SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Former Phoenix Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni and former multi-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Thanks to D’Antoni’s fast-paced offensive approach and Stoudemire’s ability to catch lobs and run in transition, the two were focal points in the team’s iconic “7 seconds or less” offense, which was one of the first in NBA history to play with the pace and three-point emphasis that many do now.
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In his 30 years as a coach in the NBA and internationally, D’Antoni spent the most seasons of his career as a member of the Phoenix Suns coaching staff, spending the 2002–2003 NBA season as an assistant and 2003–2008 as head coach after he took over for Frank Johnson 21 games into the 2003–2004 season. In his first full year as head coach, the Suns went 31–4 to start, tied for the fifth-best start to a season in NBA history through 35 games, leading to a 62–20 regular-season record, the best in the NBA and the franchise’s second-best regular season ever. While they lost in the Western Conference Finals, it was the start of a run in which Phoenix made the conference finals in three of six seasons.
A key contributor to that squad? Stoudemire. The 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year, a five-time All-Star and a four-time All-NBA selection during his eight seasons as a Sun, the power forward and center became Steve Nash‘s pick-and-roll partner, catching alley-oops, attacking the rim and helping shooters and scorers Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa and Shawn Marion have ample room to operate as the team ran an offense with one traditional big in the paint surrounded by four perimeter players.
Along with Nash, who won two straight NBA MVP awards, Stoudemire and D’Antoni were referenced extensively in sportswriter Jack McCallum’s book Seven Seconds or Less, which chronicles his experience around the Suns during the 2005–2006 season, when the team finished second in the West and lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks.
The day before their inductions, D’Antoni and Stoudemire looked back at their time in Phoenix with gratitude, as Stoudemire became the 15th Phoenix Suns player to enter the Hall of Fame and D’Antoni became the second coach. They joined Nash, Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal as members of the 2000s Suns to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
They were both filled with excitement as they prepared for their big days.
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“I’m soaking in the moment. I’m really cherishing the time. I’m walking slowly. I’m enjoying my family. I’m watching their faces, seeing all the other Hall of Famers who are here, and just really soaking in the moments and really taking my time with that,” Stoudemire said.
D’Antoni is at peace with how his basketball career went and feels that reaching the Hall of Fame confirms that all his dedication to the sport was worthwhile.
“It kind of validates all the stuff that went on all the years, and it’s a great cap-off to a good career. I’m happy with the way it went. I got to be doing something I love for a long time, and it’s the best,” D’Antoni said.
With the two officially inducted, recently retired Chris Paul looks to be the next Sun selected. Second in assists and steals, the “Point God” spent three seasons in Phoenix. In the 2020–2021 season, he helped the team reach its first Finals in 28 years and then helped it achieve a franchise-best 64–18 regular-season record in the 2021–2022 season.
