The first decade of the 2000s was one of the greatest in Phoenix Suns history, full of winning seasons, deep playoff runs and a fast-paced style that revolutionized the game.

Although those Suns teams fell short of an NBA championship, their basketball legacy was further cemented on Saturday with news that Amar’e Stoudemire and Mike D’Antoni have received basketball’s highest honor – induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

They’ll be the third representatives of those successful Suns teams of the 2000s to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, joining former point guard Steve Nash, a two-time league MVP who was inducted in 2018.

Stoudemire’s style ‘helped define an era’

Stoudemire, a power forward and center on those dynamic Suns teams, wowed Phoenix fans for years with his athleticism and powerful dunks.

The NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2002-03, he was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection. He played the first eight of his 14 NBA seasons in Phoenix, leading the Suns in scoring five times, before moving on to the New York Knicks in 2010.

“Amar’e’s election to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a testament to the excellence he displayed throughout his amazing career,” said Mat Ishbia, the Suns’ current owner. “His passion, charisma and relentless playing style captivated our fans and helped define an era of Suns basketball. This recognition reflects the lasting impact he has made on our organization, our community and the game of basketball.”

Stoudemire ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in points (11,035 – 7th), rebounds (4,613 – 3rd), field-goal percentage (54.4% – 8th) and blocks (722 – 5th). In 52 playoff games with the Suns, he averaged 24.2 points – the fourth-best postseason mark in team history.

The Suns retired Stoudemire’s No. 32 into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2024.

D’Antoni’s ‘7 seconds or less’ revolution

D’Antoni took over as Phoenix’s head coach midway through the 2003-04 season, when the Suns finished 29-53 and missed the playoffs.

But in his first full year as head coach, D’Antoni led an incredible turnaround. The Suns finished 62-20 in 2004-05, the best record in the NBA, and he was named Coach of the Year.

Nash, drafted by the Suns in 1996 before blossoming into a star with the Dallas Mavericks, rejoined the Suns that season as a free agent, and D’Antoni implemented an up-tempo offense built around Nash’s elite passing and decision-making skills, an array of 3-point shooters, and the speed and finishing abilities of young, athletic players like Stoudemire and forward Shawn Marion.

The “7 seconds or less” offense – designed to get a shot off at that blistering pace – took the NBA by storm, bucking a years-long trend of slower, defensive-oriented play.

NBA scoring began a sharp decline in the 1990s, and in 1995-96, the average team scored just 99.5 points per game – the first time since the 1950s that total had slipped below 100. The decline continued for several years, bottoming out at 91.6 in 1998-99.

Average scores remained in the low to mid-90s before D’Antoni’s Suns drove the league-wide average to jump nearly 4 points per game in that 2004-05 season.

From there, the NBA pendulum continued to swing, with D’Antoni continuing to run the fast-paced style he had excelled in as a dominant player in Italy in the 1980s, ushering in a new era of high-scoring, up-tempo basketball.

“Mike’s forward thinking forever changed the game of basketball while leading some of the greatest teams in Suns history,” Ishbia said. “This honor reflects the lasting mark he has made on the sport.”

In four full seasons under D’Antoni, the Suns made the playoffs every year, including back-to-back trips to the Western Conference Finals in 2005 and 2006. They led the league in scoring three consecutive seasons.

D’Antoni moved on to the New York Knicks in 2008, eventually reuniting with Stoudemire for two seasons. In 16 seasons as an NBA head coach, he finished with a record of 672-527, 10 playoff berths, and a second Coach of the Year award, with the Houston Rockets in 2016-17.

2026 Hall of Fame class

Joining Stoudemire and D’Antoni in this year’s Hall of Fame class are longtime NBA player and coach Doc Rivers; former WNBA stars Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne and Chamique Holdsclaw; the 1996 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team; longtime Gonzaga University men’s coach Mark Few; and NBA referee Joey Crawford.

The induction ceremonies are scheduled for Aug. 14-15 in Springfield.