Amar'e Stoudemire's heart was always in Phoenix, and now his jersey will be too as part of Suns Ring of Honor

Amar’e Stoudemire had to wait a lot longer than he should’ve to enter the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor. But on Saturday, he finally got that long-awaited night of recognition from the organization, his former teammates, and a fanbase that had been waiting to welcome him back with open arms for years.

Under former owner Robert Sarver, the relationship between STAT and the Suns had been strained, to the point that Stoudemire even signed one-day contract with the New York Knicks so he could retire as a Knick instead of as a Sun.

But when Mat Ishbia took charge, he quickly went about his checklist, and getting Shawn Marion and Amar’e Stoudemire into the Ring of Honor was a top priority. Stoudemire was preparing for his son’s birthday party when he got the call, and he was ecstatic the day had finally arrived.

“Mat called me and said, ‘Hey, we got some good news for you,’ and I immediately was like, ‘This is the call,'” Stoudemire recalled with a laugh. “It was a moment of just cherishing that time and that phone call. And I immediately called my children and said, ‘Hey, guess what? Your last name is going to be immortalized.’”

Marion got his own induction ceremony back in December, and on Saturday, it was STAT’s turn. Years of bad blood with the former owner were one thing, but for Stoudemire, this overdue, “out of body experience” meant everything because of what it represented: yet another moment of overcoming adversity through his faith and his work ethic.

“When I was a young kid growing up in Lake Wales, Florida, there was a lot of adversity that needed to take place for me to be successful,” Stoudemire said during his induction speech. “I would always say my prayers every night, and I would ask God to be the best player for 100 years! It was just a prayer as a little kid wanting to be successful, so I want to thank God for tonight, because it seems as if my prayers have been answered.”

In that moment of celebration, Stoudemire got to reminisce on some of the best times of his career with the people who helped make it possible. With his family in attendance, as well as familiar faces like Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Alvin Gentry, Goran Dragic and Leandro Barbosa, STAT replayed his fondest Suns memories in his head.

After the game, Stoudemire rattled off some of his favorites. There was the time former owner Jerry Colangelo took him to an Arizona Diamondbacks game when he was just a high school kid in town for his pre-draft workout with the Suns. Putting on his Phoenix Suns hat for the first time as the ninth overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft was unforgettable, as was getting his picture with the late commissioner David Stern.

There were multiple All-Star appearances, winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, memorable playoff battles, and the unbridled joy of the Seven Seconds or Less era, which he said made him and his teammates “feel like rockstars” from all the fan support. All of it came rushing back in a moment that had been delayed for too long.

“It meant everything,” Stoudemire said. “It’s a level of seeing the hard work that was put into my career be celebrated. It meant a lot to me.”

But perhaps the reason it felt so sweet to celebrate his career in such a way was everything he overcame to get there.

“I think what makes me proudest and why honoring him tonight is so special is because Amar’e has always been someone who’s overcome,” Nash said. “He’s overcome a lot to be here tonight, with his beautiful family, going into the Ring of Honor where he belongs. And the reality is, no matter all the highlights, all the dunks, he got here tonight because of his resilience and his work ethic. He put the time in to be a great player, not just a great, great athlete.”

Hearing Stoudemire speak about the ceremony, and observing him as he watched his No. 32 jersey unveiled in the rafters, it’s irksome he had to wait so long to enjoy it. For his part, Stoudemire believes he would’ve been a Sun for life had Ishbia owned the team during his time in Phoenix, but the adversity in his life extended far beyond some pesky wait to join the Suns Ring of Honor.

Stoudemire’s parents divorced when he was a young child. His father died of a heart attack at age 12, his mother was in and out of prison for minor crimes, and he attended six different high schools growing up. He actually didn’t start playing organized basketball until age 14, and just three years into his NBA career, he underwent microfracture surgery on his knee that required an excruciating recovery process.

But every step of the way, Stoudemire stayed focused on his path toward becoming the best, most tenacious basketball player he could. He turned every obstruction into an Anthony Tolliver, a Michael Olowokandi or a Richard Jefferson, rising up with the grace of an actual phoenix before dunking those obstacles into a smoldering heap.

In eight seasons with the Suns, Stoudemire averaged 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game on 54.4 percent shooting. He helped Phoenix reach three Western Conference Finals, averaging 37 points per game in his very first conference finals against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.

