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. The retirement of #44 acknowledges the most complete contribution any individual has made to Phoenix Suns basketball.
Westphal's story is one of the NBA's more underappreciated two-chapter narratives — a player whose excellence was genuine enough to earn a place among the elite guards of the 1970s, and a coach whose tactical intelligence helped build one of the most celebrated teams of the 1990s. Phoenix was where both chapters were written, and where both deserve to be remembered.
From USC to the Celtics: A Champion Before Phoenix
Paul Westphal was born November 30, 1950, in Torrance, California, and developed into one of the most skilled guards on the West Coast during his time at the University of Southern California, where he was an All-Pac-8 selection. The Boston Celtics selected him 10th overall in the 1972 NBA Draft, and Westphal's first three NBA seasons were spent learning winning basketball from one of the sport's legendary organizations. He won his only NBA championship ring as a reserve on the Celtics' 1974 title team — absorbing the habits and philosophy of a champion that would inform everything he did as both a player and a coach.
The trade to Phoenix in 1975 transformed Westphal from a talented reserve into a franchise cornerstone. Freed from a supporting role in Boston, he became one of the Western Conference's most unstoppable guards — a player whose scoring versatility, pick-and-roll creativity, and competitive fearlessness made him the focal point of the Suns' offense for five seasons.
The 1976 Finals and the Greatest Game Ever Played
The 1975-76 Phoenix Suns were not supposed to be in the NBA Finals. They finished the regular season at 42-40 and entered the playoffs as an underdog. What followed was one of the most stunning runs in NBA history — defeating Seattle and Golden State before facing the Boston Celtics in the Finals, a matchup that brought Westphal face-to-face with the franchise that had given him his championship education.
The series produced Game 5, which many basketball historians still consider the greatest game ever played. A triple-overtime classic at Boston Garden, with momentum swinging wildly between the teams through three overtime periods and a finish that left everyone who witnessed it breathless. Westphal was central to everything the Suns did that night — scoring, distributing, competing at the highest level against a Celtics team with Hall of Famers at multiple positions. Phoenix ultimately fell to Boston in six games, but the 1976 Finals established the Suns as a franchise capable of competing with the very best. Westphal earned his first All-Star selection the following season and went on to be named to the game four more times.
The Coach Who Built the 1993 Dynasty
After his playing career concluded — including stints back in Phoenix, Seattle, and New York — Westphal transitioned into coaching with the same intelligence that had defined his playing career. He became the Suns' head coach ahead of the 1992-93 season, inheriting a roster that included Kevin Johnson and the newly acquired Charles Barkley. The system he designed around Barkley's post dominance and Johnson's pick-and-roll mastery produced the best record in the NBA (62-20) and the Suns' second Finals appearance. Barkley won the MVP. The Suns won the Western Conference. And Westphal won the respect of every coach in the league who watched how seamlessly he had integrated a franchise-changing personality into an already-competitive team.
Why the Suns Retired #44
The retirement of Paul Westphal's #44 honors a contribution to Phoenix basketball that cannot be measured by seasons played or games coached alone. He gave the Suns their first true superstar era as a player in the 1970s, competed in the most celebrated game in franchise history, and then returned two decades later to build the coaching framework that produced their second defining moment. The same basketball intelligence that made him a five-time All-Star as a player made him an elite head coach. Phoenix benefited from both versions of Westphal, and #44 hanging in the Footprint Center rafters honors the totality of that gift. No number retired by the Suns represents a deeper investment in what this franchise has been at its best.
