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The moment you’ve all been waiting for: Deciding which Suns flounderer deserves the chance to climb to the pinnacle of the “Titleless” bracket.
You’re all going to help us decide. Before you vote, though, here’s a quick reminder of who’s eligible.
1975-76: This is the team where you’ve got Gar Heard, Alvan Adams and Paul Westphal in what might be John MacLeod’s best coaching performance ever. This Suns team finished 42-40 in the regular season but nearly won the title. Mike Prada placed them in the Overachiever Region for good reason.
1989-90: Another Overachiever selection that busted into the conference finals thanks to the best season of Tom Chambers’ career, a glorious peak Kevin Johnson year, and tremendous scoring from Jeff Hornacek and Eddie Johnson. Fun times.
1992-93: Chuck arrives and changes everything. Prada put them in the Not Good Enough Region, which I suppose is fair, since they fell in six games to one of the best Jordan Bulls teams. But you had a great Dan Majerle season, KJ turning it on in the playoffs, and Westphal proving he was just as good — if not better — as a coach than a player.
2004-05: Truly a depressing team to revisit. (For the record, this would be my vote, and I might just overrule you guys completely if you get silly about this.) Everyone knows the story: Steve Nash comes in, wins the MVP, makes Mike D’Antoni’s dreams come true, and takes the Shawn Marion-Amar’e Stoudemire Suns to the next level. San Antonio devastates them in the conference finals after an injury to Joe Johnson.
There you have it. But really quick before you vote, I can’t end this post without shouting out Prada, who was put on the three-month furlough list by Vox Media this week along with many of his extremely hardworking and talented colleagues at SB Nation. I’ve had a ton of fun giving the local side of Prada’s awesome “Titleless” series the past week or so, and am looking forward to continuing to do so next week.
We don’t know what comes next for the NBA (or, let’s be honest) the world right now, but I know for certain that Prada’s insightful commentary on the league will be missed until he comes back onto the scene, and taking Prada away from SB Nation’s NBA coverage is a truly gutting move. A tip of the hat to a dude who, in many ways, made everything we do on this site and across our network possible.
Now vote!
Poll
Which "Titleless" Suns team should move on to the finals?
This poll is closed
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4%
1975-76 and the Shot Heard ‘Round the World
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2%
1989-90 and the best of TC and KJ
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36%
1992-93 and Chuck’s greatest season
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56%
2004-05 and the birth of Seven Seconds or Less