The Suns never got over that hump to reach the NBA Finals or win a championship, but STAT cemented his place among the team’s all-time greats, ranking third in franchise history in rebounds, fifth in blocks, seventh in points, eighth in field goal percentage, fifth in win shares, and as Tom Leander mentioned Saturday night, first in devastating dunks.

“He’s one of the best dunkers in NBA history,” coach Frank Vogel said. “Just the electric attack on the rim, the perfect complement to Steve’s IQ and pace. The Seven Seconds or Less era would not have been what it was without Amar’e Stoudemire.”

As the elite finisher in the league’s greatest pick-and-roll duo since John Stockton and Karl Malone, Stoudemire helped make Suns basketball a delightful watch on a nightly basis.

“This guy made my life so fun,” Nash said. “Every night, getting the chance to find him on the break, find him on the pick-and-roll, play in the half-court with him — just an incredible, incredible player. I think we’ve all seen him dunk on people and we’ve all seen him tear the rim off, but I think what people don’t always understand is the dynamism of an athlete at 6’10” that he possesses. Out of this world.”

Stoudemire’s athleticism and highlight-reel dunks made Phoenix easily accessible to NBA fans, but the intensity and fearlessness he played with have stood the test of time. After pouring so much of his heart and soul into the Suns every single night, Stoudemire was disappointed in 2010 when Sarver refused to offer him a five-year contract to stay with the team for good.

The Knicks offered him a five-year, $99.7 million deal, he left for New York, and the end of an era — both for him and the Suns — crept forward.

And yet, despite the bitterness and lingering resentment toward the former Suns owner, Stoudemire still took it upon himself to be a steward for the next great Sun who emerged years later. When the Suns drafted Devin Booker in 2015, they failed to win at least 30 games for four straight seasons. They were one of the worst teams in the league, and Booker was the young savior who had to lead the franchise out of a barren wasteland.

So when a 19-year-old Booker heard from a Suns legend like Amar’e Stoudemire, even from afar, it meant the world to him.

“I developed a relationship with Amar’e as soon as I got here, even though he was living on the east coast, and he’s somebody that would keep in contact with me, even on random games that you think nobody’s watching,” Booker said. “When we were getting our head beat in every night, he’d still text me, like, ‘Keep going, younin’.’ And that means a lot. I’ve always showed respect to the ones that came before me, and they’ve always returned that.”

When Stoudemire and other Suns greats were in town, they’d reach out to Booker after a loss and invite him to dinner. Stoudemire believes the game is all about passing the torch, and he’s seen Booker take that torch and run with it on his own path to greatness.

“It’s always about being able to encourage the next generation, right?” Stoudemire said. “I saw Devin when he first got drafted in his early career here in Phoenix, and I wanted to be there for him if he needed any advice. ‘Cause I’ve seen it all, I’ve persevered through a lot, and I was able to accomplish at the highest level. So a lot of times as young players, you need that type of confirmation from players that have been there, and I felt like it was imperative for me to be the guy who would help him if he needed any help along the way.”

It’s not just Book and his well-documented, mutual love for past Suns greats, however. Kevin Durant had followed Stoudemire’s career since he was in the eighth grade, and he also had the pleasure of being coached by STAT when he was an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets.

As one of the greatest players of all time who’s seen his share of greatness being honored with these types of ceremonies, Durant understands their significance.

“He’s left this mark here in Phoenix and on the NBA as a whole, so I love seeing guys get honored,” Durant said. “It’s something that’s gonna last for life. He’s gonna be in those rafters forever, and his family can appreciate that and all his friends too. So it’s amazing what the game of basketball could do.”

Stoudemire, a man of faith who converted to Judaism in 2020, wrapped up his induction speech with a lesson for Suns fans that encapsulated the beauty of waiting so long wait for his full-circle moment.

Before his No. 32 was revealed among the team’s retired jerseys, Stoudemire told the crowd how, in Hebrew, letters are assigned a numeric value. The letter “lamed” equals 30, and the letter “bet” equals two. When one puts “lamed” and “bet” together to form 32, it becomes the word “lev.”

“‘Lev’ in the Hebrew language means ‘heart,'” he explained. “And as we all know, and you guys have seen, I play with heart, determination, fearlessness, focus. So as we see this number go into the rafters, we have to keep in mind that my heart has been given to Phoenix and the state of Arizona.”

From being drafted as a high-schooler, to watching three of his four children born in the Valley, to supporting the next generation of Suns greats from afar, Amar’e Stoudemire’s heart had been in Phoenix for a long time. And on a long-awaited induction night, he saw his heart and his faith overcome once again.