High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 1996–97 Phoenix Suns season was the 29th season of the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After an 0–8 start, coach Cotton Fitzsimmons was replaced by former Suns guard Danny Ainge, who led the team to a 40–34 finish. As the seventh seed in the Western Conference, the Suns faced the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the Playoffs, losing 2–3 in a closely contested series.