# 1970–71 Phoenix Suns season

The 1970–71 Phoenix Suns season was the third season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons lead the Suns, in the NBA's first season which separated the teams into both conferences and divisions as the league continued to gain more teams. It was the first season the Suns would be without the services of All-Star guard Gail Goodrich. With a 48–34 record (fourth best in the league), the Suns set the NBA record for the team with the best winning percentage not to make the playoffs. The team would break their own record the next year with a 49–33 finish. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Suns were led in scoring by Dick Van Arsdale with 21.9 points per game. Connie Hawkins finished the season averaging 20.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest. Paul Silas led the Suns with 12.5 rebounds per game, the highest-ever average in Suns history, while Neal Walk garnered 8.2 rebounds to go with his 12.9 points a game.
Goodrich, a native of Los Angeles and who played college ball at UCLA, was traded before the season back to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he had played before being acquired in the expansion draft of 1968. In exchange, the Suns obtained the 29-year-old 7-footer Mel Counts, who was coming off a career-high 12.6 average in points. Goodrich would go on to play nine more seasons in the NBA, six of those with the Lakers. During those six years, he would average 22.3 points per game, appear in four All-Star Games and be named to an All-NBA First Team. Meanwhile, Counts averaged 11 points and 6.3 rebounds in his first of two seasons with the Suns.

## Offseason
### NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 10 | Greg Howard | Forward | United States | New Mexico |
| 2 | 27 | Fred Taylor | Guard | United States | Texas-Pan Am |
| 3 | 29 | Joe DePre | Guard | United States | St. John's |
| 3 | 44 | Greg McDivitt | Forward | United States | Ohio |
| 3 | 48 | Vann Williford | Forward | United States | North Carolina State |
| 4 | 61 | Bob Lienhard | Center | United States | Georgia |
| 5 | 78 | John Canine | Guard | United States | Ohio |
| 6 | 95 | Joe Thomas | Forward | United States | Marquette |
| 7 | 112 | Heyward Dotson | Guard | United States | Columbia |
| 8 | 129 | Steve Patterson | Center | United States | UCLA |
| 9 | 146 | Carl Ashley | Forward | United States | Wyoming |
| 10 | 163 | Gerhardus Schreur | Forward | United States | Arizona State |
| 11 | 178 | Jim Walls | Guard | United States | Clark |
| 12 | 190 | Ric Cobb | Center | United States | Marquette |
| 13 | 200 | Fred Carpenter | Forward | United States | Hawaii |
| 14 | 210 | Chad Calabria | Guard | United States | Iowa |
| 15 | 219 | Walt Williams | Forward | United States | Miami (Ohio) |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 66 | 16 | .805 | – | 34–2 | 28–13 | 4–1 | 14–4 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 51 | 31 | .622 | 15 | 30–11 | 17–19 | 4–1 | 7–11 |
| Phoenix Suns | 48 | 34 | .585 | 18 | 27–14 | 19–20 | 2–0 | 9–9 |
| Detroit Pistons | 45 | 37 | .549 | 21 | 24–17 | 20–19 | 1–1 | 6–12 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT |
| 1 | z-Milwaukee Bucks | 66 | 16 | .805 |
| 2 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Bulls | 51 | 31 | .622 |
| 4 | x-San Francisco Warriors | 41 | 41 | .500 |
| 5 | Phoenix Suns | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 6 | Detroit Pistons | 45 | 37 | .549 |
| 7 | San Diego Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 |
| 8 | Seattle SuperSonics | 38 | 44 | .463 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 29 | 53 | .354 |

### Record vs. opponents

1970–71 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BAL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CIN | CLE | DET | LAL | MIL | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SDR | SFW | SEA |
| Atlanta | — | 3–3 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 0–5 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 3–2 |
| Baltimore | 3–3 | — | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 |
| Boston | 4–2 | 3–3 | — | 4–0 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 0–6 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Buffalo | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | — | 0–4 | 0–4 | 5–7 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 6–6 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Chicago | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 4–0 | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 |
| Cincinnati | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 0–4 | — | 5–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–4 |
| Cleveland | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 7–5 | 0–4 | 1–5 | — | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–10 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 |
| Detroit | 5–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 |
| Los Angeles | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | — | 1–4 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Milwaukee | 4–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | — | 1–4 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 5–1 |
| New York | 3–3 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | — | 2–4 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 |
| Philadelphia | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 4–2 | — | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Phoenix | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 2–3 | — | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Portland | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 6–6 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 10–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | — | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–4 |
| San Diego | 3–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–6 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–0 | — | 2–4 | 5–1 |
| San Francisco | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | — | 3–3 |
| Seattle | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | — |

