Phoenix Suns Flashback Friday: The History of 10

There isn’t much to talk about when August hits the calendar in Phoenix Suns land, or in basketball in general. We’re stuck in the void between seasons, as the NBA Draft and free agency are behind us, and we’re too far away from training camp and the preseason to begin speculation and analyzation.

So what do we talk about? The weather? #OverIt

A lesson in Suns history is always a good place to start. Learning the ins and outs, reflecting on the moments that made us, and remembering players who have donned the purple and orange. Why not, eh?

On the latest edition of the Suns JAM Session podcast, we went down one of those offseason rabbit holes. We didn’t take a wrong turn in Albuquerque, although it felt like we did at times. There's a historical game we like to play, something that we began doing on our third episode back in November of 2019. We discuss every player who has every worn a specific jersey number, talk a bit about their bio and how they performed as a member of the Suns during that time, and then determine who’d we start from the bunch, who we’d sit, and who we’d trade.

Like with all games, we have some rules. We determined that you can’t start, sit, or trade any player who has played less than 50 games for the Suns. You have to log some games if you’re going to be eligible for the conversation. 49 games? Ineleigible!

On our latest episode, we dissected the most worn number in the history of the franchise: jersey number 10. A total of 24 players have chosen to wear the number, which is one more than runner-up jersey number 4 (although when Chimezie Metu plays a minute with the Suns this season, he will be the 24th player to do so in number 4).

Per Basketball-Reference, 419 players have played for the Suns in their 55-year history. Therefore 6% of those players have worn jersey number 10. The list?

• Dick Snyder 1969-1970 (87 GP, 11.9 PTS, 3.9 REB, 2.5 AST)
• Fred Taylor 1971-1972 (67 GP, 4.7 PTS, 0.5, REB, 1.5 AST)
• Jeff Webb 1972 (27 GP, 2.5 PTS, 0.6 REB, 0.6 AST)
• Phil Lumpkin 1976 (34 GP, 2.1 PTS, 0.7 REB, 1.4 AST)
• Don Buse 1978-1980 (245 GP, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 4.4 AST)
• Rod Foster 1984-1986 (207 GP, 7.5 PTS, 1.2 REB, 2.5 AST)
• Greg Grant 1990 (67 GP, 3.1 PTS, 0.5 REB, 2.5 AST)
• Duane Cooper 1994 (23 GP, 2.1 PTS, 0.4 REB, 1.2 AST)
• David Wood 1996 (4 GP, 1 PTS, 0.5 REB, 1.3 AST)
• Dexter Boney 1997 (8 GP, 2.4 PTS, 0.4 REB, 0 AST)
• Sam Cassell 1997 (22 GP, 14.8 PTS, 2.3 REB, 4.5 AST)
• Milt Palacio 2002 (28 GP, 2.8 PTS, 0.8 REB, 1.0 AST)
• Leandro Barbosa 2004-2014 (418 GP, 12.6 PTS, 2.4 REB, 2.6 AST)
• Diante Garrett 2013 (19 GP, 2.1 PTS, 0.8 REB, 1.6 AST)
• Seth Curry 2015 (2 GP, 0 PTS, 0.5 REB, 0 AST)
• Zoran Dragić 2015 (6 GP, 1.0 PTS, 0.5 REB, 0.2 AST)
• Chase Budinger 2016 (17 GP, 3.2 PTS, 1.7 REB, 0.9 AST)
• Sonny Weems 2016 (36 GP, 2.5 PTS, 1.1 REB, 1.3 AST)
• Derrick Jones Jr. 2017-2018 (38 GP, 4.7 PTS, 2.2 REB, 0.4 AST)
• Shaquille Harrison 2018 (23 GP, 6.6 PTS, 2.7 REB, 2.4 AST)
• Emanuel Terry 2019 (2 GP, 4.5 PTS, 3.0 REB, 0.5 AST)
• Ty Jerome 2020 (31 GP, 3.3 PTS, 1.5 REB, 1.4 AST)
• Jalen Smith 2021-2022 (56 GP, 4.1 PTS, 3.1 REB, 0.2 AST)
• Damion Lee 2023 (74 GP, 8.2 PTS, 3.0 REB, 1.3 AST)

You surely have your favorites when you peruse the list, and there may some shockers. Seth Curry had 0 points as a Sun? Derrick Jones only played in 38 games? Who the heck is David Wood?!

The research brought to light some interesting observations, the first of which is overall the number has been rather disappointing. The highest average scorer was the 14.8 points scored by Sam Cassell in 22 games back in ‘97. 3.9 rebounds led the list by Dick Snyder, and 4.5 assists — also in Cassell’s brief stint with the Suns — topped the assist list.

It hasn’t been a number of productivity, as the average number of games played is 64.2 games, with 4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. There hasn’t been much hardware dished out to players in number 10. Don Buse won three All-Defensive First Team awards during his time in Phoenix, and one Sixth Man of the Year award was given to Leandro Barbosa in 2007. That’s about it.

Some fun facts? Sure.

