Phoenix Suns Trivia
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6correct to beat the crowd
60 free Phoenix Suns trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Phoenix Suns trivia quiz covers the whole franchise: the 1968 expansion and the coin flip that cost them Kareem, the Madhouse on McDowell, Garfield Heard's shot in the triple-overtime 1976 Finals game, Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley, the 62-win 1993 team, Steve Nash's back-to-back MVPs and Seven Seconds or Less, the Chris Paul run to the 2021 Finals, the Kevin Durant era and Devin Booker's climb to the top of the scoring list. Expect easy questions on the arena, the mascot and the biggest names, plenty of history for regular fans, and hard ones about the $200 logo, the 1987 drug scandal, the 153–151 playoff game and the Gorilla's appearance on WWE Raw. Uniforms and the Los Suns protest get their turn too. Every answer was checked against primary and encyclopaedic sources before it went in, so when you miss one you can trust the explanation. Play it solo or run it as a round at your next watch party. For the wider league, our NBA trivia page is the natural next stop.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many games did the Suns win in their inaugural 1968–69 season?
16
The Suns won 16 games and lost 66 in 1968–69, the worst record in the NBA that season, which put them in the coin flip for the 1969 No. 1 pick.
Q 02Which other franchise joined the NBA alongside the Suns in 1968?
Milwaukee Bucks
The two expansion mates flipped a coin for the 1969 No. 1 pick, and Milwaukee won the rights to Lew Alcindor.
Q 03Whom did the Suns draft with the second pick in 1969 after losing the coin flip for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?
Neal Walk
Neal Walk, a University of Florida centre, went second overall to Phoenix in 1969 and spent five seasons with the Suns before being traded.
Q 04What was the entry fee the NBA charged Phoenix and Milwaukee to join the league in 1968?
$2 million
The expansion fee was $2 million per franchise; Phoenix's ownership group, led by Richard Bloch, paid that sum to enter the league.
Q 05Which of these names lost to 'Suns' in the 1968 name-the-team contest?
Scorpions
Scorpions was among the losing entries, along with Rattlers, Thunderbirds, Wranglers, Mavericks, Tumbleweeds, Mustangs and Cougars; the winning 'Suns' entry earned $1,000 and season tickets.
Q 06How much was Tucson printer Stan Fabe paid to design the Suns' first iconic logo?
$200
Tucson commercial printer Stan Fabe was paid just $200 for the original sunburst logo, which the Suns wore for their first 24 seasons.
Q 07Who became the Suns' first general manager at age 28 in 1968 and later owned the team?
Jerry Colangelo
Jerry Colangelo, hired from the Chicago Bulls' front office, became the NBA's youngest general manager at 28 and led the group that bought the Suns for a then-record $44.5 million in 1987.
Q 08What was the nickname of Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Suns' home for their first 24 seasons?
The Madhouse on McDowell
The Madhouse on McDowell took its name from the Coliseum's address on McDowell Road; the Suns played there from their debut until moving downtown in 1992.
Q 09Which broadcaster, 'the Voice of the Suns' from 1972 to 2023, is the longest-tenured in NBA history?
Al McCoy
Al McCoy called Suns games for 51 seasons from 1972 to 2023 and received the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2007.
Q 10Which guard did the Suns get from Boston in 1975 for Charlie Scott, sparking their 1976 Finals run?
Paul Westphal
Paul Westphal arrived from Boston in the 1975 Charlie Scott trade, made four straight All-Star teams in Phoenix and later coached the 1993 Finals team.
Q 11Who hit the buzzer-beating turnaround jumper that forced a third overtime in Game 5 of the 1976 Finals?
Garfield Heard
Garfield Heard's turnaround at the buzzer tied Game 5 after Westphal had deliberately called a timeout the Suns did not have, which moved the inbound to half-court; the Suns nevertheless lost 128–126.
Q 12Which team beat the Suns in the 1976 NBA Finals?
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics beat Phoenix in six games for the 1976 title; the Suns had reached the Finals by upsetting the defending champion Warriors in seven.
Q 13A 1987 drug scandal saw three active Suns indicted partly on immunised testimony from which star?
Walter Davis
Q 21Which fan favourite did the Suns trade to Cleveland in 1995 for John 'Hot Rod' Williams?
