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Prior to the inception of the [[NBA Draft Lottery]], the first pick in the draft was decided by a [[coin flipping|coin flip]] between the teams with the worst record in the league's two divisions. The NBA's two expansion teams from 1968, the Suns (16–66) and the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] (27–55), finished last in the Western Division and Eastern Division, respectively. Prior to the flip, Suns [[general manager (basketball)|general manager]] [[Jerry Colangelo]] chose "heads", losing the first pick to the Bucks when the coin landed "tails".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aolnews.com/2009/08/19/tip-off-timer-69-coin-flip-cursed-the-suns/ |title=Tip-Off Timer: How '69 Coin Flip Cursed The Phoenix Suns |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |publisher=AOLnews.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305191633/http://www.aolnews.com/2009/08/19/tip-off-timer-69-coin-flip-cursed-the-suns/ |archivedate=March 5, 2012 }}</ref> According to Jerry Colangelo, the coin flip originally landed on heads from what he heard on the phone, but then-commissioner [[J. Walter Kennedy]] flip the coin onto his hand to showcase tails instead.<ref>http://nba.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/teams/suns/2017/11/27/1762882/caption/1511807131090-Since--68---The-Coin-Flip-1--1762882_1280x720.mp4 {{Bare URL inline|date=November 2021}}</ref> The Bucks would select prized [[UCLA Bruins men's basketball|UCLA]] center [[Lew Alcindor]] (later [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]]) with the first pick. Alcindor, in three years at UCLA, led the Bruins to three national championships and an 88–2 record. Considered by many to be the greatest college basketball player of all-time,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7185970/view/full/chuck-klosterman-lew-alcindor-pete-maravich-bill-walton-50-greatest-basketball-players-college-basketball-history |title=Chuck Klosterman on Lew Alcindor, Pete Maravich, Bill Walton, and the 50 greatest basketball players in college basketball history |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |publisher=Grantland.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305191635/http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7185970/view/full/chuck-klosterman-lew-alcindor-pete-maravich-bill-walton-50-greatest-basketball-players-college-basketball-history |archive-date=2012-03-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/752191-100-best-players-in-college-basketball-history/page/101 |title=100 Best Players in College Basketball History |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |publisher=BleacherReport.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3230172 |title=25 Greatest Players In College Basketball |date=8 March 2008 |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |publisher=ESPN.go.com }}</ref> Abdul-Jabbar would lead the Bucks to a championship in just his [[1970–71 NBA season|second season]], and would eventually win six [[NBA Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] awards, six [[List of NBA champions|NBA Championships]], and retire as the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
The Suns would use the second pick to select center [[Neal Walk]] from [[Florida Gators men's basketball|Florida]]. Walk averaged 25.2 points and 18.4 rebounds per game in his final two seasons with the Gators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131 |title=Neal Walk |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |publisher=TheDraftReview.com }}</ref> Walk would play five seasons with the Suns before being traded to the [[New Orleans Jazz (NBA team)|New Orleans Jazz]] in 1974. While overshadowed by Abdul-Jabbar, Walk was productive for the Suns, averaging a [[double-double]] in two consecutive seasons (20.2 points and 12.4 rebounds in [[1972–73 Phoenix Suns season|1972–73]] and 16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in [[1973–74 Phoenix Suns season|1973–74]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/walkne01.html |title=Neal Walk NBA & ABA Statistics |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |publisher=Basketball-Reference.com }}</ref> The only other draft pick who played for the franchise was [[Lamar Green]], who, like Walk, would play five seasons with the Suns before being drafted by the Jazz in the [[1974 NBA Expansion Draft|1974 Expansion Draft]]. "Leapin' Lamar" was known for his vertical leap and rebounding ability,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1ewtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zTUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7374,740297&dq=leapin+lamar+green&hl=en |title=Green leaping into spotlight |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |work=Rome News-Tribune |date= January 7, 1973 }}</ref> averaging a career high 9.3 rebounds per game in [[1972–73 Phoenix Suns season|1972–73]] while playing 25.6 minutes a game.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greenla01.html |title=Lamar Green NBA & ABA Statistics |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |publisher=Basketball-Reference.com }}</ref> In the fifteenth round, the Suns selected [[Bob Beamon]], a famous [[track and field]] athlete who broke [[Jesse Owens]]' 25-year world record in the [[long jump]] at the [[1968 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/draft2003/draft_oddities_030619.html |title=NBA.com: Draft Oddities |accessdate=January 19, 2012 |
===Free agency===
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