Fox Sports: Two former Phoenix Suns among best to never win a ring
May 31, 2017, 9:20 AM
Two-time NBA most valuable player Steve Nash, left, and Charles Barkley talk as Nash is introduced into the Suns Ring of Fire at halftime of an NBA basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers, Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Everyone knows the Phoenix Suns have never won a championship.
They’ve gone to nine conference finals and two NBA Finals different eras thanks to the phenomenal talent that has put on the purple and orange, with many players considered to be among the best of their generation.
Unfortunately for all of those players, they were never able to bolster their Phoenix resumes with a championship, and for those who were never able to win one with another team, falling short left them eligible to grace the kind of list no one ever wants to be a part of: the best players to never win a ring.
Not surprisingly, two former Suns made Fox Sports writer Brett Pollakoff’s list, with Steve Nash coming in at No. 5 and Charles Barkley landing second.
Nash is a two-time MVP who was one of the most accurate shooters in NBA history. He helped usher in a revolutionary brand of basketball playing for Mike D’Antoni and the “Seven Seconds or Less” Suns, and made four conference finals appearances (three with Phoenix, one with Dallas) but never got the chance to play for a title.
Barkley takes perhaps the most heat for not finishing his Hall of Fame career with a ring, likely for two reasons. First, his outspoken television personality makes him an easy target. And second, he was one of those aforementioned ring chasers when he joined Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in Houston to try to grab a title before his career was finished.
Nash’s Suns reached the conference finals three times but could never take the next step, in large part due to tough luck with injuries and suspensions.
Barkley, on the other hand, pushed the Suns into the NBA Finals in 1993, but just so happened to run into Michael Jordan and the Bulls, whom they would fall to in six games.
