Joe Johnson left the team after the season and signed with the Atlanta Hawks.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	7	Luol Deng	Forward	United Kingdom	Duke

Head coach Mike D'Antoni

The Suns drafted Luol Deng with the 7th pick, who was immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls for second-round pick Jackson Vroman and a 2005 first-round pick. The Suns received the 16th pick (Kirk Snyder) in a trade with the New York Knicks, but traded the pick to the Utah Jazz. The Suns second-round pick was traded to the Orlando Magic in 2003.

Free agency

After trading Stephon Marbury (owed $76 million through 2008–09) and Penny Hardaway (owed $30.4 million through 2005–06), the Suns freed enough cap space to sign free agent point guard Steve Nash to a 6-year, $65.6 million deal, with a sixth-year team option, and swingman Quentin Richardson to a 6-year, $43.5 million deal, with a sixth-year player option. The Suns also signed Steven Hunter, Yuta Tabuse and Derrick Dial as free agents. Hunter played the season as a back-up center, Tabuse played 4 games before being waived in December, and Dial was waived before the start of the season.

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From G 10 Barbosa, Leandro 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1982-11-28 Brazil C 45 Hunter, Steven 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1981-10-31 DePaul G 21 Jackson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1970-10-14 Ohio State G 2 Johnson, Joe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1981-06-29 Arkansas F 31 Marion, Shawn (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978-05-07 UNLV F 0 McCarty, Walter 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1974-02-01 Kentucky G 13 Nash, Steve (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1974-02-07 Santa Clara F 46 Outlaw, Bo 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1971-04-13 Houston G/F 3 Richardson, Quentin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 223 lb (101 kg) 1980-04-13 DePaul F 17 Shirley, Paul 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1977-12-23 Iowa State F/C 32 Stoudemire, Amar'e (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1982-11-16 Cypress Creek HS C 43 Voskuhl, Jake 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1977-11-01 Connecticut	Head coach Mike D'Antoni (Marshall) Assistant coach(es) Alvin Gentry (Appalachian State) Marc Iavaroni (Virginia) Todd Quinter (Lebanon Valley) Phil Weber (North Carolina State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Amar'e Stoudemire	Steven Hunter	Jake Voskuhl
PF	Shawn Marion	Walter McCarty	Bo Outlaw Paul Shirley
SF	Joe Johnson
SG	Quentin Richardson	Jim Jackson
PG	Steve Nash	Leandro Barbosa

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Phoenix Suns	62	20	.756	–	31–10	31–10	12–4
x-Sacramento Kings	50	32	.610	12	30–11	20–21	10–6
Los Angeles Clippers	37	45	.451	25	27–14	10–31	6–10
Los Angeles Lakers	34	48	.415	28	22–19	12–29	6–10
Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	28	20–21	14–27	6–10

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Phoenix Suns	62	20	.756	—
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	59	23	.720	3
3	y-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	10
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	58	24	.707	4
5	x-Houston Rockets	51	31	.622	11
6	x-Sacramento Kings	50	32	.610	12
7	x-Denver Nuggets	49	33	.598	13
8	x-Memphis Grizzlies	45	37	.549	17
9	Minnesota Timberwolves	44	38	.537	18
10	Los Angeles Clippers	37	45	.451	25
11	Los Angeles Lakers	34	48	.415	28
12	Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	28
13	Portland Trail Blazers	27	55	.329	35
14	Utah Jazz	26	56	.317	36
15	New Orleans Hornets	18	64	.220	44

