1974–75 Phoenix Suns season

The 1974–75 Phoenix Suns season was the seventh season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns' roster averaged 2.8 years of professional experience, and included four one-year players in addition to three rookies. Coming off a 30–52 season, the Suns only improved by two games, finishing 32–50 under second-year head coach John MacLeod. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

1974–75 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	John MacLeod
General manager	Jerry Colangelo
Owners	Karl Eller, Don Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, Richard L. Bloch
Arena	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	32–50 (.390)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTAR-TV
Radio	KTAR

Coming off an All-Star season, guard/forward Charlie Scott led the Suns in both points and assists with averages of 24.3 and 4.5 a game. For Scott, it was the third and final NBA All-Star Game selection of his career. 31-year-old Dick Van Arsdale, the only player remaining from the Suns' inaugural season roster, was second in scoring with a 16.1 average. Fourth-year forward Curtis Perry enjoyed his first season with Phoenix, posting career-highs in both points and rebounds, averaging 13.4 points and a team-high 11.9 rebounds per game.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1974 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	4	John Shumate	Forward	United States	Notre Dame
2	31	Fred Saunders	Forward	United States	Syracuse
3	40	George Gervin	Guard	United States	Eastern Michigan
3	49	Earl Williams	Center	United States	Winston-Salem State
4	58	Randy Allen	Guard	United States	Indiana (PA)
5	76	Ralph Bobik	Guard	United States	Creighton
6	94	Collis Temple	Forward	United States	Louisiana State
7	112	Clyde Dickey	Guard	United States	Boise State
8	130	Tom Holland	Forward	United States	Oklahoma
9	148	Ted Evans	Forward	United States	Oklahoma
10	165	Mark Wasley	Forward	United States	Arizona State

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From C 21 Awtrey, Dennis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948-02-22 Santa Clara F/C 40 Bantom, Mike 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1951-12-03 Saint Joseph's G/F 14 Erickson, Keith  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA G 32 Hawthorne, Nate 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1950-01-15 Southern Illinois G 24 Jackson, Greg 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1952-08-02 Guilford G 25 Melchionni, Gary 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1951-01-19 Duke G/F 45 Owens, Jim 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1950-05-01 Arizona State F 18 Perry, Curtis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-09-13 Missouri State F 30 Saunders, Fred 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-06-13 Syracuse G 33 Scott, Charlie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-12-15 North Carolina F/C 34 Shumate, John  (IN) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1952-04-06 Notre Dame G/F 5 Van Arsdale, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943-02-22 Indiana F/C 55 Williams, Earl 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1951-03-24 Winston-Salem State	Head coach John MacLeod (Bellarmine) Assistant coach(es) Denny Price (Oklahoma) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Golden State Warriors	48	34	.585	–	31–10	17–24	19–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	5	24–16	19–23	18–12
Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	10	29–13	9–31	16–14
Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	16	22–19	10–31	12–18
Los Angeles Lakers	30	52	.366	18	21–20	9–32	10–20

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Golden State Warriors	48	34	.585	–
2	y-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	1
3	x-Kansas City–Omaha Kings	44	38	.537	4
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	5
5	x-Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	8
6	Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	10
6	Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	10
8	Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	16
9	Los Angeles Lakers	30	52	.366	18

Record vs. opponents

1974–75 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCO	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	3–4	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–5
Boston	4–0	—	5–4	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	4–0	4–0	4–0	7–2	5–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2
Buffalo	3–1	4–5	—	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	1–3	4–0	5–3	6–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2
Chicago	4–0	1–3	3–1	—	2–2	4–5	3–1	2–2	4–5	3–1	3–5	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–3
Cleveland	4–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	—	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	6–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5
Detroit	2–2	1–3	2–2	5–4	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–6	3–1	3–6	4–0	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3
Golden State	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	5–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	5–3	5–3	4–3	1–3
Houston	5–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	3–1	5–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–5
Kansas City-Omaha	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–4	2–2	6–2	2–2	0–4	—	3–1	6–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3
Los Angeles	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	1–3	—	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	4–4	2–5	2–6	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	0–4	3–1	5–3	3–1	6–3	1–3	1–3	3–6	0–4	—	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4
New Orleans	5–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–6	0–4	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–7
New York	4–0	2–7	3–5	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	—	4–5	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	3–5	3–6	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	5–4	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3
Phoenix	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	4–4	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	1–6	4–3	1–3
Portland	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–5	2–2	1–3	5–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	6–1	—	2–6	1–3
Seattle	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	3–4	3–1	3–1	6–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–4	6–2	—	1–3
Washington	5–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–3	3–1	3–1	5–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	7–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	—

