[1] The Suns acquired the ninth overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft from the Dallas Mavericks, and selected Shawn Marion out of UNLV,[2][3][4][5] During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star guard Penny Hardaway from the Orlando Magic,[6][7][8][9][10] signed free agent Rodney Rogers,[11][12][13][14] and re-signed former Suns center Oliver Miller, who played for the team when they reached the 1993 NBA Finals.
[15][12][16] After a 13–7 start to the season, Danny Ainge resigned as head coach to spend more time with his family, and was replaced with assistant Scott Skiles.
[17][18][19][20] The Suns posted a 7-game winning streak between November and December, then won eight straight games in February, and held a 29–19 record at the All-Star break.
[34] The Suns finished with the same regular season record, but did not have home court advantage going into their Western Conference First Round match-up with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.
[43][44][45][46] The Suns lost in the conference semi-finals to new league MVP Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers four games to one.
Though missing two months with a knee injury, Marion averaged 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in his first season, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
With the pick the Bulls selected future All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year Ron Artest (later Metta World Peace).