Five former Suns elected to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

The good times of Phoenix Suns basketball were recognized on Saturday. Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Rick Welts, and Charlie Scott were elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

This is the first time a team has been represented by four players in one Hall of Fame Class.

Steve Nash, everybody knows him. 18 years in the league, 10 with your Suns. Nash was chosen NBA Most Value Player on two occasions and is the all-time franchise leader in assists, three-pointers, three-point shooting percentage, and free throw percentage.

Jason Kidd, you definitely know him. Kidd was with the Suns for parts of five season. He’s the Phoenix leader in triple-doubles, and earned All NBA First Team honors three times. He also might be the future coach of your Suns.

Grant Hill, he was one of your favorites. He was with the Suns for five of his 19 seasons in the NBA. He averaged 13 points at 38 years old while with Phoenix, one of only seven players to score at that clip at that age.

Charlie Scott, you might not know him as well. Scott was with the Suns from 1972 to 1975. In total he spent ten years in the league. In 208 games with the Suns he averaged 24.8 points a game, the highest average in team history.

The inclusion of Rick Welts is interesting and deserved. Welts was team president of the Suns from 2002 to 2011. He’s the guy who game up with the NBA All-Star Weekend concept. He was also heavily influential in marketing the “Dream Team” back in 1992 and helped get the WNBA off the ground.

The four players brings the Suns Hall of Fame total to 10. They join Connie Hawkins, Gail Goodrich, Charles Barkley, Dennis Johnson, Gus Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal. Jerry Colangelo was elected to the Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game in 2004.

Get it on your calendar. Enshrinement is scheduled for Friday, September 7th in Springfield, Massachusetts.