Game log

1974–75 game log Total: 32–50 (home: 22–19; road: 10–31)
October: 3–3 (home: 2–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 1 October 17 Seattle W 114–97 Charlie Scott (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,215 1–0 W 1 2 October 19 Kansas City-Omaha L 91–94 Charlie Scott (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,377 1–1 L 1 3 October 23 Detroit W 100–90 Charlie Scott (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,924 2–1 W 1 4 October 25 @ Seattle L 97–106 Gary Melchionni (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,191 2–2 L 1 5 October 27 @ Los Angeles L 116–123 Keith Erickson (29) The Forum 10,579 2–3 L 2 6 October 30 @ Philadelphia W 104–99 Charlie Scott (27) The Spectrum 5,089 3–3 W 1
November: 6–9 (home: 3–3; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 7 November 2 @ Washington L 94–108 Charlie Scott (28) Capital Centre 9,160 3–4 L 1 8 November 3 @ Cleveland L 101–104 Keith Erickson (19) Coliseum at Richfield 7,354 3–5 L 2 9 November 7 @ Atlanta L 108–109 Charlie Scott (31) Omni Coliseum 2,847 3–6 L 3 10 November 8 @ New Orleans W 105–102 Charlie Scott (34) Municipal Auditorium 3,118 4–6 W 1 11 November 9 @ Houston W 101–96 Charlie Scott (32) Hofheinz Pavilion 2,553 5–6 W 2 12 November 13 Philadelphia W 105–100 Charlie Scott (41) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,071 6–6 W 3 13 November 15 Chicago L 95–102 Charlie Scott (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,071 6–7 L 1 14 November 17 Golden State L 105–106 Charlie Scott (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,820 6–8 L 2 15 November 19 @ Milwaukee L 108–122 Charlie Scott (32) MECCA Arena 9,187 6–9 L 3 16 November 20 @ Detroit W 114–106 Charlie Scott (33) Cobo Arena 3,807 7–9 W 1 17 November 22 @ Boston L 94–95 Charlie Scott (27) Boston Garden 13,756 7–10 L 1 18 November 23 @ Buffalo L 104–117 Charlie Scott (23) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 12,743 7–11 L 2 19 November 26 New Orleans Jazz W 120–110 Charlie Scott (31) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,931 8–11 W 1 20 November 28 Portland L 85–88 Charlie Scott (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,461 8–12 L 1 21 November 30 Houston W 112–100 Gary Melchionni (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,187 9–12 W 1
December: 6–6 (home: 6–3; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 22 December 1 @ Los Angeles L 105–111 (OT) Charlie Scott (26) The Forum 10,157 9–13 L 1 23 December 3 Atlanta L 85–91 Charlie Scott (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,019 9–14 L 2 24 December 5 Golden State W 108–106 (2OT) Charlie Scott (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,053 10–14 W 1 25 December 7 Los Angeles W 92–88 Charlie Scott (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,603 11–14 W 2 26 December 8 @ Los Angeles L 102–107 Charlie Scott (28) The Forum 11,124 11–15 L 1 27 December 11 Portland W 104–100 Keith Erickson (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,768 12–15 W 1 28 December 13 Cleveland W 85–84 Charlie Scott (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,756 13–15 W 2 29 December 19 Milwaukee L 108–112 Keith Erickson (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,369 13–16 L 1 30 December 21 Los Angeles W 114–104 Keith Erickson (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,437 14–16 W 1 31 December 23 @ Golden State L 94–111 Keith Erickson, Charlie Scott (20) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 5,240 14–17 L 1 32 December 25 Boston W 110–96 Charlie Scott (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,276 15–17 W 1 33 December 27 Buffalo L 92–108 Charlie Scott, Dick Van Arsdale (17) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,205 15–18 L 1
January: 5–9 (home: 3–4; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 34 January 2 @ New York L 113–117 (OT) Charlie Scott (30) Madison Square Garden 18,570 15–19 L 2 35 January 3 @ Chicago L 99–126 Mike Bantom (20) Chicago Stadium 6,047 15–20 L 3 36 January 5 @ Cleveland L 86–97 Dennis Awtrey, Gary Melchionni (15) Coliseum at Richfield 6,138 15–21 L 4 37 January 8 Washington L 95–102 Charlie Scott (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,770 15–22 L 5 38 January 10 Portland L 110–113 Charlie Scott (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,068 15–23 L 6 39 January 11 New York W 113–107 Mike Bantom (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,592 16–23 W 1 All-Star Break 40 January 17 @ Chicago W 115–105 Charlie Scott (31) Chicago Stadium 7,174 17–23 W 2 41 January 18 @ Detroit L 77–86 Mike Bantom (19) Cobo Arena 6,053 17–24 L 1 42 January 19 @ Kansas City-Omaha W 109–97 Charlie Scott (28) Kemper Arena 13,155 18–24 W 1 43 January 21 Philadelphia L 95–101 Charlie Scott (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,267 18–25 L 1 44 January 25 New Orleans W 94–90 (OT) Charlie Scott (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,872 19–25 W 1 45 January 28 @ Portland L 107–115 Mike Bantom, Charlie Scott (24) Memorial Coliseum 10,291 19–26 L 1 46 January 29 Seattle L 85–99 Charlie Scott (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,273 19–27 L 2 47 January 31 Los Angeles W 105–101 Curtis Perry (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,871 20–27 W 1
