1999–2000 Phoenix Suns season

The 1999–2000 Phoenix Suns season was the 32nd season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. The Suns acquired the ninth overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft from the Dallas Mavericks via trade, and selected small forward Shawn Marion from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star guard Penny Hardaway from the Orlando Magic, signed free agent Rodney Rogers, and re-signed former Suns center Oliver Miller, who played for the team when they reached the 1993 NBA Finals.

With the addition of Hardaway, Rogers, Marion and Miller, the Suns won 11 of their first 15 games of the regular season, which included a seven-game winning streak between November and December. After a 13–7 start to the season, Danny Ainge resigned as the team's head coach to spend more time with his family, and was replaced with assistant coach Scott Skiles. Under Skiles, the Suns continued to play above .500 in winning percentage, holding a 29–19 record at the All-Star break. The Suns posted an eight-game winning streak in February, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 53–29 record, earning the fifth seed in the Western Conference; the team also qualified for the NBA playoffs for the twelfth consecutive year.

Six players on the team averaged double-digits in points this season; Clifford Robinson led the Suns in scoring with 18.5 points per game and 120 three-point field goals, while Hardaway averaged 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game in only 60 games due to a foot injury, and Jason Kidd provided the team with 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 10.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game. In addition, Rogers played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game along with 115 three-point field goals, finished fourth in the league with .439 in three-point field goal percentage, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Meanwhile, Tom Gugliotta contributed 13.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, but only played 54 games due to injury, and did not play in any of the Suns' playoff games, while Marion averaged 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in only 51 games. On the defensive side, Luc Longley averaged 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and Miller provided with 6.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in only 51 games.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Kidd was selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team. Kidd scored 11 points along with 14 assists and 4 steals, as the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 137–126. In addition, Kidd also participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Jennifer Gillom of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. Kidd was also named to the All-NBA First Team, as he and Robinson were both selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Marion and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Kidd finished in eleventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, and also finished tied in eighth place along with Robinson in Defensive Player of the Year voting; Rogers finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting, and Skiles finished tied in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In March, Kidd suffered an ankle injury and missed the final month of the regular season. Former All-Star and Suns guard Kevin Johnson would come out of his retirement; he had retired after the 1997–98 season. Johnson played in six regular season games, averaging 6.7 points and 4.0 assists per game.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 4th–seeded, and defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the Spurs had home-court advantage in the series. However, the Spurs were without All-Star forward Tim Duncan, who was out due to a season-ending knee injury, as the team was led by All-Star center David Robinson, and Avery Johnson. The Suns won Game 1 over the Spurs on the road, 72–70 at the Alamodome, but then lost Game 2 on the road, 85–70. With the series tied at 1–1, the Suns won the next two games at home, as Kidd returned from his ankle injury to play in Game 4, in which the Suns defeated the Spurs at the America West Arena, 89–78 to win the series in four games, and advance to the Western Conference Semi-finals for the first time since the 1994–95 season.

In the Semi-finals, the Suns faced off against the top–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the trio of All-Star center, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, and Glen Rice. The Suns lost the first three games to the Lakers, but managed to win Game 4 at the America West Arena, 117–98. However, the Suns lost Game 5 to the Lakers on the road, 87–65 at the Staples Center, thus losing the series in five games. The Lakers would advance to the 2000 NBA Finals to defeat the Indiana Pacers in six games.

The Suns finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 773,115 at the America West Arena during the regular season. Following the season, Johnson retired for the second and last time, while Rex Chapman also retired due to continuing injuries, Miller was released to free agency, and Longley was traded to the New York Knicks.

On December 17, 1999, after a 110–102 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon, Gugliotta had a near-death experience where he suffered from a seizure on the team bus, while talking to his wife, Nikki, on his cellular phone. Gugliotta had stopped breathing while being rushed to Legacy Emanuel Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition, and underwent a series of tests, which did not reveal the cause of his seizure; he was released from the hospital the next day, but experienced headaches afterwards. Gugliotta had taken the supplement, "furanone di-hydro", after the Suns' game against the Trail Blazers, and before boarding the team bus, because he had trouble sleeping, and had taken the supplement once before without any effects.