There seems to be a common assumption among many Suns fans that it wouldn't take that long for the Suns to return to being competitive again once they either retooled or completely bottomed out. Maybe because we've been spoiled a bit with the Suns being a permanent playoff fixture, at least until the last two years, that we've come to expect any lottery stint to be a temporary, if not necessary, detour from our continuing pursuit of a title.
So the question is, how long before the Suns win a playoff series again? I chose to use this milestone as a measure of relative success as opposed to merely making playoffs since more than half the teams in the league make playoffs every year.
The longest span between Suns playoff series victories since 1975 (Suns 7th year in the league) is 4 seasons, which happened several times. Currently, the streak is at 2 seasons.
Before you answer, you might want to revisit the recent histories of the majority of NBA teams. A good question to entertain would be why should the Suns fare any better than the likes of Golden State, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Portland, Toronto, Washington, or many of the other teams that have spent a significant number of seasons in the lottery with very little to show for it. Even for teams that did manage to put a competitive team on the floor after years of lottery picks, it hasn't come easy.
Golden State: lottery 12 straight years from 1995 to 2006, current five year lottery streak, overall missed playoffs 17 out of past 18 seasons.
Milwaukee: missed playoffs in 5 out of last 6 years, 6 out of 8. Two first round exists.
Minnesota: current 8-year lottery streak.
New Orleans: missed playoffs in 5 out of last 8 years.
Portland: bottomed-out, missing playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons, followed by 3 first-round exists and now back in lottery
Sacramento: current streak of 6 consecutive lottery appearances
Toronto: missed playoffs in 8 of past 10 seasons including last 4, 2 first round exists
Washington: current streak of 4 straight lottery appearances after bottoming-out following 3 straight first round exists and one semifinals appearance before which Wizards missed playoffs in previous 15 out of 16 seasons dating back to their Bullets days
New Jersey: current streak of five straight lottery appearances before being sold and moving to the biggest market in America.
Charlotte: missed playoffs in 7 out of 8 seasons in its existence.
Detroit: missed playoffs last 3 years
And how about teams that returned to playoffs after recently bottoming out?
Atlanta: lottery-bound in 8 straight years before a current streak of 5 straight playoff appearances, but never made it past the conference semifinals stage. 8 straight years of lottery just to make the semifinals?
Denver: also 8 straight years in the lottery before current streak of 9 consecutive playoff appearances, which consists of 1 conference finals visit sandwiched between 8 first-round exists. I guess those season of winning 11, 17 and 21 games total were so worth it.
Houston: 4 straight lottery seasons, including a 54-loss season that netted them Yao, led to 4 first-round exists in 5 years, followed by 1 semifinals appearance. Back in lottery past 3 years.
Indiana: 4 straight lottery seasons, now back in playoffs last two years including a first-round exist and a semifinals appearance. Seemingly moving in the right direction, but how close are they really to competing for a title?
LA Clippers: in the lottery for 13 of 14 seasons prior to last one and throughout its existence. Competitive for the first time in over 30 years.
Memphis: missed playoffs in 12 out of 15 seasons prior to current streak of 2 playoff appearances that resulted in 1 conference semifinals loss and more recent first round exit. Title contenders?
New York: biggest market in America, but missed playoffs in 6 straight seasons and 8 out of 9 before two first-round exists last two years. What happened to all those lottery picks?
Oklahoma City: a genuine title contender. And it "only" took 4 straight lottery seasons, and 6 out of 8, to get there. Nevermind the unbelievable luck of being able to draft Durant and Westbrook. OKC fans are very lucky as all but one of those lottery seasons were weathered by Seattle.
Philadelphia: semifinals loss last season. That followed 8 straight seasons of either lottery or first-round exists. I guess that's progress.
Chicago: their lottery stint following Jordan's final departure lasted 6 years. Their reward? 2 first-round exists and 1 semifinals loss before returning to lottery where they beat all kinds of odds to get #1 pick after a 33-win season.
Dallas: one of the most successful of teams last 12 years. But it took a new owner with deep pockets and a whole decade of lottery picks (10 straight lotto season from 1991 to 2000).
And finally, there's the Suns:
Phoenix: missed playoffs in 3 of last 4 years, after only missing playoffs twice in prior 20 seasons. The Suns have not missed playoffs in 3 straight years since 1988 and 4 straight since 1974. But this was all under different ownership and different management.
