Phoenix Suns: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season
8. Peters’ season finale
Coming into the final game of the season, the Suns had already locked up the worst record in the NBA, securing the best odds at the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery. Unfortunately, despite all the cries about tanking, most of the team’s main players were still banged up and sat out this pointless road finale against the Dallas Mavericks.
With Devin Booker. T.J. Warren, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss, Elfrid Payton, Tyson Chandler, Alan Williams and Troy Daniels all sidelined, Phoenix faced a similarly sparse Mavs lineup that needed a loss to help its tanking situation — you know, the stuff legendary TV ratings are made of.
Yet somehow, against all odds, the Suns’ second round rookie gave fans a reason to tune in.
To that point in his NBA career, Alec Peters had played 19 games, scoring a grand total of 46 points in 197 minutes. In his 20th career game, he went absolutely ballistic, dropping 36 points and nine rebounds in just 28 minutes off the bench. He canned eight of his 13 3-pointers as well, setting a Suns rookie record and a season-high for the team.
Three additional fun facts:
- Devin Booker, the reigning 3-Point Contest champion, has never made eight 3-pointers in a game
- Peters tied Josh Jackson’s 36 points for the most scored by a Suns rookie this year
- This game prompted Rick Carlisle to refer to him as “Larry Bird, dressed up as Alec Peters.”
You’re damn right his awesome performance in a meaningless game deserved a spot in the top 10.