Dan Majerle
Dan Majerle went to the Cavaliers in October 1995 for John 'Hot Rod' Williams; 'Thunder Dan' returned to play a final season in Phoenix in 2001–02 and later coached there.
Q 22With which pick did the Suns draft Steve Nash out of Santa Clara in 1996?
15th
Steve Nash went 15th overall in 1996, two picks after Kobe Bryant and one after Peja Stojakovic; he spent two seasons as a Suns backup before being traded.
Q 23What was the Suns' record to start 1996–97 after the Barkley trade, the worst start in franchise history?
0–13
The Suns opened 1996–97 at 0–13 under Cotton Fitzsimmons and then Danny Ainge, yet finished 40–42 and reached the playoffs.
Walter Davis, the Suns' star forward, testified under immunity in the 1987 case; no player was convicted, and the scandal hastened the franchise's sale later that year.
Q 14Which point guard did the Suns get from Cleveland in the 1988 trade that sent Larry Nance to the Cavaliers?
Kevin Johnson
Kevin Johnson arrived from Cleveland in the February 1988 Larry Nance trade, began a run of 13 straight playoff appearances and later served as mayor of Sacramento.
Q 15Which forward, signed by Phoenix in 1988, was the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history?
Tom Chambers
Tom Chambers signed with Phoenix in July 1988 as the NBA's first unrestricted free agent and scored 60 points in a March 1990 game, then a franchise record.
Q 16The Suns' last Coliseum game, a 1992 double-OT playoff loss to Portland, ended by what score?
153–151
Portland won 153–151 in double overtime in May 1992, the highest-scoring game in NBA playoff history at the time, and the Suns moved downtown the next season.
Q 17Which three players did the Suns send to Philadelphia in 1992 for Charles Barkley?
Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry
Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry went to Philadelphia in June 1992 for Charles Barkley, who led the Suns to the Finals in his first season.
Q 18How many games did the 1992–93 Suns win to set a franchise record, later tied in 2004–05?
62
The 1992–93 Suns went 62–20, a mark the 2004–05 team matched; after falling behind 0–2 to the eighth-seeded Lakers they rallied and reached the Finals.
Q 19Roughly how many fans celebrated the 1993 Finals team in the streets of Phoenix in 105-degree heat?
300,000
An estimated 300,000 fans turned out in downtown Phoenix to honour the team, even though the Suns had lost the Finals to the Bulls in six games.
Q 20Which team eliminated the Suns in seven-game conference semifinals in both 1994 and 1995?
Houston Rockets
Phoenix led 2–0 in 1994 and 3–1 in 1995; Houston won the title both years.
Q 24The 1998 trade of Steve Nash to Dallas brought Phoenix a future first-round pick used on which player?
Shawn Marion
'The Matrix' became a four-time All-Star in Phoenix.
Q 25What nickname was given to the turn-of-the-millennium pairing of Jason Kidd and Penny Hardaway?
Backcourt 2000
'Backcourt 2000' was the Suns' marketing label for Kidd and Hardaway in 1999–2000, but Hardaway's knee injuries kept the duo apart for much of their time together.
Q 26Amar'e Stoudemire became the first Rookie of the Year to have been drafted straight from what?
High school
High school was Stoudemire's last stop before the NBA: drafted ninth in 2002 out of Cypress Creek in Orlando, he won the 2002–03 award.
Q 27For how much did Robert Sarver's group buy the Suns from their longtime owner in 2004?
$401 million
Robert Sarver's group paid $401 million in 2004, then the highest price ever for an NBA franchise; Sarver held the team until a 2022 league suspension forced a sale.
Q 28By how many games did the Suns improve in 2004–05, a team record, after signing Steve Nash?
33
The Suns improved by 33 games, from 29–53 in 2003–04 to the best record in the league the next season, after Nash signed as a free agent in July 2004.
Q 29Which coach won NBA Coach of the Year with the Suns in 2004–05?
Mike D'Antoni
Mike D'Antoni won the 2004–05 Coach of the Year award in his first full season in charge, running the 'seven seconds or less' offence built around Nash.
Q 30Steve Nash became the second point guard to win back-to-back MVPs, after whom?
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson won consecutive MVP awards in 1989 and 1990; Nash matched the feat in 2005 and 2006 and was runner-up to Dirk Nowitzki in 2007.