 Jerry Colangelo was their first general manager, the youngest in professional sports up to that time, and their name was chosen through a contest through the Arizona Republic.The team initially played their home games at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in downtown Phoenix.Their last place finish in their inaugural season made them eligible for a coin toss with the Milwaukee Bucks to see who would get the first pick in the draft, which was to be Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).