### Game log

1970–71 game log Total: 48–34 (home: 27–14; road: 21–20) :
October: 3–6 (home: 3–2; road: 0–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecordStreak
1
October 15
San Diego
W 119–100
Dick Van Arsdale (30)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,523
1–0
W 1
2
October 17
Detroit
L 107–110
Connie Hawkins (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,646
1–1
L 1
3
October 20
@ San Diego
L 114–115
Dick Van Arsdale (26)
San Diego Sports Arena 7,246
1–2
L 2
4
October 21
@ Seattle
L 106–110
Greg Howard (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 6,923
1–3
L 3
5
October 23
Cleveland
W 108–104
Connie Hawkins (27)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,822
2–3
W 1
6
October 25
San Diego
W 117–98
Clem Haskins (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,697
3–3
W 2
7
October 28
Chicago
L 105–118
Connie Hawkins (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,343
3–4
L 1
8
October 30
@ Boston
L 112–127
Paul Silas (23)
Boston Garden 5,392
3–5
L 2
9
October 31
@ Baltimore
L 103–106
Dick Van Arsdale (26)
Baltimore Civic Center 4,527
3–6
L 3 :
November: 11–6 (home: 5–1; road: 6–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecordStreak
10
November 2
Buffalo
W 110–102
Connie Hawkins (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,000
4–6
W 1
11
November 4
@ Cincinnati
W 133–115
Clem Haskins, Connie Hawkins, Dick Van Arsdale (25)
Cincinnati Gardens 2,091
5–6
W 2
12
November 6
@ Chicago
W 105–102
Dick Van Arsdale (23)
Chicago Stadium 8,107
6–6
W 3
13
November 7
@ Atlanta
W 107–100
Connie Hawkins (21)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 5,116
7–6
W 4
14
November 8
@ Milwaukee
L 105–125
Dick Van Arsdale (23)
Milwaukee Arena 10,746
7–7
L 1
15
November 11
Portland
W 114–100
Dick Van Arsdale (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,020
8–7
W 1
16
November 13
Cincinnati
W 115–109
Clem Haskins, Connie Hawkins (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,802
9–7
W 2
17
November 15
Detroit
W 108–104
Clem Haskins (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,344
10–7
W 3
18
November 17
@ New York
L 100–103
Clem Haskins, Dick Van Arsdale (23)
Madison Square Garden 18,275
10–8
L 1
19
November 19
@ Detroit
L 110–112
Dick Van Arsdale (23)
Cobo Arena 3,594
10–9
L 2
20
November 20
@ Baltimore
L 110–121
Connie Hawkins (23)
Baltimore Civic Center 4,572
10–10
L 3
21
November 21
@ Philadelphia
W 125–119
Dick Van Arsdale (30)
The Spectrum 6,519
11–10
W 1
22
November 22
@ Cleveland
W 114–99
Connie Hawkins (29)
Cleveland Arena 2,405
12–10
W 2
23
November 24
@ Buffalo
L 106–112
Clem Haskins (25)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 7,209
12–11
L 1
24
November 26
Seattle
W 126–115
Connie Hawkins (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,192
13–11
W 1
25
November 27
@ Los Angeles
W 116–105
Paul Silas (27)
The Forum 13,089
14–11
W 2
26
November 28
San Diego
L 116–117
Connie Hawkins (31)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,470
14–12
L 1 :
December: 9–7 (home: 7–4; road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecordStreak
27
December 2
Atlanta
W 126–112
Connie Hawkins (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,907
15–12
W 1
28
December 4
@ Portland
W 126–121
Connie Hawkins (29)
Memorial Coliseum 3,927
16–12
W 2
29
December 5
@ San Francisco
W 105–100
Connie Hawkins (24)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 5,481
17–12
W 3
30
December 6
San Diego
W 108–102
Connie Hawkins (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,935
18–12
W 4
31
December 8
Los Angeles
L 112–121
Connie Hawkins (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,702
18–13
L 1
32
December 11
@ San Diego
L 104–110
Connie Hawkins (26)
San Diego Sports Arena 8,365
18–14
L 2
33
December 12
Milwaukee
W 113–111
Dick Van Arsdale (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,002
19–14
W 1
34
December 15
San Francisco
L 123–129
Clem Haskins (25)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,901
19–15
L 1
35
December 17
Detroit
W 117–114 (OT)
Connie Hawkins (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,548
20–15
W 1
36
December 19
@ Seattle
L 131–135
Dick Van Arsdale (35)
Seattle Center Coliseum 6,443
20–16
L 1
37
December 20
New York
L 118–133
Dick Van Arsdale (20)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,445
20–17
L 2
38
December 22
Philadelphia
L 129–133 (OT)
Connie Hawkins (33)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,248
20–18
L 3
39
December 25
Atlanta
W 127–115
Dick Van Arsdale (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,186
21–18
W 1
40
December 26
Portland
W 115–103
Neal Walk (27)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,102
22–18
W 2
41
December 27