• Jalen Smith is the tallest player to wear #10
• Greg “Water Bug” Grant is the shortest at 5’7”
• Milt Palacio was busted for insurance fraud while working with the Blazers
• Chase Budinger is a professional volleyball player
• David Wood played 34 minutes with the Suns and had 9 fouls
• Phil Lumpkin won five Class 3A Washington State high school titles as a head coach at O’Dea High School
• On November 15, 2014, played with his brother Goran, Marcus Morris, and Markieff Morris, marking the first time two sets of brothers played on the same team and the same time
• Derrick Jones, Jr. lost in the 2017 Slam Dunk finals to Glenn Robinson III

Of the 24 members of the Suns to wear the number, only eight have even played over 50 games with Phoenix. For the purposes of our game, only Dick Snyder, Fred Taylor, Don Buse, Rod Foster, Greg Grant, Leandro Barbosa, Jalen Smith, and Damion Lee were even eligible.

Let’s get to know the eight players who qualify for the SBT Game a little better, which will help you make an informed decision when you vote at the end of the piece!

Dick Snyder

Dick Snyder came to the Suns via the 1968 expansion draft after originally playing with the St. Louis Hawks and was the first Sun to wear the number. A 6’5” shooting guard/small forward, the University of Davidson product played 2 seasons with the Phoenix Suns, highlighted by a 31-point performance on February 21, 1969 against the Chicago Bulls.

Snyder played 13 years in the NBA, winning a ring with the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics, a team that beat the Suns in seven games in the Western Conference Finals. He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

Fred Taylor

A shooting guard from the University of Texas at Rio Grande, Taylor was the 27th overall pick by Phoenix in the 1970 NBA Draft. He played in 67 games for the Suns, averaging 9.3 minutes played. His best game as a Sun was a 21-point performance coming off the bench. He went 9-of-17 from the field in a 1-point loss to the San Diego Rockets on November 28, 1970.

Phoenix traded him to the Cincinnati Royals in December of 1971 for a 1973 third round pick.

Don Buse

Buse was drafted by the Suns in 1972, but chose to play with the ABA’s Indiana Pacers instead. He played there through their merger with the NBA in 1976, and in the fall of 1977 was traded to Phoenix for Ricky Sobers.

While with Phoenix, Buse brought his defensive reputation to the forefront. He earned All-Defensive First Team honors during all three seasons in the Valley. Phoenix sent him back to the Pacers in 1980. He is on the Pacers all-time NBA2K team and a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

Rod Foster

“Rocket Rod” was a terrific free throw shooter at UCLA, shooting 95% from the line in 1982. The Suns took him 28th overall in the 1983 NBA Draft, and he didn’t have the same success. He ultimately shot 76.8% from the line as a pro in the three years he played, all of which were in Phoenix.

He was driving his Jeep in the Arizona desert in March of 1986 when he was involved in an accident, which suffered a compound fracture. The injury ended his basketball career with 207 games played, 35 of which were starts.

Greg Grant

Standing at only 5’7”, Greg Grant was in the NBA for 9 seasons. With a nickname like “Waterbug”, he had to stick around. He started his NBA journey being drafted 52nd overall by the Suns in the 1989 NBA Draft. He played 67 games in his rookie season, starting three when Kevin Johnson was out with an injury.

In one of his starts, which included a starting lineup of Jeff Hornacek, Tom Chambers, Mark West, and Kenny Battle, he dropped a career-high 14 dimes. It wasn’t enough to keep him around, however, and after one year in Phoenix, the team released him.

Leandro Barbosa

Ah, the “Brazilian Blur”.

Originally drafted by the San Antonio Spurs, he was traded to the Suns for a fist round pick. He the Suns record for most points by a rookie in their first start with 27, and he averaged 18.1 points in his fourth season with the team in 2006-07. He earned the Sixth Man of the Year Award for his efforts.

He scored a career-high 41 points against Kevin Durant and OKC Thunder in 2009, but in 2010 he was traded to the Toronto Raptors. He would return in 2016, however, but did so wearing jersey number 19.

Jalen Smith

One of the most conversational draft picks in recent memory, “Stix” was chosen with the 10th pick out of Maryland in the 2020 NBA Draft. The Suns could not find a home for the 6’10” wing, and he rarely saw consistent minutes. While he played in 56 games over a season-and-a-half in Phoenix, he only average 9.6 minutes played.

Damion Lee

The current owner of jersey number 10, Lee had a solid 2022-23 campaign as he shot 44.5% from beyond the arc. Injuries forced him to a more expanded role, which took him out of his comfort zone behind the three-point line. Even as an unrestricted free-agent, he chose to return to Phoenix for the 2023-24 run.

You wanna play? Going by the only rule of our game, that you have to have at least 50 games played to qualify for start, bench, trade, let’s see who you’d put where. Some are subjective. Do you trade someone because you believe you’d receive value in return? Or do your trade the guy you dislike the most? Let us know your “why” is the comments below.

I promise the players will be better next week at we go through a list of players who wore jersey number 20, including Corky Calhoun, Josh Jackson, and Jermaine O’Neal. Thanks for playing, Bright Side. Here’s your prize. Knowledge.

Hope you enjoyed this Flashback Friday!