The list of former Phoenix Suns players in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame isn’t long. It consists of six names, and three of those players burnished their credentials elsewhere.
The threesome of Shaquille O’Neal, Dennis Johnson and Gus Johnson, who played all of one season (1972-73) for Phoenix, is joined by Charles Barkley, Gail Goodrich and Connie Hawkins as the only former Suns players to receive basketball’s highest honor.
That list could increase by 50 percent, however, when the 2018 Hall of Fame Class is announced Saturday during Final Four weekend in San Antonio. Three former Suns – Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Jason Kidd – are finalists, along with former NBA players Maurice Cheeks and Chris Webber; former men’s college coach Lefty Driesell; former NBA referee Hugh Evans; former college and WNBA stars Tina Thompson and Katie Smith; former NBA coach Rudy Tomjanovich; Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey; and the 1956-58 Wayland Baptist University women’s basketball teams.