February: 8–6 (home: 5–2; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 48 February 4 Washington W 90–89 Dick Van Arsdale (30) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,263 21–27 W 2 49 February 5 @ Seattle W 107–102 Dick Van Arsdale (46) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,002 22–27 W 3 50 February 6 Seattle W 112–105 Mike Bantom (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,865 23–27 W 4 51 February 8 @ Golden State L 96–105 Dick Van Arsdale (27) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,961 23–28 L 1 52 February 12 Buffalo W 108–96 Charlie Scott (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,255 24–28 W 1 53 February 14 Boston L 106–112 Dick Van Arsdale (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,338 24–29 L 1 54 February 15 Atlanta L 107–111 Curtis Perry (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,147 24–30 L 2 55 February 18 @ Buffalo L 109–124 Charlie Scott (32) Maple Leaf Gardens 8,163 24–31 L 3 56 February 19 @ Washington L 97–120 Dick Van Arsdale (20) Capital Centre 6,201 24–32 L 4 57 February 21 @ New Orleans L 96–98 Gary Melchionni (17) Municipal Auditorium 4,563 24–33 L 5 58 February 23 @ Milwaukee W 106–97 Dennis Awtrey (24) Dane County Coliseum 8,832 25–33 W 1 59 February 25 @ Golden State W 111–97 Charlie Scott (26) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,550 26–33 W 2 60 February 26 Cleveland W 108–96 Charlie Scott (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,447 27–33 W 3 61 February 28 Golden State W 102–96 Dick Van Arsdale (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,511 28–33 W 4
March: 3–15 (home: 2–5; road: 1–10) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 62 March 2 @ Houston L 104–110 Charlie Scott (26) Hofheinz Pavilion 4,827 28–34 L 1 63 March 4 @ Kansas City-Omaha L 99–103 Mike Bantom (23) Omaha Civic Auditorium 4,027 28–35 L 2 64 March 6 Chicago W 88–65 Mike Bantom (16) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,683 29–35 W 1 65 March 7 @ Portland L 98–120 Mike Bantom (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,080 29–36 L 1 66 March 8 Houston L 107–112 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,272 29–37 L 2 67 March 11 @ New York L 98–103 Charlie Scott (30) Madison Square Garden 17,443 29–38 L 3 68 March 12 @ Boston L 82–88 Nate Hawthorne (20) Hartford Civic Center 11,283 29–39 L 4 69 March 14 @ Philadelphia L 97–108 Mike Bantom (19) The Spectrum 7,127 29–40 L 5 70 March 16 @ Atlanta L 114–117 Charlie Scott (38) Omni Coliseum 2,786 29–41 L 6 71 March 18 @ Golden State L 103–133 Mike Bantom (26) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 6,795 29–42 L 7 72 March 19 New York L 96–101 Curtis Perry (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,492 29–43 L 8 73 March 21 Portland L 108–112 Dick Van Arsdale (26) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,786 29–44 L 9 74 March 22 @ Portland L 92–94 Curtis Perry (18) Memorial Coliseum 11,142 29–45 L 10 75 March 23 @ Seattle W 102–96 Mike Bantom (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 30–45 W 1 76 March 25 Milwaukee W 92–87 Charlie Scott (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,232 31–45 W 2 77 March 27 Detroit L 79–91 Charlie Scott (19) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,629 31–46 L 1 78 March 29 Kansas City-Omaha L 100–104 Dennis Awtrey, Curtis Perry (20) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,450 31–47 L 2 79 March 30 @ Los Angeles L 90–104 Mike Bantom (20) The Forum 8,546 31–48 L 3
April: 1–2 (home: 1–1; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record Streak 80 April 2 Los Angeles W 108–106 Charlie Scott (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,610 32–48 W 1 81 April 4 Golden State L 99–128 Mike Bantom (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,867 32–49 L 1 82 April 6 @ Seattle L 111–114 Charlie Scott (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 32–50 L 2
1974–75 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

