What you need to know about Phoenix Suns team owner Robert Sarver
Since buying the Phoenix Suns in 2004 for a then-NBA record $401 million, Robert Sarver has been a part of the highest and lowest points of Arizona’s NBA team.
Western Conference finals in 2005, 2006 and 2010. Numerous losing seasons, including a 19-63 record in 2018-19, the team’s worst mark in 50 years.
The NBA Finals in 2021 — and the Game 7 meltdown against Dallas in 2022.
Sarver became the majority owner and managing partner of the Suns and Phoenix Mercury during his successful banking career. A born and bred Arizonan, Sarver started his first bank two years after graduating from the University of Arizona, co-founded a real estate investment company in 1990 and eventually served as chairman and chief executive office of Western Alliance Bancorporation, which holds more than $50 billion in assets.
He used his position to support numerous charitable initiatives, as well as his own teams. Sarver helped spearhead renovations of the Suns and Mercury’s arena and construction of a new practice facility, costing a combined $275 million, sharing the cost of the arena upgrades with the city of Phoenix..
But now, the future of his tenure with Phoenix may be in doubt. In November, the NBA announced an investigation into accusations that Sarver said multiple racist and misogynistic remarks and created a hostile workplace within the Suns organization. The allegations were first made public in an article from ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
Sarver responded by calling the findings “inaccurate and misleading” and that he was “shocked by the false reporting from Baxter Holmes.” He added that he welcomed an investigation by the league.
Just two days before the Suns’ first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans started, Sarver announced his retirement as Western Alliance’s executive chairman and departure from its board of directors. He had served in those roles since 2018 and 2002, respectively. The move came after the company cited him as a possible risk.
The Suns bowed out of the NBA playoffs, somewhat prematurely based on their status as the league's top overall seed, and now await the findings of the NBA's investigation. In early June, Yahoo Sports reported that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the investigation was near closure. Meanwhile, ESPN reported that a former Suns employee resigned shortly after the playoffs, alleging she experienced bullying from team supervisors after sharing concerns about gender equity and misconduct within the franchise.
Here are some things to know about the managing partner of Phoenix's original pro sports franchise:
Robert Sarver makes his mark
Sarver grew up in Tucson and first entered the financial industry at age 16, when he joined his father’s company, American Savings and Loan, as a part-time mortgage loan agent and internal auditor.
The Sabino High School graduate soon then enrolled at the University of Arizona and graduated in three-and-a-half years with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Sarver became a certified public accountant soon after.
In 1984, he founded the National Bank of Tucson, which eventually became the National Bank of Arizona. The bank’s growth not only enabled Sarver to move to Paradise Valley, but also made him the youngest founder of a national bank.
Six years later, he founded Southwest Value Partners with Millard Seldin, a minority owner of the Suns and Mercury prior to his passing in 2020.
SVP is a national corporation and includes portfolio management and real estate investment opportunities for its clients. The company has handled properties including Emerald Plaza in San Diego, the Bank of America Center in Orlando and the Nashville Yards project in Tennessee. According to a 2011 article from the Republic, SVP bought 30,000 residential lots in Maricopa County over three years.
Sarver eventually sold National Bank of Arizona to Zions Bancorporation in 1994. He stayed with the Salt Lake City-based bank holding company until 2001, serving as an executive vice president and director and Credit Committee member. He also helped purchase the Sumitomo Bank of California and ran it for three years under the new name California Bank and Trust.
When he became the chairman and chief executive officer of Western Alliance Bancorporation in 2002, Sarver was able to use his experience to lead banks in Arizona, California and Nevada. While the Bancorporation struggled during the recession and real estate crisis — the company lost $10.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 — it ranked as the top-performing bank of the 50 largest public U.S. banks in the S&P Global Market Intelligence listing a decade later.
“I like to let people know where they stand all the time,” Sarver told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2008. “I’m passionate about our business, and I like our employees to be passionate, too. I’m fairly results-oriented. At times, maybe I could be seen as someone that demands more, but someone who also is willing to share more.”
Sarver’s other business endeavors included a 15-year stint as a director of Skywest Airlines and the same role with Meritage Homes Corporation, a real estate development and construction company.
Sarver buys Phoenix Suns
Sarver’s quest to purchase the Suns began with the legendary basketball coach of his alma mater.
Lute Olson, who coached Arizona for 25 years and led the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship, suggested he speak with former Arizona player Steve Kerr about purchasing Phoenix’s basketball franchise.
According to the Tucson Citizen, the two traveled to New York to meet with then-NBA commissioner David Stern, who suggested they talk with Suns owner Jerry Colangelo. They soon put a deposit down a few months later.
In July 2004, Sarver — with a roughly 30 percent stake — and his ownership group officially bought the Suns and the Mercury. In his first season at the helm, the Suns traded for point guard Steve Nash, who helped lead the Suns to the league’s best regular season record (62-20) alongside A’mare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion.
“...I’m excited,” Sarver told the Citizen. “I show my emotions. I’m passionate about my team… It’s just great fun… I really think of myself as a fan rather than an owner. Sometimes I forget I own the team.”
