1981–82 Phoenix Suns season

The 1981–82 Phoenix Suns season was the 14th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns were in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, extending a then-franchise record. In the first round, Denver was taken down by the Suns, two games to one. Phoenix would find a tougher opponent, however, in the Western Conference Semifinals, getting swept four games to zero by the eventual league champions, Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Dennis Johnson again earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors and was the lone All-Star Game participant from the Suns. Additionally, he led the Suns in scoring with his 19.5 points average, a personal career-high. Truck Robinson was not far behind with his 19.1 average, and paired that with rebounding average of 9.7 a game. Fellow big man Alvan Adams brought in 7 rebounds and 15 points a contest.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 1981 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	20	Larry Nance	Forward	United States	Clemson
3	62	Sam Clancy Jr.	Forward	United States	Pittsburgh
3	66	Craig Dykema	Forward	United States	Long Beach State
5	112	Paul Heuerman	Center	United States	Michigan
6	135	Pete Harris	Guard	United States	Northeastern
7	158	David Williams	Forward	United States	Southern
8	180	Steve Risley	Forward	United States	Indiana
9	200	Brian Johnson	Forward	United States	Colorado
10	220	Felton Sealey	Forward	United States	Oregon

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (Y-M-D)	From
F/C	33	Adams, Alvan	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1954-07-19	Oklahoma
G/F	7	Bradley, Dudley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1957-03-19	North Carolina
F/C	45	Cook, Jeff	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1956-10-21	Idaho State
G/F	6	Davis, Walter	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	1954-09-09	North Carolina
F	35	Dykema, Craig	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1959-06-11	Long Beach State
G	24	Johnson, Dennis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1954-09-18	Pepperdine
C	53	Kelley, Rich	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1953-03-23	Stanford
F	50	Kramer, Joel	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	1955-11-30	San Diego State
G	4	Macy, Kyle	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1957-04-09	Kentucky
F/C	22	Nance, Larry	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1959-02-12	Clemson
F	21	Robinson, Leonard	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1951-10-04	Tennessee State
F	14	Scott, Alvin	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1955-09-14	Oral Roberts

Head coach

John MacLeod (Bellarmine)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–	30–11	27–14	21–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	5.0	31–10	21–20	18–12
x-Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	11.0	31–10	15–26	14–16
Golden State Warriors	45	37	.549	12.0	28–13	17–24	15–15
Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	15.0	27–14	15–26	15–15
San Diego Clippers	17	65	.207	40.0	11–30	6–35	7–23

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	48	34	.585	9
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	52	30	.634	5
4	x-Denver Nuggets	46	36	.561	11
5	x-Phoenix Suns	46	36	.561	11
6	x-Houston Rockets	46	36	.561	11

7	Golden State Warriors	45	37	.549	12
8	Portland Trail Blazers	42	40	.512	15
9	Kansas City Kings	30	52	.366	27
10	Dallas Mavericks	28	54	.341	29
11	Utah Jazz	25	57	.305	32
12	San Diego Clippers	17	65	.207	40

Record vs. opponents

1981–82 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	0–2	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–2	5–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–4
Boston	5–1	—	4–2	5–0	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	6–0
Chicago	3–2	2–4	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	0–6	0–2	1–1	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–5	2–4	3–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4
Cleveland	2–4	0–5	1–5	—	2–0	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–5
Dallas	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–5	1–1	0–5	2–4	1–1	4–2	1–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–3	1–5	2–3	1–4	3–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	—	1–1	3–2	5–1	0–2	4–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–4	5–0	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	4–2	0–6	6–0	5–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	2–0	2–4	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–4
Golden State	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–3	0–2	—	1–4	2–0	3–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–2	2–4	3–2	5–1	1–5	3–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–5	0–2	4–1	—	2–0	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	4–1	3–3	4–1	2–3	6–0	2–0
Indiana	2–4	1–5	3–3	5–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	0–2	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	0–6	4–2	3–2	0–6	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Kansas City	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–4	0–2	2–3	3–3	1–1	—	1–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	0–5	1–5	4–1	2–3	3–3	0–2
Los Angeles	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	3–3	4–1	2–0	4–1	—	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2	5–1	2–3	5–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	5–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	4–2	0–2	1–1	6–0	1–1	2–0	—	4–1	3–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
New Jersey	2–3	1–5	4–2	6–0	0–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	—	4–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–2
New York	1–5	1–5	2–3	6–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	2–0	3–3	2–4	—	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–5
Philadelphia	3–3	2–4	5–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	5–1	—	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	6–0
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	3–2	2–0	2–4	2–3	1–1	3–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	3–3	4–1	4–2	3–3	3–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	3–2	2–0	4–2	1–4	1–1	5–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3	—	3–2	4–2	3–3	4–1	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–3	3–3	0–2	5–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–4	2–3	—	3–2	4–1	3–3	1–1
San Diego	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2	0–5	0–2	1–5	1–4	0–2	1–4	1–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–4	2–4	2–3	—	1–5	1–4	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–1	3–2	1–1	5–1	3–2	1–1	3–2	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–4	5–1	—	5–0	1–1
Utah	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–3	0–6	1–1	3–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	3–3	4–1	0–5	—	1–1
Washington	4–2	0–6	4–2	5–1	1–1	0–2	4–1	1–1	0–2	5–1	2–0	0–2	2–3	2–4	5–1	0–6	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	—

