1995–96 Phoenix Suns season

The 1995–96 Phoenix Suns season was the 28th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Head coach Paul Westphal, who had led the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals, went 14–19 before being replaced by Cotton Fitzsimmons, who would come on to coach in his third stint with the Suns. The Suns were eliminated from the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, three games to one, in the Western Conference first round. All home games were played at America West Arena.

Charles Barkley led the Suns for the fourth consecutive year in both points and rebounds, averaging 23.2 and 11.6 on the season. point guard Kevin Johnson again led the team in assists, averaging 9.2 per game to go with his 18.7 points per game. Michael Finley, a rookie from Wisconsin, who appeared in all 82 regular season games but none of the Suns' playoff games, was third in scoring, averaging 15 per game and was later named to the All-Rookie First Team.

Barkley made his 10th consecutive All-Star Game. The power forward, who had turned 33 years of age during the season, made his 11th All-NBA Team, appearing as a selection on the Third Team. It was the first time in Barkley's career he had not been selected to the First or Second Team.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	21	Michael Finley	Forward	United States	Wisconsin
1	27	Mario Bennett	Forward	United States	Arizona State
2	56	Chris Carr	Guard	United States	Southern Illinois

The Suns received the 21st pick from a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1994. With the pick they would select future All-Star swingman Michael Finley from Wisconsin. Finley averaged 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in four years with the Badgers. On October 4, the Suns signed Finley to a three-year rookie contract for $2.17 million. In his rookie season, Finley would average 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game, earning All-Rookie First Team honors. Finley was traded to the Dallas Mavericks midway through his sophomore season for All-Star point guard Jason Kidd.

The Suns used their first-round pick to select small forward Mario Bennett from Arizona State. Bennett averaged 15.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in three years with the Sun Devils. On October 4, the Suns signed Bennett to a three-year rookie contract for $1.66 million. Bennett underwent knee surgery before the season and remained on the injured reserve until March 1. Bennett would appear in just 19 regular season games, starting in 14 due to injuries, and two playoff games before being waived prior to the 1996–97 season.

The Suns used their second-round pick to select shooting guard Chris Carr from Southern Illinois. Carr averaged 13.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in three years with the Salukis. On October 2, the Suns signed Carr to a one-year rookie contract for $200,000. Carr appeared in 60 regular season games, starting in ten, and three playoff games. Carr would sign as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves after the season.

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From 4.0 !F 34 USA ! Barkley, Charles 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1963–02–20 Auburn 4.0 !F 8 USA ! Bennett, Mario 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1973–08–01 Arizona State 1.5 !G 43 USA ! Carr, Chris 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1974–03–12 Southern Illinois 6.0 !C 40 USA ! Coker, John 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 253 lb (115 kg) 1971–10–28 Boise State 2.5 !G/F 4 USA ! Finley, Michael 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1973–03–06 Wisconsin 5.5 !F/C 45 USA ! Green, A. C. 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1963–10–04 Oregon State 1.5 !G 7 USA ! Johnson, Kevin 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–03–04 California 6.0 !C 35 USA ! Kleine, Joe 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1962–01–04 Arkansas 5.5 !F/C 15 USA ! Manning, Danny 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–05–17 Kansas 1.5 !G 2 USA ! Perry, Elliot 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 1969–03–28 Memphis 1.5 !G 11 USA ! Person, Wesley 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn 1.5 !G 14 USA ! Rencher, Terrence 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1973–02–19 Texas 5.5 !F/C 23 USA ! Tisdale, Wayman 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1964–06–09 Oklahoma 6.0 !C 18 USA ! Williams, John 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–08–09 Tulane	Head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons (Midwestern State) Assistant coach(es) Donn Nelson (Wheaton) Paul Silas (Creighton) Athletic trainer(s) Joe Proski (Montana State) Aaron Nelson (Iowa State) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Robin Pound (Michigan State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Regular season

Standings

Playoffs

Game log

Awards and honors

Week/Month

• Kevin Johnson was named Player of the Week for games played April 1 through April 7.
• Charles Barkley was named Player of the Month for February.

All-Star

• Charles Barkley was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his tenth consecutive All-Star selection. Barkley finished first in voting among Western Conference players with 1,268,195 votes.
• Other Suns players receiving All-Star votes were: A. C. Green (269,175).
• Michael Finley was selected to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest. Finley finished second, losing to champion Brent Barry in the final round.
• Michael Finley was selected to compete for the Western Conference in the Rookie Challenge.

Season

• Charles Barkley was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Barkley also finished 12th in MVP voting.
• Michael Finley was named to the All-Rookie First Team. Finley also finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Injuries/Missed Games

• 10/31/95: Mario Bennett: Knee chondromalacia; placed on injured reserve until March 1
• 10/31/95: John Coker: Foot stress fracture; placed on injured reserve until March 8
• 10/31/95: Danny Manning: Torn ACL; placed on injured list until February 1
• 11/10/95: Kevin Johnson: Strained knee tendon; out until November 18
• 11/27/95: Wayman Tisdale: Sore shoulder; did not play
• 12/02/95: Kevin Johnson: Sore hamstring; did not play
• 12/08/95: Charles Barkley: Flu; did not play
• 12/08/95: Elliot Perry: Bruised lower back; did not play
• 12/16/95: Kevin Johnson: Strained groin; out until January 21
• 12/16/95: Stefano Rusconi: Flu; did not play
• 12/19/95: Hot Rod Williams: Sprained knee; out until December 27
• 01/04/96: Stefano Rusconi: Injured achilles tendon; out until waived on January 31
• 01/09/96: Charles Barkley: Sore toe; out until January 21
• 01/09/96: Hot Rod Williams: Leg nerve irritation; out until January 28
• 02/08/96: Kevin Johnson: Strained hamstring, strained groin; out until February 19
• 02/13/96: Wayman Tisdale: Injured eye; did not play
• 03/01/96: Terrence Rencher: Sprained ankle; placed on injured list until April 22
• 03/07/96: Wayman Tisdale: Bruised shoulder; did not play
• 03/08/96: Wayman Tisdale: Strained shoulder; placed on injured list until March 29
• 03/13/96: Danny Manning: Sprained ankle; out until March 21
• 03/29/96: John Coker: Sore foot, placed on injured list until April 22
• 04/02/96: Mario Bennett: Flu; out until April 10
• 04/07/96: Danny Manning: Knee tendinitis; out until April 16
• 04/10/96: Hot Rod Williams: Injured hand, wrist, foot; out until April 19
• 04/14/96: Joe Kleine: Fainting spell; out until April 26
• 04/16/96: Charles Barkley: Strained calf; out until April 26
• 04/21/96: Kevin Johnson: Strained calf; did not play
• 04/26/96: Michael Finley: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 04/28/96: Michael Finley: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 05/01/96: Michael Finley: Sprained ankle; did not play
• 05/03/96: Michael Finley: Sprained ankle; did not play

Player statistics

Season

* - Stats with the Suns.
† - Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ - Minimum 82 three-pointers made.
# - Minimum 125 free-throws made.

Playoffs

Transactions

Trades

Free agents