'The best': Al McCoy, Alvan Adams remember late Phoenix Suns legend Walter Davis

The best.

That’s how Al McCoy described Walter Davis, the Phoenix Suns six-time All-Star who died of natural causes, the University of North Carolina announced Thursday morning.

“Simply, he was the best as a player and a person,” the longtime ‘Voice of the Suns’ said. “‘Sweet D.’ The man with the velvet touch.”

Davis was visiting family in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he passed. He was 69.

"Lots of great memories about the smile," said Suns legend Alvan Adams, a teammate of Davis. "The one that hit me the most was talking to Jan Proski (wife of former longtime Suns trainer Joe Proski) because I thought of the same thing. We loved that guy. That's the first thing she said, 'oh I love him.' You just loved Walter. What a sweetheart. Just loved the guy."

Averaging 20.8 points in 11 seasons with the Suns, Davis is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 15,666 points. He made All-NBA second time twice (1977-78, 78-79) with the Suns.

"He was the most emotional player on our team," Adams said. "He wore his emotions on his sleeve and so many times, I don't know, it seemed like every week or a couple of times a month, he hit a big shot in the last minute to tie a game or win a game."

The Suns tweeted a statement about Davis.

“We are heartbroken by the passing of Suns legend Walter Davis, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer and a member of our Ring of Honor. 'Sweet D’ was one of the game’s best, a prolific scorer whose smooth playing style and ‘velvet touch’ endeared him to generations of our fans. He will forever be a member of our Phoenix Suns family and community. Our thoughts remain with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

Davis was among the Phoenix Suns ‘Ring of Honor” inductees honored with a banner ceremony at halftime of last week’s home opener against the Utah Jazz at Footprint Center.

He wasn’t in attendance. Davis was originally had his jersey retired in 1994 and was inducted into the ‘Ring of Honor’ in 2004.

Adams said he was writing a thank you note to Suns team owner Mat Ishbia for Saturday's ceremony when he received a call from former Suns player and coach, Jeff Hornacek, about Davis' passing.

"He said, 'Did you hear the news about Walter?'" said Adams, a 'Ring of Honor' inductee. "I said no and he just told me and I couldn't even finish the e-mail to Mat for another 15 minutes."

Adams is listed as vice president of arena operations at Footprint Center. Davis and Adams played 11 seasons together in Phoenix, making him his longest-tenured teammate in the NBA.

"I knew to get him the ball at the end of the game," Adams continued. "Every play was set for him, late-game situation because I still believe he was one of the purest shooters ever in the NBA. When I saw Ray Allen, I'd go, 'hey, that guy reminds me a little bit of Walter Davis.' You watch Steph Curry and some of these guys today, Damian Lillard, but Walter did have the sweetest shot."

Adams put Davis in the same category of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and the late Kobe Bryant in terms of having an extremely high competitive edge.

"They were assassins," Adams said. "They wanted to win so badly and if they didn't, they were so dejected. They almost always did win, but two of those guys, Kobe and Michael, they were true assassins like you might think a movie, but Magic and Walter were the same, but the smiles on their faces, they were killing you with their shots and their play. It was just a different type of competitive athlete. I hated losing to Magic, but I loved having Walter on our team as he beat so many other people with his play and his beautiful, fluid jump shot."

Davis was selected fifth overall by the Suns out of North Carolina in the 1977 NBA Draft.

An Olympic gold medalist representing Team USA men’s basketball team, Davis was an All-Star his first four NBA seasons.

He averaged a career-best 24.6 points a game in earning NBA Rookie of Year honors for the 1977-78 season. Along with being the franchise's all-time leading scorer, Davis leads the Suns in field goals made (6,497), field goal attempts (12,497), two-point field goals made (6,382) and two-point field goal attempts (12,087).

Davis averaged 21.8 points in the playoffs with the Suns over the course of seven consecutive appearances beginning his rookie season. His last playoff run with the Suns was in 1984 when they reached the Western Conference finals before losing to Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Davis experienced his share of injuries that included chronic back pain in the latter part of his run in Phoenix and battled drug use.

The NBA suspended him twice for violating the NBA’s drug policy during his time with the Suns.

In April 1987 when James Edwards, Jay Humphries and Grant Gondrezick, who were playing for the Suns at the time, and two former Suns, Mike Bratz and Garfield Heard, were indicted on drug charges, Davis was not indicted, but was named and admitted to using cocaine.

''We will stand behind our players through this,'' said then Suns general manager Jerry Colangelo at the time. ''Despite the problem at hand, we will survive.''

Despite those setbacks, Davis remained revered in Phoenix as he received a resounding ovation when honored at last week’s banner ceremony.

His last season in Phoenix was 1987-88.

Davis continued his career in Denver where he played four seasons. He was part of a three-team trade during the 1990-91 season in which Denver moved him to Portland.

The Blazers wound up waiving him before the 1991-92 season. The Nuggets signed him for what proved to be his final NBA season in '91-92.

Have opinions about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Voice of the Suns' Al McCoy, Alvan Adams remember 'Ring of Honor' inductee Walter Davis