Sarver could often be found seated on the sidelines at Suns games as he oversaw a stellar six-year period that included three trips to the Western Conference finals. However, he was criticized for his moves surrounding Phoenix’s cap space and team finances.
For example, he let Joe Johnson depart for Atlanta, where he made five straight All-Star Games with the Hawks. Sarver also gave up future draft picks — who turned out to be players such as All Stars Luol Deng and Rajon Rondo — for financial considerations.
The Suns’ struggles transitioned to the court. Phoenix suffered eight losing seasons in ten years, including six in a row. During a streak from 2010 to 2020, the team went through seven head coaches and four directors of basketball operations.
“The reality is I thought the business was easier than it was,” Sarver told the Republic in 2017. “And that’s what happens sometimes in this business when you have a great player on your team. I remember Mike D’Antoni said it all the time: ‘Steve Nash makes me look smart.’ Well, Steve Nash made me look smarter. So I think, over time, I learned more about the business. I’m more comfortable understanding it. I think I’m a better owner today. I know what we need to do to get back to that position.”
Meanwhile, the Mercury were flourishing. The squad won the WNBA Finals in 2014 and made the playoffs the next seven seasons, including another championship appearance in 2021.
Phoenix Suns begin to rebuild
It started with the general manager.
In the 2019 offseason, James Jones had the interim title removed, giving him control of the team’s operations and personnel. Sarver’s trust in him allowed the Suns to build around Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and DeAndre Ayton, as well as sign players including Jae Crowder and trade for Chris Paul. Monty Williams then took a five-year deal to be Phoenix’s coach.
“I think following through on the plan we put in place a few years ago is how best to compete for a championship,” Sarver said in 2017. "Right now I think I just have a clear vision of what we want to do and how we want to get there… We’re going to have to be patient and let some of these young players develop.
“They’re not going to win a championship at 19, 20 or 21 years old, but I think we can lay a foundation and I’m willing to sacrifice the losses and do whatever we have to. I hope fans and our community want to embrace that and grow with our younger players and join us on the journey.”
With the team’s foundation intact, Sarver went to work giving them state-of-the-art resources. In 2020, the Suns and Mercury moved into the Verizon 5G Performance Center near Camelback Mountain. With a price tag of $45 million, the 53,000 square foot facility offers not only practice courts and weight rooms, but also upscale locker rooms, a players lounge and natural light. Additionally, Phoenix partnered with Verizon to use its 5G Ultra Wideband to help process player data using cameras and sensors.
Just under 10 miles away, $230 million was pumped into Phoenix Suns Arena, now called the Footprint Center. Of that the Suns contributed $80 million and the city of Phoenix $150 million.
The renovations involved new suites and social spaces, a grand lobby marked with large glass and improved lighting, sound and video systems. Additionally, it offered Footprint, an environmental technology company looking to create alternatives to single-use plastics, a chance to help the arena be one of the most environmentally friendly in the country.
“We’re going to innovate and transform how sports venues operate,” Sarver told CNBC last year. “The idea is Footprint will create an innovation lab for us within our arena, and then we can take that and get other arenas throughout the world interested in doing the same thing.”
The retooled arena was introduced to a national audience last year, as the Suns earned their first trip to the NBA Finals in 28 years. This season, it hosted a Phoenix team that set a franchise record for wins (64) and posted the best home record in the league (32-9).
"A lot of things have to go your way to win a championship and get to the finals," Sarver said after the team's run to the finals. "But I think our team will be as well prepared to compete at a very high level again."
Phoenix Suns charities
Throughout his tenure with Arizona’s NBA team, Sarver helped Phoenix Suns charities donate more than $20 million to local non-profit organizations. One of these projects included a $1 million initiative to rebuild 50 basketball courts across Arizona. Sarver also contributed to the creation of “SunsCentral,” a program which increased the graduation rate of a Phoenix high school from 68 percent to 83 percent.
In honor of his father, Sarver contributed to the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona, which has over 150 physicians and scientists working to fight against cardiovascular disease. Doctors at the center helped create the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart. It is the first and only total artificial heart to earn FDA approval as a temporary solution ahead of a heart transplant for patients at risk of death from heart failure.
Additionally, Sarver’s charitable foundation donated $1 million to the construction of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix.
NBA investigates Robert Sarver
Following Holmes’ ESPN article, the NBA retained the Wachtell, Lipton, Rose & Katz law firm for an investigation into the Suns organization. In a statement, NBA Executive Vice President for Communications Mike Bass said that “Once the investigation is completed, its findings will provide the basis for any league action."
In March, sources told ESPN that Sarver was preparing to be interviewed by the lawyers conducting the league’s investigation. Sources also revealed to ESPN that the Suns gave investigators access to internal emails and human resources records.
"It is almost impossible to prove a negative,” Sarver said in an exclusive question-and-answer interview conducted via email with the Republic in November. “That’s why we completely welcome the league’s investigation. My only wish is we could get to the bottom of this right now and dispel all of these lies that are being told about me and the Suns. But I understand that the investigation will take time. I’m confident we will be vindicated when all is said and done."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What you need to know about Phoenix Suns team owner Robert Sarver
