The monsoon rained on former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo’s Basketball Hall of Fame parade at the Arizona Biltmore Golf Club on Friday, Sept. 26.

It was the first time in the Valley-based charity golf tournament’s 13-year history that rain forced the event to end early during its main second day. The event drew a myriad of NBA and WNBA icons as well as legendary college basketball coaches, including this year’s headliners Suns legend Charles Barkley, Julius “Dr. J” Erving” and Gary Payton.

The 18-hole tournament was shortened to nine holes because of heavy rains that lasted on-and-off throughout the day in the Phoenix metro area. The event kicked off Sept. 25 with a charity auction and dinner featuring NBA and WNBA legends. The actual golf tournament was the next day.

For Colangelo, the situation drew memories of a Phoenix Suns game nearly 40 years ago up in rainy Seattle.

On Jan. 5, 1986, the Suns were in Seattle to face the SuperSonics. The game was delayed with 10:28 left in the second quarter, when the Suns had a 35-24 lead, because rain leaked through the Seattle Coliseum’s ceiling and some of its panels fell to the floor.

Two players slipped on the wet floor, and some of the 5,548 fans at the game opened umbrellas, chanting “Half-court! Half-court!” to keep the game going, but it was canceled after Colangelo, Sonics coach Bernie Bickerstaff and the officials made the call. Former NBA commissioner David Stern ordered the game to resume the next day.

“If the ceiling is falling and you have a game going on, I don’t think you should go, right?” Colangelo told The Arizona Republic. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out, so that’s what happened.”

Colangelo said the roof of the venue, built in 1966, was punctured when signage was attached during the recent county fair held there.

Former Seattle star Jack Sikma, who was in town for the Colangelo golf tournament, recalled that game as well. He played for the Sonics at the time.

“We were home, the Suns were on the road, so it really impacted them more than us because they had to stay an extra night,” he told The Republic. “They had to call the game because the ceiling was leaking in the coliseum, and of course, the coliseum was an older arena. …

“They call the game and I know John MacLeod who was coaching there (for Suns) was doing a slow burn. ‘Jeez, take care of your arena so we don’t have to stay over the next night.’”

The Suns, who had a lowly 32-50 record during that 1985-86 season, came back the next night and routed the Sonics, 114-97.

“The thing about it is, it was very apparent that they were not happy about it because they came out and just beat the crap out of us the next night,” Sikma said. “We had no chance. They were so mad about having to stay another day that they were just focused. So anyway, it was a rain-out and we paid for it (laughs).”

The Suns also had its own leaky roof situation in 1974 at its former arena, Veteran Memorial Coliseum on McDowell Avenue in Phoenix. During an exhibition game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 6 that year, the officials had to cancel the game due to a rainstorm that caused leaks through the arena’s rickety roof onto the court.

After an hour and a half, the officials decided to cancel the game, which would’ve been Hall of Famer Bill Walton’s Phoenix debut when he was with Portland.

“We’re very disappointed,” Colangelo said after the game. “We’re at the mercy of the Coliseum authority. It’s our building — and when I say ‘our’ I mean the taxpayers.”