So how many more seasons will the Suns go without winning another playoff series?
So the question is, how long before the Suns win a playoff series again? I chose to use this milestone as a measure of relative success as opposed to merely making playoffs since more than half the teams in the league make playoffs every year.
The longest span between Suns playoff series victories since 1975 (Suns 7th year in the league) is 4 seasons, which happened several times. Currently, the streak is at 2 seasons.
Before you answer, you might want to revisit the recent histories of the majority of NBA teams. A good question to entertain would be why should the Suns fare any better than the likes of Golden State, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Portland, Toronto, Washington, or many of the other teams that have spent a significant number of seasons in the lottery with very little to show for it. Even for teams that did manage to put a competitive team on the floor after years of lottery picks, it hasn't come easy.
Golden State: lottery 12 straight years from 1995 to 2006, current five year lottery streak, overall missed playoffs 17 out of past 18 seasons.
Milwaukee: missed playoffs in 5 out of last 6 years, 6 out of 8. Two first round exists.
Minnesota: current 8-year lottery streak.
New Orleans: missed playoffs in 5 out of last 8 years.
Portland: bottomed-out, missing playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons, followed by 3 first-round exists and now back in lottery
Sacramento: current streak of 6 consecutive lottery appearances
Toronto: missed playoffs in 8 of past 10 seasons including last 4, 2 first round exists
Washington: current streak of 4 straight lottery appearances after bottoming-out following 3 straight first round exists and one semifinals appearance before which Wizards missed playoffs in previous 15 out of 16 seasons dating back to their Bullets days
New Jersey: current streak of five straight lottery appearances before being sold and moving to the biggest market in America.
Charlotte: missed playoffs in 7 out of 8 seasons in its existence.
Detroit: missed playoffs last 3 years
And how about teams that returned to playoffs after recently bottoming out?
Atlanta: lottery-bound in 8 straight years before a current streak of 5 straight playoff appearances, but never made it past the conference semifinals stage. 8 straight years of lottery just to make the semifinals?
Denver: also 8 straight years in the lottery before current streak of 9 consecutive playoff appearances, which consists of 1 conference finals visit sandwiched between 8 first-round exists. I guess those season of winning 11, 17 and 21 games total were so worth it.
Houston: 4 straight lottery seasons, including a 54-loss season that netted them Yao, led to 4 first-round exists in 5 years, followed by 1 semifinals appearance. Back in lottery past 3 years.
Indiana: 4 straight lottery seasons, now back in playoffs last two years including a first-round exist and a semifinals appearance. Seemingly moving in the right direction, but how close are they really to competing for a title?
LA Clippers: in the lottery for 13 of 14 seasons prior to last one and throughout its existence. Competitive for the first time in over 30 years.
Memphis: missed playoffs in 12 out of 15 seasons prior to current streak of 2 playoff appearances that resulted in 1 conference semifinals loss and more recent first round exit. Title contenders?
New York: biggest market in America, but missed playoffs in 6 straight seasons and 8 out of 9 before two first-round exists last two years. What happened to all those lottery picks?
Oklahoma City: a genuine title contender. And it "only" took 4 straight lottery seasons, and 6 out of 8, to get there. Nevermind the unbelievable luck of being able to draft Durant and Westbrook. OKC fans are very lucky as all but one of those lottery seasons were weathered by Seattle.
Philadelphia: semifinals loss last season. That followed 8 straight seasons of either lottery or first-round exists. I guess that's progress.
Chicago: their lottery stint following Jordan's final departure lasted 6 years. Their reward? 2 first-round exists and 1 semifinals loss before returning to lottery where they beat all kinds of odds to get #1 pick after a 33-win season.
Dallas: one of the most successful of teams last 12 years. But it took a new owner with deep pockets and a whole decade of lottery picks (10 straight lotto season from 1991 to 2000).
And finally, there's the Suns:
Phoenix: missed playoffs in 3 of last 4 years, after only missing playoffs twice in prior 20 seasons. The Suns have not missed playoffs in 3 straight years since 1988 and 4 straight since 1974. But this was all under different ownership and different management.
So how many more seasons will the Suns go without winning another playoff series?
