Phoenix Suns Retired Numbers
The Phoenix Suns have retired 10 numbers. Each one below records who wore it, the seasons they wore it, and what earned it a place in the rafters.
Back to Phoenix SunsDick Van Arsdale
1968-1977
The Phoenix Suns retired Dick Van Arsdale's number 5 because origins matter — he was, literally, "The Original Sun." On May 6, 1968, the franchise made its very first selection in the NBA expansion draft and called his name, before a single game had been played. Born February 22, 1943, in Indianapolis, Van Arsdale played at Indiana University and was drafted tenth overall by the New York Knicks in 1965, where three seasons established him as a dependable, hard-nosed shooting guard.
Why #5 was retiredWalter Davis
1977-1988
The Phoenix Suns retired Walter Davis's #6 in 1994 to enshrine the player who defined the franchise for more than a decade. Selected fifth overall in the 1977 NBA Draft, Davis immediately delivered one of the great debut seasons in team history: 24.2 points per game and the 1977-78 NBA Rookie of the Year award. Nicknamed "The Greyhound" for the fluid grace with which he covered the floor, he earned six straight All-Star selections from 1978 through 1983 and remained the scorer opponents had to game-plan for night after night.
Why #6 was retiredKevin Johnson
1988-1998, 2000
In basketball, the point guard sets the tone. He dictates pace, distributes the ball, and communicates what a team is about before anyone else touches it. For twelve seasons, Kevin Johnson told the world that the Phoenix Suns were explosive, fearless, and impossible to contain. His first step was among the quickest ever seen at the position. His floater was a work of art. And his competitive drive — the kind that refused to acknowledge the word "enough" — made him the heartbeat of the most exciting Suns teams Phoenix had ever seen.
Why #7 was retiredDan Majerle
1988-1995, 2001-2002
The Phoenix Suns retired Dan Majerle's number 9 for what his seasons represented as the connective tissue of the franchise's greatest era. Selected 14th overall in 1988 out of Central Michigan — a pick that drew immediate skepticism — "Thunder Dan" answered every question within two seasons with thunderous dunks, consistent three-point shooting above 37%, and elite perimeter defense. He earned three All-Star selections between 1992 and 1994 and represented the United States on Dream Team II at the 1994 FIBA World Championship.
Why #9 was retiredSteve Nash
1996-1998, 2004-2012
The spring of 2005. The Phoenix Suns are celebrating their new most valuable player during a second-round series against Dallas, and the building is doing something arenas rarely do for a point guard — it is roaring the way it usually saves for a dunk. Steve Nash, thirty-one years old, his hair already falling into his eyes, accepts the trophy and looks faintly embarrassed by the whole thing.
Why #13 was retiredTom Chambers
1988-1993
The Phoenix Suns retired Tom Chambers's #24 in 2021 to honor a player who changed professional basketball before he changed the Suns. When Chambers signed with Phoenix in 1988, he became the first player of his stature to leave his team as an unrestricted free agent — a watershed moment for player movement in the NBA. In Phoenix he produced the finest scoring of his career, including a franchise single-season record of 27.2 points per game in 1989-90 that still stands.
Why #24 was retiredAlvan Adams
1975-1988
The Phoenix Suns retired Alvan Adams's number 33 because of what he represented: that a player and a franchise can be genuinely inseparable. Drafted fourth overall in 1975 out of Oklahoma, Adams played thirteen seasons in Phoenix and retired a Sun in 1988 — no player has given the franchise more years. He earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1976 and led that 42-40 team on an improbable run to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, featuring the triple-overtime classic Game 5 many historians call the greatest game ever played.
Why #33 was retiredCharles Barkley
1992-1996
June 20, 1993. America West Arena, Phoenix, late in the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Suns trailed the Chicago Bulls by two with the season running out, and Charles Barkley stood at the elbow with the ball, drawing the eyes of a building that had waited a quarter-century for exactly this — a home Game 6 with a championship still alive in the air. He had been the best player on the floor for stretches of all six games.
Why #34 was retiredConnie Hawkins
1969-1973
The Phoenix Suns retired Connie Hawkins's number 42 to honor a story of injustice and resilience no other retired number in franchise history can match. "The Hawk" was a 6'8" forward from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, who could handle like a guard and hang in the air while defenders landed. Caught on the periphery of a 1961 gambling scandal despite doing nothing wrong, he was blacklisted by the NBA between ages 19 and 26.
Why #42 was retiredPaul Westphal
1975-1980, Coach
No individual has shaped the two most celebrated moments in Phoenix Suns history from a closer vantage point than Paul Westphal. He was on the court as a player in 1976, orchestrating the Suns' most improbable Finals run with a brilliance that earned him five All-Star selections across his career. He was on the sideline as a head coach in 1993, designing the offensive system that allowed Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson to reach their collective peak. Two Finals appearances. Two eras. One figure at the center of both.
Why #44 was retired