The Phoenix Suns clinched the franchise's third finals appearance on Wednesday after beating the Los Angeles Clippers in six games. The Suns will be taking on the Milwaukee Bucks who are hoping to have their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo back from a knee injury. The regular-season matchup between these two teams saw the Phoenix Suns prevail in both games by only a point in each. The Bucks led the NBA in points per game, while the Suns have the best defense so far in the playoffs. The series will be evenly matched on paper, should Antetokounmpo return from his injury.
A lot of Suns fans know about the infamous story of the coin toss. For those of you that don't know what I am talking about, let me explain. In 1969 the biggest player coming out of college was Lew Alcindor (later to be known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). The race for the top spot consisted of a coin flip between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. The clear-cut number one pick in the draft was Alcindor, and whoever won the flip would select him. The Bucks would go on to win the coin flip and Alcindor would win an NBA title in Milwaukee, while the Suns, even today, are still hoping to win one.
Now, the Suns have the opportunity to get revenge for what happened over 50 years ago. I am not one to hold grudges, and I wasn't even alive at that time, but the entire Suns franchise could have enjoyed more success. I am a bit upset that we couldn't get a player like Alcindor at the time, but it makes winning now that much sweeter. Not having won a championship creates diehard fans that deserve to celebrate the small successes such as making the playoffs. I remember how excited I was that the Suns made the playoffs this season because it had been so long since I had watched Suns playoff basketball.
The Suns making the finals is something very hard to explain to people that don't follow the team. It means so much to not only me but all Suns fans that have followed the team through thick and thin. It showed when the Suns' players returned from Los Angeles with the Western Conference trophy to 20,000 people waiting for them at the airport when they arrived. I haven't seen the city of Phoenix so excited for a basketball team in so long.
This postseason run is far from over and I know that Phoenix fans are going to be ready to lose their voices to support the team. This will be the hardest test yet, but I do not doubt that the team will be ready to face the challenges head-on. Whether the Bucks have Antetokounmpo or not, the Suns will be ready.