The NBA world has just lost a legendary player, as former Phoenis Suns Walter Davis has passed away at the age of 69 on Thursday, November 2. Davis was originally taken fifth overall in the 1977 NBA Draft by the Suns and quickly established him as one of their greatest players of all-time.
After eleven years in Phoenix, his number 6 jersey was retired by the franchise in 1994.
Davis’ career began on a high note when he joined Dean Smith’s prestigious UNC program as part of an outstanding recruiting class. In 1977 Davis helped lead them to an NCAA Championship Game appearance against Marquette where they ultimately fell short.
After two more successful seasons with Carolina, Davis elected to enter into a professional basketball career and declared for the draft.
We are heartbroken by the passing of Suns legend Walter Davis, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer and a member of our Ring of Honor.
‘Sweet D’ was one of the game’s best, a prolific scorer whose smooth playing style and ‘velvet touch’ endeared him to generations of our… pic.twitter.com/Ai9pmafJYt
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 2, 2023
The Phoenix Suns selected him fifth overall in 1977 and were immediately rewarded for their decision when he won Rookie Of The Year honors after averaging 24.2 points per game that season – making him one of only four players since 1980 to win both Player Of The Year and Rookie Of The Year awards from UNC (Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Jordan and Vince Carter being the other three).
During his eleven year tenure with Phoenix he became known as one of their most beloved stars scoring 16,000+ points for them while also leading them to three straight playoff appearances from 1983 – 1985. This included a Western Conference Finals berth during 1984/85 season where they ultimately fell short against Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
His number 6 was eventually retired by the organization in 1994 following his retirement from basketball altogether shortly thereafter.
After leaving Phoenix he played 3 seasons with Denver followed by 1 season with Portland before returning back to Denver for one final season before calling it quits on his prolific career which included being named an All Star six times over those sixteen years (1977-1993).
His nephew Hubert Davis is now head coach of North Carolina’s basketball team – further cementing Walter’s legacy within UNC’s storied history forevermore.