@ Los Angeles
L 110–128
Neal Walk (20)
The Forum 15,163
22–19
L 1
42
December 30
Los Angeles
W 132–114
Clem Haskins (31)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,164
23–19
W 1 :
January: 11–4 (home: 7–2; road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecordStreak
43
January 2
@ San Francisco
W 122–116 (OT)
Dick Van Arsdale (31)
Cow Palace 3,812
24–19
W 2
44
January 3
San Francisco
W 102–81
Clem Haskins (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,196
25–19
W 3
45
January 8
@ Boston
L 114–122
Dick Van Arsdale (24)
Boston Garden 7,124
25–20
L 1
46
January 9
@ Philadelphia
L 112–123
Clem Haskins (22)
The Spectrum 7,826
25–21
L 2
47
January 10
@ Atlanta
W 116–105
Paul Silas (23)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 4,447
26–21
W 1
All-Star Break
48
January 14
New York
W 107–88
Dick Van Arsdale (25)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,051
27–21
W 2
49
January 16
Baltimore
W 117–100
Clem Haskins (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,002
28–21
W 3
50
January 18
@ Cincinnati
W 118–99
Clem Haskins (29)
Omaha, Nebraska 3,149
29–21
W 4
51
January 20
Cincinnati
L 114–126
Clem Haskins (27)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,586
29–22
L 1
52
January 22
Philadelphia
L 116–117
Dick Van Arsdale (23)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,059
29–23
L 2
53
January 24
Chicago
W 113–112
Mel Counts, Paul Silas (18)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,923
30–23
W 1
54
January 26
Buffalo
W 114–82
Dick Van Arsdale (23)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,486
31–23
W 2
55
January 28
Los Angeles
W 118–112
Mel Counts (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,036
32–23
W 3
56
January 29
@ Portland
W 131–122
Dick Van Arsdale (36)
Memorial Coliseum 5,877
33–23
W 4
57
January 30
Seattle
W 134–116
Dick Van Arsdale (30)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,412
34–23
W 5 :
February: 9–4 (home: 3–2; road: 6–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecordStreak
58
February 4
San Francisco
L 105–117
Connie Hawkins (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6,711
34–24
L 1
59
February 6
Cleveland
W 119–91
Neal Walk, John Wetzel (22)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,812
35–24
W 1
60
February 8
@ Milwaukee
L 94–118
Connie Hawkins (23)
Milwaukee Arena 10,746
35–25
L 1
61
February 9
@ Baltimore
W 120–115
Dick Van Arsdale (27)
Baltimore Civic Center 4,054
36–25
W 1
62
February 12
@ Cleveland
W 114–105
Dick Van Arsdale (24)
Cleveland Arena 4,297
37–25
W 2
63
February 13
@ New York
L 97–114
Connie Hawkins (25)
Madison Square Garden 19,500
37–26
L 1
64
February 14
@ Buffalo
W 108–97
Dick Van Arsdale (29)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 4,376
38–26
W 1
65
February 16
@ Boston
W 119–116
Connie Hawkins (27)
Boston Garden 6,091
39–26
W 2
66
February 17
Cincinnati
W 133–117
Clem Haskins (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,006
40–26
W 3
67
February 19
Boston
W 116–112
Dick Van Arsdale (26)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,256
41–26
W 4
68
February 21
Milwaukee
L 97–125
Dick Van Arsdale (21)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,371
41–27
L 1
69
February 26
@ Philadelphia
W 108–94
Connie Hawkins (30)
The Spectrum 8,586
42–27
W 1
70
February 27
@ Detroit
W 124–117
Dick Van Arsdale (42)
Cobo Arena 8,878
43–27
W 2 :
March: 5–7 (home: 2–3; road: 3–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation AttendanceRecordStreak
71
March 3
Chicago
W 115–90
Clem Haskins (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,371
44–27
W 3
72
March 7
Baltimore
L 108–117
Connie Hawkins (19)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,370
44–28
L 1
73
March 9
@ Detroit
W 114–108
Dick Van Arsdale (31)
Cobo Arena 4,269
45–28
W 1
74
March 10
@ Atlanta
L 98–139
Dick Van Arsdale (19)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 6,266
45–29
L 1
75
March 12
@ Chicago
L 92–116
Connie Hawkins (27)
Chicago Stadium 14,703
45–30
L 2
76
March 13
@ Chicago
L 99–111
Connie Hawkins (22)
Chicago Stadium 17,505
45–31
L 3
77
March 14
@ Milwaukee
W 125–113
Connie Hawkins (27)
Madison, WI 9,035
46–31
W 1
78
March 16
Milwaukee
L 111–119
Connie Hawkins, Dick Van Arsdale (28)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11,640
46–32
L 1
79
March 18
New York
L 123–131 (OT)
Connie Hawkins (35)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,454
46–33
L 2
80
March 19
@ Los Angeles
W 111–106
Dick Van Arsdale (25)
The Forum 17,254
47–33
W 1
81
March 20
Seattle
W 114–107
Paul Silas (24)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,134
48–33
W 2
82
March 21
@ San Diego
L 114–132
Clem Haskins (25)
San Diego Sports Arena 5,840
48–34
L 1 :
1970–71 schedule :

