Jerry Colangelo: Al McCoy is the Phoenix Suns’ MVP
Oct 22, 2024, 8:21 PM | Updated: Oct 23, 2024, 8:20 am
As the Phoenix Suns embark on their first season since the death of iconic play-by-play voice Al McCoy, former team owner Jerry Colangelo took another opportunity to reflect on what McCoy meant to this franchise and to Arizona.
On Arizona Sports’ A Tribute to Al McCoy, Colangelo called McCoy the Suns’ all-time MVP for his 51 years of telling their story.
“We’ve had a lot of really good teams, we’ve had a lot of really great players,” Colangelo said. “Look up in the Ring of Honor and others who really were outstanding players. My feeling on Al McCoy is, you put them all together, and who’s the MVP? It’s Al McCoy for what he did and how he represented the Suns over five decades.”
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McCoy retired after the 2022-23 campaign, ending his run as the longest tenured broadcaster in the league. He brought fans to the game from their living rooms whether they listened to the radio or watched on television. The Suns inducted him into the Ring of Honor in 2016.
Colangelo likened McCoy’s impact to Hall of Fame Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn in Los Angeles, a voice who connected his team to a new NBA city. Colangelo said Hearn once told him McCoy was the best play-by-play broadcaster in the NBA.
“You didn’t have to be there to know what was going on in the game,” Colangelo said. “You almost felt that you were getting not only a play-by-play, but you could picture what was happening on the court. He was that descriptive. He was that good. He had a big following of people who were incapacitated and couldn’t get to a game, and he wanted to make sure they had a feel and understanding of the game. And he called it accordingly.”
McCoy made it a point to shout out sightless Suns fans during his final sign off in May 2023.
Colangelo recalled traveling with the team during his early years, and he had the chance to get to know McCoy on the road.
“He was a terrific jazz pianist, and he loved going to piano bars and being able to play,” Colangelo said. “I have great memories in various cities around the country where we spent time in piano bars because of his great interest. He was a great entertainer. He really was, and he represented us impeccably.”
The Suns will honor McCoy this season with an “Al” band on their jerseys, and there will hopefully be plenty more stories and memories shared from his remarkable career and impact on the Valley.
