It's Always Hot In PHX

And Who Knows Better Than Thunder Dan With Dan Majerle

FROM THE MOMENT HE ARRIVED IN PHOENIX from Central Michigan University, a firstround pick in the 1988 NBA draft, Dan Majerle knew he would never want to leave. “Great weather, great golf, great city,” Majerle says. “I wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else.” For a brief time, he had to. After an eight-year stint as stalwart swingman for the Phoenix Suns, Majerle left the Valley of the Sun for tenures with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat. But he returned to Phoenix for the 2001-02 season to end his career where it began. Now 53, the three-time NBA All-Star is a Phoenix-area fixture: the owner of a popular restaurant franchise, Majerle’s Sports Grill; the head men’s basketball coach at newly elevated Division I Grand Canyon University; and an avid golfer with a 1.3 index. With the PGA Tour in town this month for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, GOLF rang up “Thunder Dan” to ask for his favorite places to go and things to do in his adopted home. Here’s his guide to the Phoenix area, on and off the course. —Josh Sens