127 . Alvan Adams: Rookie of the Year & NBA Finals Star

Alvan Adams was the Phoenix Suns' rookie center during the memorable 1976 NBA Finals run, and he was nothing short of sensational in his debut season. A 6'9" center out of the University of Oklahoma, Adams won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1975–76 after averaging around 19 points and 9 rebounds per game, bringing a unique blend of size, skill, and passing ability that was ahead of its time for a big man. He was a key reason the Suns — a team few expected to contend — made it all the way to the Finals, and his performance throughout the playoffs announced him as one of the league's brightest young talents. The 1976 NBA Finals featured the Boston Celtics defeating the Phoenix Suns in six games, widely remembered as one of the greatest series in basketball history. Game 5 in particular is considered a classic — a triple-overtime thriller at Boston Garden that saw the Celtics ultimately prevail 128–126 in what many still call the greatest game ever played. The series was a showcase for Boston's John Havlicek in what turned out to be his final playoff run, along with Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, and Paul Silas, while the Suns' Garfield Heard hit a buzzer-beater to force the third overtime before Boston closed it out in Game 6 to claim their 13th NBA championship. Adams would go on to spend his entire 13-year career with Phoenix, becoming the franchise's all-time leading scorer and rebounder at the time of his retirement, and remains one of the most beloved figures in Suns history. The number on his back was a tribute to a player he idolized growing up and battled many times ima his NBA career, and he has openly acknowledged that a legendary player's decision to jump to the ABA helped him win that Rookie of the Year Award 50 years ago — an iconic rookie season that landed him on the June 7, 1976 cover of Sports Illustrated in a battle against Hall of Famer Dave Cowens — an image that perfectly summed up the undersized rookie who refused to back down from anyone. Now Alvan Adams is coming to Past Our Prime to relive it all. He'll talk about that stunning rookie season, the gut-wrenching triple-overtime Game 5 loss that still haunts and thrills Suns fans to this day, the story behind his number, the coach he has to thank for his path to Phoenix, and the teammate he considers the best he ever shared a court with during his Suns career. It's a conversation decades in the making, and Past Our Prime is the place where it finally happens. Download and subscribe and leave a review if you could. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices