PHOENIX — You’ve seen the clip -- and you’ve heard the phrase, but have you seen the action figure?
The now-viral "Suns in 4" moment has become an unofficial rallying cry for Phoenix Suns fans and Suns, who swept the Denver Nuggets, 4-0, in the second round of the playoffs.
The moment captured Suns fan Nick McKellar and two apparent Nuggets fans exchange blows late in game 3, where McKellar shouted "Suns in four" and held his hand with four fingers up as the Nuggets fans walked away (in various media interviews, McKellar said it started as casual sports trash-talk, but escalated when one of the Nuggets fans threw punches).
Shortly after, the clip when viral. Then really went viral when Suns guard Devin Booker tweeted a photo of the guy with the caption, "needs mans info" (sic).
And now, thanks to the artistry of Zach Pollard, of Gilbert, "Suns in 4 guy" has been given the action figure treatment.
“I wanted to capture that moment,” Pollard said. “So there it is, immortalized...in plastic.”
Pollard, a lifelong Suns fan, has been making “bootleg” action figures in his spare time for the last three years. He finds doll parts at thrift stores and breaks them down to make unique, often one-of-a-kind action figures.
Pollard said it took him one day to bring "Suns in 4 Guy" to life, equipped with his now-famous four fingers.
He posted a photo on Instagram of the action figure secured in some creative packaging featuring the Suns logo and a photo of McKellar.
“This absolutely blew up, really kind of out of nowhere,” Pollard said. “And I guess I gotta thank ‘Suns in 4 Guy’ for that.”
Pollard told ABC15 he is only making two of the much-coveted action figures: one to auction on eBay, and one for McKellar.
The auction is set to open Friday at 6 p.m. The first bid will start at $0.99.
“I kind of want everybody to get a fair chance at it. You know, I've been getting bombarded with messages the past day about this and some people think I'm producing this somewhere. This is not a factory operation. It's just me in one of my rooms in my house making this stuff,” Pollard said. “And so some lucky person will win it but I feel starting at .99 cents gives everybody a chance.”
Pollard said he created the "Suns in 4 Guy" action figure as a joke, but he’s excited to see the popularity his creation has received, especially as the Suns advance into the Western Conference Finals.
“This legitimately feels like it did back in the ‘90s with the Suns,” Pollard said. “It's super exciting. So maybe "Suns in 4 Guy" is the good luck charm that we all needed.”
The Suns will either play against the Utah Jazz or the Los Angeles Clippers, depending on who wins that series. The Clippers lead the Jazz, 3-2, in the series.