### Team-by-team results

| Opponent | Home | Road | Total | All-time record | Suns leading scorer | Opp. leading scorer |
| Atlanta Hawks | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 8–9 (.471%) | Dick Van Arsdale (21.8) | Lou Hudson (26.0) |
| Baltimore Bullets | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 5–12 (.294%) | Dick Van Arsdale (21.8) | Earl Monroe (26.0) |
| Boston Celtics | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 7–10 (.412%) | Dick Van Arsdale (24.4) | John Havlicek (32.0) |
| Buffalo Braves | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 (.750%) | Dick Van Arsdale (22.5) | Don May (20.0) |
| Chicago Bulls | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 7–12 (.368%) | Connie Hawkins (21.8) | Bob Love (25.2) |
| Cincinnati Royals | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 9–8 (.529%) | Clem Haskins (27.2) | Tom Van Arsdale (20.0) |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 (1.000%) | Dick Van Arsdale (23.0) | John Johnson (15.3) |
| Detroit Pistons | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 9–9 (.500%) | Dick Van Arsdale (25.3) | Dave Bing (28.3) |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 8–11 (.421%) | Dick Van Arsdale (19.7) | Jerry West (28.8) |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 4–16 (.200%) | Connie Hawkins (24.0) | Lew Alcindor (37.2) |
| New York Knicks | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–15 (.118%) | Dick Van Arsdale (22.8) | Dick Barnett (19.8) |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 5–12 (.294%) | Connie Hawkins (26.8) | Billy Cunningham (29.6) |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 (1.000%) | Dick Van Arsdale (28.5) | Geoff Petrie (27.5) |
| San Diego Rockets | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 10–11 (.476%) | Connie Hawkins (20.8) | Elvin Hayes (31.3) |
| San Francisco Warriors | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 8–9 (.471%) | Connie Hawkins (24.7) | Jerry Lucas (24.6) |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 10–8 (.556%) | Dick Van Arsdale (23.8) | Dick Snyder (17.8) |

## Awards and honors
### All-Star

* Connie Hawkins was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his second consecutive All-Star selection.
* Dick Van Arsdale was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his third consecutive All-Star selection.

### Season

* Paul Silas was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.

## Player statistics
### Season

| Player | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
| Mel Counts | 80 | 20.9 | .457 | .753 | 6.3 | 1.7 | 11.0 |
| Lamar Green | 68 | 19.5 | .453 | .604 | 6.9 | 0.8 | 5.9 |
| Art Harris | 56 | 17.0 | .411 | .611 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 8.3 |
| Clem Haskins | 82 | 33.7 | .440 | .784 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 17.8 |
| Connie Hawkins | 71 | 37.5 | .434 | .816^ | 9.1 | 4.5 | 20.9 |
| Greg Howard | 44 | 9.7 | .393 | .638 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 3.9 |
| Paul Silas | 81 | 36.3 | .428 | .685 | 12.5 | 3.0 | 11.9 |
| Fred Taylor | 54 | 10.2 | .387 | .624 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 5.5 |
| Joe Thomas | 39 | 5.2 | .267 | .450 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.4 |
| Dick Van Arsdale | 81 | 39.0 | .452 | .811 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 21.9 |
| Neal Walk | 82 | 24.8 | .451 | .765 | 8.2 | 1.4 | 12.9 |
| John Wetzel | 70 | 15.6 | .431 | .822^ | 2.2 | 1.6 | 4.7 |
^ – Minimum 350 free throw attempts.

## Transactions
### Trades

| April 23, 1970 | To Chicago Bulls Jim Fox 1971 second-round draft pick | To Phoenix Suns Clem Haskins |
| May 20, 1970 | To Los Angeles Lakers Gail Goodrich | To Phoenix Suns Mel Counts |
| July 8, 1970 | To New York Knicks Heywood Dotson | To Phoenix Suns 1971 fifth-round draft pick |

### Free agents
#### Subtractions

| Date | Player | Reason Left | New Team |
| May 11, 1970 | Jerry Chambers | Expansion Draft | Portland Trail Blazers |
| May 11, 1970 | Stan McKenzie | Expansion Draft | Portland Trail Blazers |
| July 27, 1970 | Neil Johnson | Waived | Virginia Squires (ABA) |