Playoffs

Game log

2005 playoff game log
First Round: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 Memphis W 114–103 Shawn Marion (26) Shawn Marion (13) Steve Nash (13) America West Arena 18,422 1–0 2 April 27 Memphis W 108–103 Amar'e Stoudemire (34) Shawn Marion (13) Steve Nash (15) America West Arena 18,422 2–0 3 April 29 @ Memphis W 110–90 Amar'e Stoudemire (30) Shawn Marion (13) Steve Nash (8) FedExForum 18,119 3–0 4 May 1 @ Memphis W 123–115 Joe Johnson (25) Shawn Marion (11) Steve Nash (9) FedExForum 17,243 4–0
Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 9 Dallas W 127–102 Amar'e Stoudemire (40) Amar'e Stoudemire (16) Steve Nash (13) America West Arena 18,422 1–0 2 May 11 Dallas L 106–108 Amar'e Stoudemire (30) Amar'e Stoudemire (16) Steve Nash (13) America West Arena 18,422 1–1 3 May 13 @ Dallas W 119–102 Amar'e Stoudemire (37) Amar'e Stoudemire (14) Steve Nash (17) American Airlines Center 20,896 2–1 4 May 15 @ Dallas L 109–119 Steve Nash (48) Shawn Marion (12) Steve Nash (5) American Airlines Center 20,894 2–2 5 May 18 Dallas W 114–108 Steve Nash (34) Amar'e Stoudemire (18) Steve Nash (12) America West Arena 18,422 3–2 6 May 20 @ Dallas W 130–126 (OT) Steve Nash (39) Shawn Marion (16) Steve Nash (12) American Airlines Center 20,915 4–2
Conference Finals: 1–4 (Home: 0–3; Road: 1–1) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 22 San Antonio L 114–121 Amar'e Stoudemire (41) Shawn Marion, Amar'e Stoudemire (9) Steve Nash (13) America West Arena 18,422 0–1 2 May 24 San Antonio L 108–111 Amar'e Stoudemire (37) Shawn Marion (12) Steve Nash (15) America West Arena 18,422 0–2 3 May 28 @ San Antonio L 92–102 Amar'e Stoudemire (34) Amar'e Stoudemire (11) Joe Johnson, Steve Nash (3) SBC Center 18,797 0–3 4 May 30 @ San Antonio W 111–106 Amar'e Stoudemire (31) Shawn Marion (14) Steve Nash (12) SBC Center 18,797 1–3 5 June 1 San Antonio L 95–101 Amar'e Stoudemire (42) Amar'e Stoudemire (16) Steve Nash (10) America West Arena 18,422 1–4
2005 playoff schedule

Awards and honors

Steve Nash

Amar'e Stoudemire

Shawn Marion

Week/Month

• Amar'e Stoudemire was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played November 14 through November 20.
• Shawn Marion was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played November 21 through November 27.
• Amar'e Stoudemire was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played December 5 through December 11.
• Shawn Marion was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played December 12 through December 18.
• Steve Nash was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played December 19 through December 25.
• Steve Nash was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played February 6 through February 12.
• Steve Nash was named Western Conference Player of the Month for November.
• Amar'e Stoudemire was named Western Conference Player of the Month for April.
• Mike D'Antoni was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for December.

All-Star

• Steve Nash was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his third All-Star selection. Nash finished third in the All-Star voting among Western Conference guards with 1,148,275 votes.
• Amar'e Stoudemire was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection. Stoudemire finished fifth in the All-Star voting among Western Conference forwards with 640,370 votes.
• Shawn Marion was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his second All-Star selection. Marion finished eighth in the All-Star voting among Western Conference forwards with 264,203 votes.
• Amar'e Stoudemire was the runner-up in the Slam Dunk Contest, losing to champion Josh Smith. This was the only All-Star Saturday competition not won by Phoenix.
• Quentin Richardson won the Three-Point Shootout.
• Steve Nash won the Skills Challenge competition with a time of 25.8 seconds.
• Team Phoenix, consisting of Shawn Marion, Diana Taurasi and Dan Majerle, won the Shooting Stars Competition.

Season

• Steve Nash received the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
• Mike D'Antoni received the NBA Coach of the Year Award.
• Bryan Colangelo received the NBA Executive of the Year Award.
• Steve Nash was named to the All-NBA First Team.
• Amar'e Stoudemire was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Stoudemire also finished 9th in MVP voting, and 7th in Most Improved Player voting.
• Shawn Marion was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Marion also finished 14th in MVP voting, 5th in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and 22nd in Most Improved Player voting.
• Joe Johnson finished 20th in Most Improved Player voting.
• Steve Nash led the league in assists per game, with an 11.5 average.
• Quentin Richardson led the league (with Kyle Korver) in three-point field goals with 226.