Playoffs

Game log

1982 playoff game log

First Round: 2–1 (home: 1–0; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 20	@ Denver	L 113–129	Kyle Macy (22)	Truck Robinson (13)	Truck Robinson (6)	McNichols Sports Arena 17,298	0–1
2	April 23	Denver	W 126–110	Dennis Johnson (29)	Alvan Adams (9)	Dennis Johnson (8)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,798	1–1
3	April 24	@ Denver	W 124–119	Dennis Johnson (26)	Truck Robinson (9)	Rich Kelley (7)	McNichols Sports Arena 17,443	2–1

Conference semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 27	@ Los Angeles	L 96–115	Johnson, Adams (20)	Truck Robinson (14)	three players tied (4)	The Forum 13,623	0–1
2	April 28	@ Los Angeles	L 98–117	Dennis Johnson (27)	Larry Nance (11)	Dennis Johnson (6)	The Forum 15,558	0–2
3	April 30	Los Angeles	L 106–114	Alvan Adams (23)	Alvan Adams (12)	three players tied (5)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,660	0–3
4	May 2	Los Angeles	L 107–112	Dennis Johnson (31)	Macy, Nance (6)	Alvan Adams (8)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,932	0–4

1982 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

Dennis Johnson was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. Johnson finished fourth in voting among Western Conference guards with 220,914 votes. It was his fourth consecutive All-Star selection.
The other Suns player who received All-Star votes was Alvan Adams (134,441).

Season

Kyle Macy led the league in free throw percentage with .899%.
Dennis Johnson was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Johnson also finished 21st in MVP voting.

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Phoenix Suns statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alvan Adams	79	75	30.3	.494	.000	.781	7.4	4.5	1.4	1.0	15.1
Dudley Bradley	64	3	14.6	.445	.250	.740	1.4	1.3	1.2	.2	5.1
Jeff Cook	76	22	17.1	.422	.000	.664	4.0	1.3	.5	.3	5.1
Walter Davis	55	12	21.5	.523†	.188	.820	1.9	2.9	.8	.1	14.4
Craig Dykema	32	0	3.2	.459	.500^	.778	0.4	0.5	.1	.0	1.3
Dennis Johnson	80	77	36.7	.470	.190	.806	5.1	4.6	1.3	.7	19.5
Rich Kelley	81	39	23.4	.467	.000	.749	6.1	3.6	.8	.9	7.9
Joel Kramer	56	0	9.8	.414	.	.786	1.9	0.9	.3	.2	2.6
Kyle Macy	82	72	34.7	.514	.390^	.899	3.2	4.7	1.7	.1	14.2
John McCullough	8	0	2.9	.692†	.	.600	0.5	0.4	.3	.0	2.6
Larry Nance	80	0	14.8	.521	.000	.641	3.2	1.0	.5	.9	6.6
Truck Robinson	74	72	37.1	.513	1.000^	.687	9.7	2.4	.6	.4	19.1
Alvin Scott	81	38	21.5	.497	.000	.730	3.6	1.8	.7	.9	6.0

† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 25 three-pointers made.

Playoffs

Phoenix Suns statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Alvan Adams	7	7	33.3	.522	.	.786	7.3	3.7	2.0	1.4	16.9
Dudley Bradley	7	0	3.4	.250	.	1.000^	0.1	0.7	.1	.1	0.7
Jeff Cook	7	0	6.4	.500	.	.	1.3	1.0	.3	.3	1.1
Walter Davis	7	0	24.7	.448	.333	.917	3.1	4.3	.7	.1	18.1
Craig Dykema	6	0	2.0	.167	.	.	0.7	0.3	.0	.0	0.3
Dennis Johnson	7	7	38.7	.477	.000	.769	4.4	4.6	2.1	.6	22.3
Rich Kelley	7	7	27.3	.500	.	.700	6.9	4.3	.9	.4	9.7
Joel Kramer	4	0	5.0	.714†	.	.667	1.3	0.3	.3	.0	3.0
Kyle Macy	7	7	34.7	.427	.364	.938^	3.1	4.0	1.0	.1	13.6
Larry Nance	7	0	18.3	.610†	.	.500	4.6	1.0	1.4	1.6	7.7
Truck Robinson	7	7	30.4	.563	.	.300	7.6	2.7	.7	.1	13.3
Alvin Scott	7	0	18.1	.438	.000	.500	2.3	2.0	1.1	1.9	4.6

† – Minimum 20 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 10 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades

June 8, 1981	To Indiana Pacers 1981 second-round draft pick ( El Leslie) 1982 second-round draft pick ( Jose Slaughter) Relinquished right to swap 1983 first round picks	To Phoenix Suns Dudley Bradley
October 1, 1981	To Chicago Bulls Johnny High	To Phoenix Suns 1983 third-round draft pick ( Winfred King)