Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

League Search Page > NBA > Phoenix Suns > Roster & Statistics

The 1978–79 Phoenix Suns were led by Walter Davis and Paul Westphal, whose scoring formed the foundation of the offense, with Westphal also handling the primary playmaking responsibilities. Alvan Adams anchored the frontcourt through rebounding, passing, and interior production, while Truck Robinson added another reliable scoring and rebounding presence. The statistics indicate a balanced team that combined strong backcourt offense, versatile frontcourt contributions, and effective ball movement across the rotation.

Roster

No. Player Pos Height Weight Birthdate Age College
5 Paul Westphal G 6-4 195 lbs Nov 30, 1950 28 USC
7 Walter Davis F/G 6-6 193 lbs Sep 9, 1954 24 North Carolina
8 Alvan Adams C/F 6-9 210 lbs Jul 19, 1954 24 Oklahoma
10 Don Buse G 6-4 190 lbs Aug 10, 1950 28 Evansville
14 Joel Kramer F 6-7 203 lbs Jun 10, 1955 23 San Diego
20 Garfield Heard F 6-6 219 lbs May 3, 1948 30 Oklahoma
21 Ron Lee G 6-3 193 lbs Nov 2, 1952 26 Oregon
24 Truck Robinson F 6-7 225 lbs Oct 4, 1951 27 Tennessee State
30 Mike Bratz G 6-2 185 lbs Oct 17, 1955 23 Stanford
33 Al Fleming F 6-7 225 lbs Apr 5, 1954 24 Arizona
44 Dennis Awtrey C 6-10 235 lbs Feb 22, 1948 31 Santa Clara

Regular Season Per Game

Player Name Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOV FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Paul Westphal SG 28 81 — 32.6 24.0 2.0 6.5 1.4 0.3 2.9 18.5 .535 1.1 .280 5.0 .837
Don Buse PG 28 82 82 31.0 7.8 2.6 4.3 1.9 0.2 1.2 7.0 .495 1.0 .241 1.1 .769
Walter Davis SF 24 79 — 30.8 23.6 4.7 4.3 1.9 0.3 3.7 17.2 .561 0.2 .000 5.2 .831
Alvan Adams C 24 77 — 30.7 17.8 9.2 4.7 1.4 0.8 3.6 13.9 .530 0.0 — 3.8 .799
Truck Robinson PF 27 26 — 29.1 16.0 8.7 1.5 0.7 0.5 3.5 12.8 .508 0.0 — 4.7 .642
Ron Lee PG 26 43 — 22.0 9.8 2.6 3.1 1.6 0.1 2.7 8.9 .452 — — 2.4 .712
Alvin Scott SF 23 81 — 21.4 6.7 4.4 1.6 1.0 0.8 1.2 4.9 .535 — — 2.1 .714
Gar Heard PF 30 63 — 19.3 6.3 5.6 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.0 5.8 .441 — — 1.6 .689
Marty Byrnes SF 22 43 — 17.1 6.8 2.3 1.4 0.3 0.0 1.8 5.2 .489 — — 2.3 .730
Joel Kramer PF 23 82 — 17.1 5.9 4.1 1.1 0.5 0.3 1.2 4.5 .489 0.0 — 2.1 .710
Mike Bratz PG 23 77 — 16.8 8.1 1.8 2.3 0.8 0.1 1.8 6.9 .454 — — 2.2 .818
Bayard Forrest C 24 75 — 16.6 4.0 4.2 2.2 0.4 0.5 1.4 3.6 .434 — — 1.5 .539
Ted McClain SG 32 36 — 12.9 4.6 1.9 1.7 0.5 0.0 1.5 3.7 .470 — — 1.3 .913
Team Totals — — 82 82 241.2 115.4 42.2 30.5 11.2 4.1 21.5 91.7 .512 3.4 .243 28.0 .768

