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The new Suns ownership group hired former Chicago Bulls executive Jerry Colangelo to be general manager (he was 28 years of age when he took the position). Colangelo in turn hired Johnny "Red" Kerr (as of this writing a broadcaster with the Bulls) to be the first head coach of the Suns. Kerr was forced to resign midway through the 1969-70 season, and Colangelo himself coached a few games. Cotton Fitzsimmons replaced Colangelo as Suns coach for the 1970-71 season. He took the team to their first winning season, with a final record of 48-34. Fitzsimmons would return to the head coaching job in the late 1980s; he would go on to be greatly loved by Suns fans, wildly popular (and successful) as a coach, broadcaster and executive with the Suns organization. In the 1970s the Suns experienced mild success, combining the talents of such players as Dick Van Arsdale (The Original Sun), his twin brother Tom Van Arsdale, Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins, Len "Truck" Robinson, Alvan Adams, and center Neal Walk. In 1976, the year the movie Rocky was released, the Suns proved to be a real-life basketball version of Rocky. They finished the season with 42 wins and 40 losses, but shockingly they beat the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the playoffs and went on to play the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, giving the Celtics a tough battle before falling in 6 games. Game 5 was a triple-overtime classic that is considered by many to be the greatest game in NBA history. The Suns franchise was one of the factors that helped the greater Phoenix area attain a level of "big-city" status it was seeking in the 1960s and 1970s. The success of the Suns brought national and worldwide attention to the "Valley of the Sun" and the state of Arizona, paving the way in large part for the relocation of the Cardinals football franchise in the late 1980s and the establishment of the Arizona Diamondbacks major league baseball franchise in the 1990s. While these teams draw their share of fans, the Suns have a special place in the sporting lore of Arizona as they were the first professional sports franchise in the state. Rocker Alice Cooper, a Phoenix resident, is a devoted fan. Today, the Suns make for an entertaining team to basketball fans in Arizona and throughout the NBA, with their trademark offensive-minded "run and gun" style of play, which stresses speed, full-court transition and high-percentage shooting (but also an emphasis on the three-point shot), sometimes (in the mind of critics) to the detriment of team defense.
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