1999–2000 Phoenix Suns season

The 1999–2000 NBA 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, 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.

After a 13–7 start to the regular season, Danny Ainge resigned as the Suns' head coach to spend more time with his family, and was replaced with assistant Scott Skiles. The team posted a 7-game winning streak between November and December, then won eight straight games in February, and held a 29–19 record at the All-Star break. The Suns finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 53–29 record, and earned the #5 seed in the Western Conference; the team also qualified for the NBA playoffs for the 12th 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.

Kidd was the only member of the team to be selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game in Oakland, California, and was also named to the All-NBA First Team, as he and Robinson were both selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and 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.

The Suns finished with the same regular season record, but did not have home-court advantage going into their Western Conference First Round match-up with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the 2000 NBA playoffs; still, the Suns would advance to their first conference semifinals appearance since 1995, en route to winning the series three games to one. The Suns lost in the Western Conference Semi-finals to new league MVP Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, four games to one. The Lakers would reach the 2000 NBA Finals to defeat the Indiana Pacers in six games.

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 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.