NBA Finals-bound Phoenix Suns are full of ties to the Sixers

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Phoenix Suns are going to their first NBA Finals since Sixers icon Charles Barkley led them there in 1993 in his first season after Philadelphia traded him.

Twenty-eight years later, you might as well call them "76ers-West" or "The Desert Sixers." How about "The Valley Sixers"? An alternate Suns uniform reads "The Valley" on the front.

This is coming up because the NBA's 2021 Western Conference Champions are full of 76ers connections.

Monty Williams has lived through tremendous tragedy. Now he is four wins away from the greatest achievement of his professional career.

In 2016, Williams' 44-year-old wife Ingrid died in car crash. At the time, Williams was an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He joined Brett Brown's Sixers staff in 2018-19, before becoming Suns head coach beginning the next season.

While the Suns did not make the playoffs in their 2020 campaign, they were undefeated in the Disney bubble of the coronavirus pandemic, which set the tone for a 51-21 record in 2020-21, including the two-seed in the West and dispatching of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers.

After eliminating the Clippers in Game 6, ESPN cameras caught Williams and star veteran Chris Paul embracing on the sideline. Williams coached Paul in his first NBA head coaching gig with the then-New Orleans Hornets earlier last decade.

Now, together again, the 36-year-old Paul is going to his first NBA Finals in his 16-year career, and Williams, who also played for the Sixers in 2002-03, is right there with him.

Mikal Bridges was a Sixer for only minutes. The local kid, two-time national champ from Villanova, whose mom worked for the Sixers, was picked 10th overall by them in 2018. How great is that?

Then, Brett Brown flipped him in the deal that brought Zhaire Smith and a future draft pick to the Sixers. That draft pick was used in the trade that eventually helped them acquire Tobias Harris.

Bridges was celebrating Wednesday night. Harris and the Sixers left their fans wondering "What happened?" in the second round against the Hawks.

Dario Šarić kept his promise and came to Philadelphia from Turkey after the Sixers acquired him on Draft Night 2014.

The fan favorite played parts of three seasons with the Sixers, before he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Jimmy Butler deal.

Now, he's a role player on the Suns and is making an NBA Finals before Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Willie Green played seven seasons for the Sixers from 2003 to 2010.

He's an assistant coach on Williams' staff.

Kevin Young was on Brett Brown's coaching staff from 2017 to 2020, which was preceded by being the head coach of the Sixers G-League affiliate, then known as the Delaware 87ers.

After the Sixers fired Brown following the Boston Celtics sweeping them in the first round of the 2020 playoffs, Young joined Williams' Suns staff.

In his first season with Phoenix, they're going to The Finals.

Remember Randy Ayers? He was an assistant coach on Larry Brown's Sixers staff during Allen Iverson's prime, which included a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001. After Brown left to go to the Detroit Pistons following the 2002-03 season, Ayers replaced him. Ayers only coached 52 games in 2003-04, going 21-31 before being let go during his first season.

Ayers was part of Williams' staff in New Orleans for a little bit, and then reunited with him in Phoenix in 2019.

Mark Bryant is an assistant coach on the Phoenix Suns. He played 11 games for the Sixers during the 2002-03 season.