Injuries/Missed games

• 11/01/04: Žarko Čabarkapa: Knee tendinitis; placed on injured list until December 7
• 11/08/04: Yuta Tabuse: Strained quadriceps; placed on injured list until December 10
• 11/10/04: Leandro Barbosa: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 11/13/04: Jake Voskuhl: Flu; did not play
• 11/16/04: Leandro Barbosa: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 12/03/04: Maciej Lampe: Flu; did not play
• 12/07/04: Jackson Vroman: Strained groin; placed on injured list until December 18
• 12/10/04: Jake Voskuhl: Appendectomy; placed on injured list until January 3
• 01/02/05: Leandro Barbosa: Chicken pox; did not play
• 01/04/05: Leandro Barbosa: Chicken pox; did not play
• 01/05/05: Leandro Barbosa: Chicken pox; did not play
• 01/10/05: Leandro Barbosa: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until February 4
• 01/15/05: Steve Nash: Bruised thigh; did not play
• 01/17/05: Steve Nash: Bruised thigh; did not play
• 01/19/05: Steve Nash: Back spasms; did not play
• 02/14/05: Jim Jackson: Sprained foot; did not play
• 02/23/05: Steve Nash; Strained hamstring; did not play
• 02/26/05: Steve Nash; Strained hamstring; did not play
• 02/27/05: Steve Nash; Strained hamstring; did not play
• 03/05/05: Quentin Richardson; Hyperextended knee; did not play
• 03/11/05: Shawn Marion: Bruised knee; did not play
• 03/18/05: Jake Voskuhl: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 03/20/05: Walter McCarty: Back spasms; did not play
• 03/28/05: Amar'e Stoudemire: Ankle inflammation; did not play
• 03/30/05: Amar'e Stoudemire: Ankle inflammation; did not play
• 04/01/05: Walter McCarty: Personal reasons; did not play
• 04/03/05: Walter McCarty: Personal reasons; did not play
• 04/12/05: Quentin Richardson: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 04/15/05: Quentin Richardson: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 04/20/05: Steve Nash: Did not play
• 05/11/05: Joe Johnson: Fractured orbital bone, mild concussion; placed on injured list until May 28

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Leandro Barbosa	63	6	17.3	.475	.367	.797	2.1	2.0	0.5	0.1	7.0
Žarko Čabarkapa*	3	0	3.7	.571†	.	1.000^	1.0	0.0	.0	.0	3.0
Steven Hunter	76	3	13.8	.614†	.000	.479	3.0	0.2	0.1	1.3	4.6
Jim Jackson*	40	3	24.9	.435	.459	.960^	3.9	2.4	0.3	0.1	8.8
Casey Jacobsen*	40	0	19.2	.414	.382	.774	1.7	0.9	0.3	.0	5.3
Joe Johnson	82	82	39.5	.461	.478+	.750	5.1	3.5	1.0	0.3	17.1
Maciej Lampe*	16	0	7.4	.347	.667+	.667	2.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	2.8
Shawn Marion	81	81	38.8	.476	.334	.833	11.3	1.9	2.0	1.5	19.4
Walter McCarty*	28	0	12.6	.388	.385	.500	2.2	0.4	0.4	0.2	3.5
Steve Nash	75	75	34.3	.502	.431	.887^	3.3	11.5	1.0	0.1	15.5
Bo Outlaw	39	0	5.5	.353	.	.556	1.4	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.7
Smush Parker*	5	0	6.8	.467	.250	.	0.6	0.8	0.4	.0	3.0
Quentin Richardson	79	78	35.9	.389	.358	.739	6.1	2.0	1.2	0.3	14.9
Paul Shirley	9	0	3.3	.455	.	.500	0.2	0.3	.0	.0	1.3
Amar'e Stoudemire	80	80	36.1	.559†	.188	.733	8.9	1.6	1.0	1.6	26.0
Yuta Tabuse	4	0	4.3	.167	1.000+	1.000^	1.0	0.8	.0	.0	1.8
Jake Voskuhl	38	1	9.5	.458	.	.684	2.4	0.4	0.1	0.3	2.1
Jackson Vroman*	10	1	5.7	.375	.	.571	1.3	0.7	0.3	0.2	1.6