Playoff Per Game

Player Name Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TPG FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Paul Westphal SG 28 15 — 35.6 22.4 2.2 4.3 1.0 0.3 2.5 19.1 .495 — — 4.4 .788
Don Buse PG 28 15 — 34.1 7.9 3.7 3.5 1.5 0.3 1.0 7.7 .405 — — 2.2 .727
Walter Davis SF 24 15 — 32.7 22.1 4.6 5.3 1.7 0.3 4.4 16.3 .520 — — 6.4 .813
Alvan Adams C 24 12 — 31.0 12.8 7.5 4.4 0.9 1.0 3.0 11.6 .475 — — 2.6 .710
Truck Robinson PF 27 15 — 26.1 10.5 8.1 0.7 0.4 0.8 2.1 9.3 .403 — — 4.6 .652
Gar Heard PF 30 15 — 21.3 5.5 7.1 0.9 0.8 1.7 1.4 5.7 .372 — — 2.0 .600
Mike Bratz PG 23 15 — 19.5 10.6 1.4 2.0 1.0 0.2 1.9 7.7 .496 — — 3.9 .763
Joel Kramer PF 23 15 — 17.1 6.0 3.8 1.3 0.6 0.5 1.1 3.9 .542 — — 2.4 .722
Alvin Scott SF 23 15 — 14.5 3.5 2.8 1.5 0.4 1.1 0.9 3.5 .385 — — 1.4 .619
Bayard Forrest C 24 14 — 7.9 1.6 2.1 0.8 0.3 0.1 0.7 1.3 .556 — — 0.7 .200
Ted McClain SG 32 14 — 7.4 3.1 1.1 0.9 0.4 0.0 1.1 2.4 .441 — — 1.1 .813
Team Totals — — 15 — 240.0 103.1 42.6 24.4 8.9 6.2 19.8 85.9 .469 — — 31.1 .724

Regular Season Totals

Player Pos Age G GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Paul Westphal SG 28 81 — 2641 1941 159 529 111 26 232 1496 801 — — 405 339
Don Buse PG 28 82 82 2544 640 217 356 156 18 96 576 285 — — 91 70
Walter Davis SF 24 79 — 2437 1868 373 339 147 26 293 1362 764 — — 409 340
Alvan Adams C 24 77 — 2364 1369 705 360 110 63 279 1073 569 — — 289 231
Alvin Scott SF 23 81 — 1737 544 360 126 80 62 99 396 212 — — 168 120
Joel Kramer PF 23 82 — 1401 487 337 92 45 23 98 370 181 — — 176 125
Mike Bratz PG 23 77 — 1297 623 141 179 64 7 135 533 242 — — 170 139
Bayard Forrest C 24 75 — 1243 298 315 167 29 37 107 272 118 — — 115 62
Gar Heard PF 30 63 — 1213 395 351 60 53 57 60 367 162 — — 103 71
Ron Lee SG 26 43 — 948 420 113 132 69 4 116 383 173 — — 104 74
Truck Robinson PF 27 26 — 756 417 225 39 17 12 90 333 169 — — 123 79
Marty Byrnes SF 22 43 — 734 291 97 61 15 2 79 223 109 — — 100 73
Ted McClain SG 32 36 — 465 166 69 60 19 0 54 132 62 — — 46 42
Team Totals — — 82 82 19780 9459 3462 2500 915 337 1738 7516 3847 — — 2299 1765

Playoff Totals

Player Pos Age G GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Paul Westphal SG 28 15 — 534 336 33 64 15 5 38 287 142 — — 66 52
Don Buse PG 28 15 — 512 118 55 52 23 5 15 116 47 — — 33 24
Walter Davis SF 24 15 — 490 332 69 79 26 5 66 244 127 — — 96 78
Truck Robinson PF 27 15 — 392 157 121 10 6 12 31 139 56 — — 69 45
Alvan Adams C 24 12 — 372 154 90 53 11 12 36 139 66 — — 31 22
Gar Heard PF 30 15 — 320 82 106 13 12 26 21 86 32 — — 30 18
Mike Bratz PG 23 15 — 293 159 21 30 15 3 29 115 57 — — 59 45
Joel Kramer PF 23 15 — 257 90 57 19 9 7 16 59 32 — — 36 26
Alvin Scott SF 23 15 — 217 53 42 22 6 16 14 52 20 — — 21 13
Bayard Forrest C 24 14 — 110 22 29 11 4 2 10 18 10 — — 10 2
Ted McClain SG 32 14 — 103 43 16 13 6 0 16 34 15 — — 16 13
Team Totals — — 15 — 3600 1546 639 366 133 93 292 1289 604 — — 467 338

HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK (SPG+BPG) Impact Index* Notes
Paul Westphal Primary Offensive Architect 32.6 Elite (High Volume Creator) 24.0 2.0 6.5 1.7 17.1 Still the system’s offensive brain. Scoring efficiency (.535 FG%) paired with 6.5 assists underscores surgical precision. Carried playmaking load in clutch stretches. Defensive reads more positional than reactive.
Walter Davis Dynamic Wing Finisher / Scoring Core 30.8 Elite (High Volume Finisher) 23.6 4.7 4.3 2.2 17.4 Electric two-way wing, combining high-efficiency scoring (.561 FG%) with creative playmaking. Adapted seamlessly to Westphal’s co-lead role. Slight uptick in rebounding shows evolving all-around presence.
Alvan Adams Playmaking Interior Anchor 30.7 High (Balanced Offense) 17.8 9.2 4.7 2.2 17.0 Point-center prototype. Top-3 team passer, reliable rebounder, and defensive coordinator. Anchored ball movement from the post while maintaining efficient inside-out scoring.
Truck Robinson Physical Interior Scorer / Midseason Injection 29.1 High (Post Usage) 16.0 8.7 1.5 1.2 13.7 Midseason addition changed interior dynamic — heavy post touches, strong rebounding. Efficiency good (.508 FG%) but chemistry still developing.
Don Buse Defensive Quarterback / Control Guard 31.0 Moderate (Control + Defense) 7.8 2.6 4.3 2.1 8.4 Elite positional defender (All-Defensive 1st Team). Defensive STK impact (1.9 steals avg.) set tone early. Offense minimal by design — ball mover and tempo stabilizer.
Ron Lee Defensive Spark / Transition Driver 22.0 Mid (Secondary Creator) 9.8 2.6 3.1 1.7 8.6 Aggressive, high-motor guard with elite defensive quickness. Offense streaky but energy and pressure reshaped pace off the bench.
Alvin Scott Versatile Glue Forward 21.4 Low (Complementary) 6.7 4.4 1.6 1.8 7.3 Defensive Swiss Army knife — switchable, efficient, team-first. Provided spacing and rim defense from wing spots; underrated consistency.
Gar Heard Veteran Defensive Anchor 19.3 Low (Support Role) 6.3 5.6 1.0 1.7 7.3 Veteran rebounding and rim protection. Still reliable defensively, though usage declined. Served as secondary mentor to Robinson and Adams.
Joel Kramer High-Effort Role Big 17.1 Low (Rebounding Focus) 5.9 4.1 1.1 0.8 5.9 Hustle player and screen-setter. Efficient around rim (.489 FG%), added low-maintenance value in physical contests.
Marty Byrnes Bench Wing Shooter 17.1 Low-Mid (Scoring Depth) 6.8 2.3 1.4 0.3 5.4 Solid reserve scorer with range. Not much defensive contribution (0.3 STK), but dependable rotation presence.
Mike Bratz Bench Ball-Handler / Scoring Guard 16.8 Mid (Scoring Guard) 8.1 1.8 2.3 0.9 6.6 Productive sparkplug. Strong FT% (.818) and reliable jumper. Developed chemistry with second unit.
Bayard Forrest Backup Center / Interior Distributor 16.6 Low (Defensive) 4.0 4.2 2.2 0.9 5.7 Excellent vision for a backup big. Defense-first mindset and smart outlet passing kept tempo balanced in bench minutes.
Ted McClain Veteran Depth Guard 12.9 Low (Relief Minutes) 4.6 1.9 1.7 0.5 4.4 Late-career stabilizer with elite FT% (.913). Minimal scoring but solid presence in short stretches.