Suns hiring former Slam Dunk contest champion as assistant coach

The Phoenix Suns are throwing a bone to the fans of 1990s NBA basketball.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Tuesday that the Suns are hiring Brent Barry as an assistant coach. The 52-year-old Barry had spent the last six seasons as an executive for the San Antonio Spurs.

Barry had a memorable playing career from 1995-2009. He was the Slam Dunk Contest champion in 1996 and later would win two NBA titles as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and 2007. It was also in San Antonio that Barry became acquainted with new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, who was an assistant for the Spurs from 1996-2013.

A career 40.5 percent three-point shooter as well, Barry became an analyst for TNT after retiring (and was a part of some hilarious moments with the network). After then getting over a half-decade of experience as an NBA executive, Barry will now be adding “assistant coach” to his resume with Budenholzer and the Suns next season.