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I’ve always wanted to purchase and play one of the NBA2K games ever since I played a demo at Summer League a few years ago. For one reason or another I never got around to it, but I thought this might finally be the year. Why? The all-time Phoenix Suns franchise roster.
I was stoked at the idea of a Steve Nash, Walter Davis, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire Alvan Adams line-up. There’s just one problem. Here’s the roster (with ratings):
Starters:
- Steve Nash (96)
- Paul Westphal (88)
- Shawn Marion (90)
- Tom Chambers (89)
- Amar’e Stoudemire (91)
Reserves:
- Dennis Johnson (92)
- Kevin Johnson (90)
- Jason Kidd (88)
- Connie Hawkins (88)
- Larry Nance (88)
- Dan Majerle (87)
- Jeff Hornacek (86)
- Goran Dragic (86)
- Leandro Barbosa (84)
- Cedric Ceballos (84)
No Walter Davis. No Alvan Adams.*
This is a travesty.
Walter Davis is the Suns all-time leading scorer and 6-time All-Star.
Alvan Adams is the Suns all-time leading rebounder, played every minute of his pro career with Phoenix and is still currently with the team.
They are both in the top 5 of nearly every statistical category worth counting in Suns’ history.
It does not get any more “all-time” for the Phoenix Suns than these two guys.
Instead, the 2K team saw fit to include Jeff Hornacek (fine, I guess), part time starters Leandro Barbosa & Cedric Ceballos, and Goran Dragic, who recently asked not to be a Phoenix Sun anymore. Even Dennis Johnson is a weird inclusion ahead of Walter Davis, though at least he made a couple of All-Star games in his 3 seasons in Phoenix.
And without Adams, this Suns roster has exactly zero centers. Yes, Adams was only 6’9”, but he was the man in the middle for nearly his entire career.
So, let’s say we throw out the bottom 3 (Barbosa, Dragic and Ceballos) and include Davis and Adams. Who does that third roster spot go to?
I think you can make arguments for a handful of guys, but due to the serious lack of bigs on this team, and my own fanaticism, I’m including Mark West. It seems only right that the #2 man in franchise minutes at center backs up #1.
Who’s your 15th man?
*There’s also no Charles Barkley, but that’s a contractual likeness issue, so I’m not going to harp on that.