• Charlie Scott was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game, which was played in Phoenix for the first time. Scott finished third in voting among Western Conference guards with 40,736 votes. It was his third consecutive All-Star selection.
• Other Suns players who received All-Star votes were Keith Erickson (23,171), Curtis Perry (22,574), and Dick Van Arsdale (19,395).

Season

• Mike Bantom finished 14th in MVP voting.

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	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%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dennis Awtrey	82	73	34.6	.470	.677	8.6	4.2	.7	.6	9.9
Mike Bantom	82	50	27.3	.461	.714	6.7	1.9	.8	.6	12.5
Corky Calhoun*	13	0	8.3	.375	.933^	2.5	0.3	.5	.2	2.9
Keith Erickson	49	24	30.0	.425	.833^	5.0	3.5	1.0	.2	12.3
Nate Hawthorne	50	2	12.4	.411	.649	1.8	0.8	.6	.4	5.9
Greg Jackson	44	18	17.6	.416	.581	1.5	2.1	.5	.2	4.0
Gary Melchionni	68	29	22.5	.430	.809	2.8	2.3	.7	.2	8.5
Jim Owens	41	5	10.5	.386	.750	1.0	1.2	.4	.0	3.0
Curtis Perry	79	78	34.0	.477	.719	11.9	2.4	1.4	1.0	13.4
Fred Saunders	69	12	15.3	.433	.695	3.7	1.2	.6	.2	6.1
Charlie Scott	69	60	37.6	.441	.781	4.0	4.5	1.6	.3	24.3
Dick Van Arsdale	70	50	34.6	.470	.832	2.7	2.8	1.2	.2	16.1
Earl Williams	79	9	13.2	.414	.437	5.8	1.2	.4	.4	4.7

* – Stats with the Suns.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades

September 6, 1974	To Washington Bullets Clem Haskins	To Phoenix Suns Dave Stallworth 1975 second-round draft pick ( Allen Murphy)
September 16, 1974	To New Orleans Jazz Neal Walk 1975 second-round draft pick ( Clyde Mayes)	To Phoenix Suns Dennis Awtrey Nate Hawthorne Curtis Perry 1976 first-round draft pick ( Adrian Dantley)
November 27, 1974	To Los Angeles Lakers Corky Calhoun	To Phoenix Suns 1976 second-round draft pick ( Jacky Dorsey) 1977 third-round draft pick ( Mike Bratz)

Free agents

Additions

Date	Player	Contract	Old Team
January 2, 1975	Greg Jackson	Undisclosed	New York Knicks

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason Left	New Team
May 20, 1974	Lamar Green	Expansion Draft	New Orleans Jazz
July 31, 1974	Bob Christian	Waived	New York Knicks
September 24, 1974	Bill Chamberlain	Waived	— (Retired)
October 10, 1974	Dave Stallworth	Waived	New York Knicks

References

• Standings on Basketball Reference