How to play the Phoenix Suns history timeline

The Suns deck is a set of franchise moments, each with a description underneath, to be sorted by the year they happened. One card is placed at the start with its year shown. For each one after, choose a gap among the cards already down. Find the correct gap and the year is revealed; miss it and the game still puts the card in its true spot but costs you one of three lives.

The Suns have reached the Finals more than once without winning it, and the deck is full of the teams that came close: high-powered offenses, MVP seasons and deep playoff runs. Those contenders from different eras can feel similar, so read each description for the star or coach involved. Arena and coaching cards are useful anchors once a few cards are down, and blockbuster trades are the usual trap.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 23 of the 23 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Founded as an expansion team Arizona's first NBA franchise joined the league
A fateful coin flip and Connie Hawkins Lost a coin toss for the top pick but landed the electrifying forward
Drafted Alvan Adams Fourth overall pick anchored a surprise contender
Reached the first NBA Finals A triple-overtime Game 5 marked a Finals loss to Boston
Drafted Walter Davis Fifth overall pick who would soon win Rookie of the Year
Landed Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers A midseason trade and the first unrestricted free-agent signing
Barkley arrives as a new arena opens Acquired the star forward from Philadelphia the year a new downtown home debuted
Barkley named MVP and reached the Finals Led a 62-win team to the Finals against Chicago
Drafted Jason Kidd Took the California guard second overall
Drafted Steve Nash Selected the Santa Clara guard fifteenth overall
Drafted Amar'e Stoudemire Prep star taken ninth overall became Rookie of the Year
Hired Mike D'Antoni The coach who would define the fast-paced era took over
Signed Steve Nash Brought the point guard back in free agency
Steve Nash won MVP 'Seven Seconds or Less' offense earned him the award
Nash repeated as MVP Won back-to-back league MVP honors
Reached the Western Conference Finals Nash and Stoudemire's run ended against the Lakers
Drafted Devin Booker Took the Kentucky guard thirteenth overall
Devin Booker scored 70 points Young guard hit the rare mark in Boston
Drafted Deandre Ayton Took the Arizona center first overall
Traded for Chris Paul Veteran point guard arrived to lead a young core
Reached the NBA Finals A rebound-year rise ended in a loss to Milwaukee
A league-best season at a renamed arena 64 wins topped the NBA as the downtown home took a new name
Traded for Kevin Durant A blockbuster deadline deal brought the scoring champion