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
+ – Minimum 55 three-pointers made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Leandro Barbosa	12	0	9.7	.343	.400	.500	1.4	1.0	0.2	.0	2.5
Steven Hunter	15	0	14.2	.558	.	.600	2.5	0.2	0.1	1.2	4.2
Jim Jackson	15	6	31.6	.488	.516	.875	4.1	1.5	0.7	0.5	11.0
Joe Johnson	9	9	39.4	.504	.556	.697	4.3	3.3	1.1	0.4	18.8
Shawn Marion	15	15	42.3	.484	.419	.769	11.8	1.5	1.4	1.7	17.6
Walter McCarty	8	0	6.9	.222	.333	.000	0.8	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.8
Steve Nash	15	15	40.7	.520	.389	.919	4.8	11.3	0.9	0.2	23.9
Bo Outlaw	1	0	2.0	.000	.	.	0.0	1.0	1.0	.0	0.0
Quentin Richardson	15	15	37.6	.403	.390	.639	5.1	1.7	1.3	0.2	11.9
Paul Shirley	0	0	0.0	.	.	.	0.0	0.0	.0	.0	0.0
Amar'e Stoudemire	15	15	40.1	.539	.000	.781	10.7	1.2	0.7	2.0	29.9
Jake Voskuhl	0	0	0.0	.	.	.	0.0	0.0	.0	.0	0.0

Transactions

Trades

June 22, 2004	To Charlotte Bobcats---- 2005 first-round draft pick ( Sean May)	To Phoenix Suns---- Charlotte agrees to draft Jahidi White in 2004 NBA Expansion Draft
June 24, 2004	To Chicago Bulls---- Luol Deng	To Phoenix Suns---- Jackson Vroman 2005 first-round draft pick ( Nate Robinson)
January 3, 2005	To Golden State Warriors---- Žarko Čabarkapa	To Phoenix Suns---- 2007 second-round draft pick ( Aaron Gray) 2009 second-round draft pick ( DeJuan Blair)
January 21, 2005	To New Orleans Hornets---- Casey Jacobsen Maciej Lampe Jackson Vroman	To Phoenix Suns---- Jim Jackson 2005 second-round draft pick ( Marcin Gortat)
February 8, 2005	To Boston Celtics---- 2007 second-round draft pick ( Aaron Gray)	To Phoenix Suns---- Walter McCarty

Free agents

Additions Date Player Signed Former Team July 14, 2004 Steve Nash Signed 6-year contract for $65.6 million Dallas Mavericks July 29, 2004 Quentin Richardson Signed 6-year contract $43.5 million Los Angeles Clippers August 20, 2004 Steven Hunter Signed 1-year contract for $720,046 Orlando Magic September 7, 2004 Yuta Tabuse Signed multi-year contract Long Beach Jam (NBA D-League) October 1, 2004 Derrick Dial Undisclosed Orlando Magic November 8, 2004 Bo Outlaw Signed 1-year contract for $1.1 million Memphis Grizzlies January 19, 2005 Smush Parker Signed two 10-day contracts Aris Thessaloniki (Greece) January 23, 2005 Paul Shirley Signed 2-year contract Chicago Bulls Subtractions Date Player Reason Left New Team June 22, 2004 Jahidi White Expansion Draft Charlotte Bobcats July 16, 2004 Antonio McDyess Free agent Detroit Pistons October 22, 2004 Donnell Harvey Free agent Atlanta Hawks October 26, 2004 Derrick Dial Waived Anaheim Arsenal (NBA D-League) October 29, 2004 Howard Eisley Waived Utah Jazz December 19, 2004 Yuta Tabuse Waived Bakersfield Jam (NBA D-League) February 8, 2005 Smush Parker Waived Los Angeles Lakers References Lelinwalla, Mark (September 11, 2015). "'NBA 2K16': All The Classic Teams Announced". Tech Times. Retrieved April 16, 2016.