The 1985–86 Phoenix Suns season was the 18th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns finished the regular season tied with their third-worst record to that point, going just 32–50. Coupled with every team in the Western Conference's Midwest division finishing with a better record than all but two teams from the Pacific division, and the Suns were out of the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons, ending a then-franchise record streak for consecutive playoff berths. The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod, in his 13th year with the Suns, and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Walter Davis bounced back from injury that caused him to miss the majority of the previous season, leading the Suns in scoring at 22 points per game, his highest output since his 1978–79 season with the Suns. Phoenix boasted a pair of 20–20 scorers, as Larry Nance continued to increase his scoring each season since being drafted five seasons ago by Phoenix, with a 20.2 average a game for the season. Nance would finish the season ranked third in the NBA in field goal percentage and lead the Suns in rebounds. Mike Sanders came off the bench and appeared in all 82 regular season games, averaging a career-high 11.0 points a game.

Offseason

NBA draft

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club 1 10 Ed Pinckney Forward Villanova 2 32 Nick Vanos Center Santa Clara 3 56 Jerry Everett Guard Lamar 4 78 Granger Hall Forward Temple 5 102 Shawn Campbell Center Weber State 6 124 Charles Rayne Guard Temple 7 148 Georgi Glouchkov Forward Bulgaria Akademik Varna

Roster

Regular season The Suns were the last winless team, starting the season 0–9. On , Alvin Robertson recorded the second quadruple-double (double digits in four statistical categories in a single game) in NBA history, when he registered 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals while playing for the Spurs against the Suns. He is also the only player to do so with steals as the fourth category (the other three were with blocks).

Standings

Awards and honors

Week/Month Larry Nance was named Player of the Week for games played December 16 through December 22.

All-Star This was the first year in franchise history that the Suns were not represented in the All-Star Game.

Player statistics

Season

|- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 78 || 45 || 25.7 || .502 || . || .783 || 6.1 || 4.2 || 1.3 || .6 || 10.8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 70 || 62 || 32.0 || .485 || .237 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .843 || 2.9 || 5.2 || 1.4 || .0 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 21.8 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 4 || 0 || 12.8 || .381 || . || .250 || 2.0 || 1.3 || .8 || .0 || 4.3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 52 || 51 || 25.3 || .542 || . || .702 || 5.8 || 1.4 || .4 || .6 || 16.3 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 48 || 0 || 14.7 || .390 || .281 || .719 || 1.2 || 2.5 || .5 || .0 || 4.2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 49 || 16 || 15.8 || .402 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 1.000 || .574 || 3.3 || 0.7 || .5 || .5 || 4.9 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | * || 4 || 0 || 16.3 || .200 || .000 || .667 || 0.8 || 1.8 || .5 || .0 || 3.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 82 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 82 || 33.3 || .479 || .138 || .767 || 3.2 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 6.4 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 1.6 || .1 || 11.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 43 || 18 || 17.3 || .457 || .000 || .510 || 4.5 || 1.2 || .7 || .6 || 4.7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 73 || 69 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 34.0 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | .581† || .000 || .698 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 8.5 || 3.3 || 1.0 || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 1.8 || 20.2 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 80 || 24 || 20.0 || .558 || .000 || .673 || 3.9 || 1.1 || .9 || .5 || 8.5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || 69 || 17 || 16.4 || .583† || . || .702 || 3.6 || 0.8 || .5 || .3 || 5.1 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 46 || 1 || 13.7 || .377 || .000 || .688 || 3.2 || 1.3 || .4 || .1 || 3.8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | || style="background:#FF8800;color:#423189;" | 82 || 5 || 20.0 || .513 || .200 || .809 || 3.3 || 1.8 || .9 || .4 || 11.0 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 61 || 20 || 21.0 || .489 || .000 || .809 || 2.3 || 2.2 || .8 || .2 || 8.5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | * || 10 || 0 || 20.6 || .441 || .300 || .667 || 2.3 || 2.6 || .5 || .0 || 7.5 |- align="center" bgcolor="" | || 11 || 0 || 18.4 || .319 || . || .348 || 5.5 || 1.5 || .2 || .5 || 4.9

* – Stats with the Suns. † – Minimum 300 field goals made.

Transactions

Trades June 14, 1985 To Portland Trail Blazers 1987 second-round draft pick ( Nikita Wilson) To Phoenix Suns Bernard Thompson August 19, 1985 To Los Angeles Lakers Maurice Lucas To Phoenix Suns 1988 second-round draft pick ( Steve Kerr) 1989 second-round draft pick ( Greg Grant) October 4, 1985 To Chicago Bulls Suns agree to waive their right of first refusal on free agent Kyle Macy To Phoenix Suns 1986 second-round draft pick ( Rafael Addison) 1990 second-round draft pick ( Miloš Babić)

Free agents

Additions Date Player Contract Old Team September 26, 1985 Alvin Scott Re-signed to 1-year contract Phoenix Suns October 8, 1985 Devin Durrant Undisclosed Indiana Pacers December 13, 1985 Charles Pittman Undisclosed Phoenix Suns March 29, 1986 Sedric Toney Undisclosed Atlanta Hawks

Subtractions Date Player Reason left New team October 4, 1985 Kyle Macy Free agent Chicago Bulls October 14, 1985 Alvin Scott Waived RCD Espanyol Bàsquet (Spain) November 4, 1985 Devin Durrant Waived Olympique Antibes (France) November 4, 1985 Michael Holton Waived Florida Stingers (CBA) December 10, 1985 Charles Pittman Waived Phoenix Suns

References

Standings on Basketball Reference