Mike D’Antoni led the Phoenix Suns to the 2005 Western Conference finals.
D’Antoni’s first full season as Phoenix head coach produced one of the NBA’s most exciting teams. The Suns finished the 2004–05 regular season with a 62–20 record, the best mark in the league, behind Steve Nash’s playmaking and an attack built around speed, spacing, and three-point shooting.
Phoenix defeated the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks in the first two playoff rounds. The Suns then faced the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals, where San Antonio won the series in five games.
Although Phoenix did not reach the NBA Finals that season, its style had a lasting influence. D’Antoni won Coach of the Year, Nash won MVP, and the Suns became a major reference point for modern pace-and-space basketball. D’Antoni later coached Houston, New York, and the Los Angeles Lakers, but Phoenix was the team behind this 2005 playoff run.