The 5: Best Phoenix Suns teams of all-time at the All-Star break

The Phoenix Suns head into All-Star weekend boasting the NBA’s best record at 48-10 (.828).

And not for the first time in franchise history either.

The previous five Phoenix teams hovering near the 40-win or .700 winning percentage mark have all ended up being eliminated in the playoffs by the eventual NBA champions — two of which were in the NBA Finals.

Here are the five best teams at the All-Star break in Suns history — and how their seasons ended — prior to this season:

1992-93: 38-10 (.792)

Former Suns forward Charles Barkley led Phoenix to a franchise-best 62-20 record en route to winning the NBA’s MVP award during the 1992-93 season.

Barkley and Dan Majerle were selected as All-Stars, with the latter losing the three-point contest to champion Mark Price. Cedric Ceballos also participated in the slam dunk contest, while the late Paul Westphal coached the Western Conference All-Star team to a 135-130 victory.

The Suns won their second Western Conference title that year, but ultimately fell to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls 4-2 in the NBA Finals.

1994-95: 38-10 (.792)

The Suns matched that record at the All-Star break two years after their Finals run, finishing the season with a 59-23 record and a Pacific Division title.

Barkley and Majerle were both starters for the Western Conference, who once again defeated the East, 139-112, with Westphal at the helm. Majerle also competed in the three-point contest, while Wesley Person and Trevor Ruffin played in the rookie challenge during an All-Star weekend held in Phoenix.

But unfortunately for Suns fans, Phoenix lost in the conference semifinals in seven games to Houston for the second consecutive season, as the Rockets took advantage of Jordan’s hiatus to play baseball to win back-to-back NBA titles.

2004-05: 41-13 (.759)

The first version of the Seven Seconds or Less Suns under head coach Mike D’Antoni — who won NBA Coach of the Year that season — finished tied for the best record in franchise history at 62-20.

That season also saw Phoenix nearly run the table at All-Star Weekend, as Suns guard and league MVP Steve Nash won the skills challenge, guard Quentin Richardson won the three-point contest and a team consisting of Shawn Marion, Diana Taurasi and Dan Majerle won the shooting stars competition. Unfortunately for Suns fans, Amar’e Stoudemire finished second in the dunk contest despite slamming home an alley-oop pass off of the head of Nash.

The Suns fell to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, who would go on to beat the Detroit Pistons and hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

2006-07: 39-13 (.750)

Two seasons later, the Suns fell just one game short of their third 62-win season en route to a third consecutive division title.

Nash was selected as a reserve for the All-Star Game, but did not participate due to injury. The reigning two-time league MVP at the time was also slated to participate in the skills challenge but was replaced by none other than current Suns PG Chris Paul.

Stoudemire and Marion were reserves for the Western Conference All-Stars, who were led by D’Antoni to a 153-132 win over the East in the exhibition.

Leandro Barbosa won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Suns lost 4-2 in the conference semifinals to the eventual champion Spurs.

2020-21: 24-11 (.686)

Last season might not have as many wins as the others, but that’s because the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suns guard Devin Booker made his second All-Star team as a reserve, while Paul earned the honor for the 11th time in his career in his first season in the Valley.

And following a decade-long playoff drought, the new-look Phoenix backcourt led the Suns to the third NBA Finals in franchise history.

But even after going up 2-0 on the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. came back to win four straight to give Phoenix its third consecutive defeat in the Finals, which Booker summed up with just one word.

Devin Booker as he watches the Bucks celebrate their NBA championship: “Damn.”

This is just part of the making of Devin Booker’s legacy. pic.twitter.com/zL7tw3q5MH

— Suns Are Better (@SunsAreBetter) July 21, 2021

Follow @jwa1994