PHOENIX SUNS

The 5: Biggest Phoenix Suns draft steals

Jun 24, 2016, 6:12 AM | Updated: 11:27 am

This past draft the Phoenix Suns’ top pick, Dragan Bender, was chosen No. 4 overall.

The previous season they chose 13th, and the year before that they were No. 13.

In 2013, they had the fifth pick, and the seasons before that saw them pick 13th twice.

While they have not always been at the top of the lottery, the Suns have recently taken up residence in the part of the NBA Draft where teams really don’t care to be.

It wasn’t always that way, however.

The Suns are the NBA’s fourth-winningest franchise for a reason, as more often than not they have been among the league’s better teams. They’ve done that by executing good trades, sure, as well as adding some key free agents.

But one thing they have also done throughout their history is find talented players late in the draft.

It never hurts adding good players to excellent teams.

But looking back, who are the Suns’ biggest draft steals?

With apologies to Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, who both destroyed their draft position but as lottery picks were supposed to be good, and Leandro Barbosa and Goran Dragic, who began their careers as Suns but were not drafted by the team, we’ll be focusing on non-lottery picks who were selected by the Suns and for the Suns.

5. Cedric Ceballos – 48th overall, 1990

Cedric CeballosCeballos averaged 23.1 points per game as a senior for Cal State Fullerton before landing with the Suns in the second round of the 1990 draft. He posted modest offensive numbers in his first three seasons in the league, averaging 8.2 points per game as a rookie, 7.2 per night in year two and 12.8 in year three as a key cog on the Suns’ NBA Finals team. In fact, his injury in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals was quite damaging to the team’s title hopes. It was the following season, his fourth, in which Ceballos really burst onto the scene, averaging 19.1 points per game. The Suns dealt Ceballos to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1994, and that season saw the forward average 21.7 points and eight rebounds per game while making his lone All-Star team. He eventually found his way back to Phoenix in 1996, and remained with the team through the 1997-98 campaign. A solid scorer and quality rebounder, Ceballos may perhaps best be known for his blindfolded effort in the 1992 slam dunk contest during All-Star weekend.

4. Dan Majerle – 14th overall, 1988

Bulls vs Suns NBA Finals 1993Did you boo the pick at the time? Do you feel bad about it now? Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us. Majerle was the Suns’ second first-round pick in that draft — following Tim Perry, who was chosen seventh overall — and went on to become one of the franchise’s all-time greatest players. Over his career Majerle evolved from a high-flying, defensive-minded slasher to a deadly record-setting 3-point shooter. A three-time All-Star with Phoenix, his all-around game led to Majerle being a key player on some very good teams. After seven seasons with Phoenix the Suns dealt Majerle to Cleveland for center John “Hot Rod” Williams in 1995, and while Majerle was never the same player outside of Phoenix, he was still a solid piece for the Cavaliers and then later the Miami Heat. “Thunder Dan” returned to Phoenix for his final season in 2001-02, and with everyone wanting his career to end with a make, Majerle took the final seven shots of the game — finally sinking a 25-foot 3-pointer before being removed to a standing ovation. He finished his tenure among the team’s all-time leaders in many categories, including games, minutes, 3-point attempts/makes, rebounds, assists, steals and points.

3. Jeff Hornacek – 46th overall, 1986

HornacekSecond-round picks are not really supposed to have long careers, let alone become stars. Oh well. Hornacek proved to be a deft shooter early on his career, and by his third season was averaging 13.5 points per game. That number rose to 17.6 the following year and reached 20.1 in 1991-92, the season in which he made his first and only All-Star game. The Suns dealt him to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Charles Barkley trade the following summer, and after a couple of solid seasons in the City of Brotherly Love Hornacek went on to become a key player and fan favorite for the Utah Jazz. A career 40 percent shooter from 3-point range, Hornacek — who was good during his career — likely would have been even better in today’s NBA. At any rate, Hornacek’s career spanned 15 seasons — six of which were in Phoenix — and just more than a decade after he retired he returned to the Valley to become the team’s head coach. Things went south after a successful first season with the team, however, and he was relieved of his duties midway through his third season at the helm.

2. Larry Nance – 20th overall, 1981

NanceAn athletic forward who averaged 15.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a senior for Clemson, Nance followed an OK rookie season with a breakout second campaign, averaging 16.7 points and 8.7 rebounds as an 82-game starter. That was his first season as a mainstay in the Suns lineup, and over a six-season span he averaged 19.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and blocks per game. One of the team’s better players, he was the centerpiece of a 1988 mid-season deal that sent him and other pieces to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kevin Johnson, Mark West, Tyrone Corbin, Cleveland’s first-round pick (eventually Dan Majerle), their second-round pick (used for Dean Garrett) and the Lakers’ 1989 second-round choice. Nance was productive in seven seasons for the Cavaliers, posting averages of 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the team. In all, Nance made three All-Star teams (one with Phoenix), and was the 1984 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion.

1. Steve Nash – 15th overall, 1996

NashThe No. 1 player on this list is, incidentally, also a third player who left the franchise at one point only to return. It’s a good thing he did, too, as Nash’s second stint with the Suns led to one of the most successful stretches both the player and team ever had. An underwhelming — if not unpopular — pick out of Santa Clara, Nash joined a backcourt that already featured Kevin Johnson and then soon after added Jason Kidd to the mix. Nash showed promise in his first two seasons, but was traded away to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998 as the team felt Kidd was their point guard of the future. The deal netted the Suns the draft pick that eventually turned into Shawn Marion, and after six seasons with the Mavericks in which he established himself as an All-Star, Nash came back to the Suns as a free agent. From there he elevated his game even further, winning back-to-back league MVP Awards while guiding the Suns to the Western Conference Finals in 2005, 2006 and 2010. One of the game’s best pure shooters as well as its most innovative passer, Nash was an All-Star eight times, and he retired as the Suns’ all-time leader in 3-point field goals, assists, 3-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.

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