Dan Majerle

Still dressed in the appropriately-themed Phoenix Suns uniform that had just entered him into the NBA’s playoff history books during his postgame interview, Dan Majerle summarized his hot-shooting approach through a simple one-liner: “There’s never a three I don’t like.” In connecting on triple-after-triple during a must-have Game Five in the 1993 Western Conference Finals, Majerle guaranteed that there were at least eight 3-pointers that the Seattle SuperSonics didn’t like, either. Locked into the then-postseason record already with seven, Majerle — with Phoenix clinging to a 111-110 lead in the final 30 seconds — extended his range, his record, and Phoenix’s lead with a left-wing catch-and-shoot bucket, bringing Phoenix to within a game of the championship. Majerle’s performance was a perfectly-timed complement to the 43-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist performance by his Most Valuable Player-winning teammate on June 1, 1993. On a night defined by his unwillingness to allow Seattle’s perimeter defense to rest, Majerle, similarly, persevered through 47 of a possible 48 minutes. By night’s end, “Thunder Dan” struck for 34 points (on a sweltering-hot 12-of-17), seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block, and eight 3-pointers, a record that held for four years before a different Suns sharpshooter would stake his claim.

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