Photo by Brandon Sullivan

Professional basketball is a grueling sport. Meet the man whose healing touch keeps the Phoenix Suns on track – and saves careers.

For Amar’e Stoudemire, the diagnosis couldn’t have been worse: The nagging pain in his knee would require a unique and delicate surgery that could end his career. For the Phoenix Suns and its army of fans across the state, the operation meant a year without their beloved superstar, a cash cow who just days earlier had inked a five-year, $73 million contract. But for Dr. Tom Carter, the Suns’ team physician, this complex surgery that kept Phoenix basketball diehards holding their collective breath in October 2005 was just another day at the office – a procedure he says was “as simple as filling a pothole.”

Not surprisingly, the team and fans didn’t see it that way. And for Stoudemire, millions of dollars hung in the balance.

“You probably could have heard a pin drop when we discussed what this surgery would entail,” Carter tells PHOENIX magazine. “Anytime you have a star player and you’re telling the owners and staff that his season may be over, it’s total shock.”

To be clear, the 52-year-old Carter is no ordinary team doctor. He’s among the top 100 orthopedic surgeons for sports medicine in the world, a pillar in his field honored by peers and lauded by patients.

A member of the ultra-prestigious Herodicus Society (named for an ancient physician considered the father of sports medicine), Carter attends annual meetings in exotic locations worldwide to compare notes with other medical wizards. And the University of Pittsburgh medical school graduate comes home to a successful practice in Phoenix – The Orthopedic Clinic Association – where he works closely with other noted physicians. It was a career path he’d been planning since the eighth grade.

With his dry sense of humor and mellow demeanor, Carter quietly eased his way into a crucial spot in the Suns family circle. Now in his 10th year serving the team, Carter has earned the trust of players, coaches and colleagues who rely on his precision and devotion. His skills again proved invaluable in January when Carter helped remove a cyst from the wrist of shooting guard Leandro Barbosa.

Carter’s unique approach couldn’t have been more critical during the tense 2005 season. Stoudemire required a somewhat touchy surgery to repair a hairline defect – or microfracture – on his left knee. During the procedure, Carter made the area bleed at its base and form a clot. The solidified clot formed fibro cartilage and sealed the defect – thus the pothole metaphor Carter uses when discussing the procedure with neophytes.

Carter recalls that Stoudemire, just 22 at the time and enjoying the many fruits of his celebrity, wasn’t initially thrilled.

“When you’re young like that and had never been injured, you obviously think you’re invincible,” Carter says. “To get an injury like that is hard to accept.”

Paul Coro, the Suns beat writer for The Arizona Republic, knows what Stoudemire could have become if the surgery had failed. Players like Penny Hardaway, Chris Webber and Allan Houston simply weren’t the same after their time under the knife, Coro says. An article in The New York Times called the group the “All-Microfracture Team,” and wrote about how recovery from grueling rehabilitation sessions is nothing short of miraculous.

“It does not seem like the surgery necessarily fails, but sometimes the repair affects their athleticism and what a lot of NBA people call ‘pop’ – kind of like the spring in their first steps and leaps,” Coro says. “It is not a forever surgery too, but the amount of time the repair holds up… can vary.”

Coro got an insider’s view of the crisis in 2005, watching as the team struggled to decide how best to handle the loss of a megastar.

“It was a devastating blow,” Coro recalls. “He had just signed a $73 million contract extension. He was talked about as a MVP candidate. Now, the Suns had no idea how they would compensate for even a season without him.”

But Stoudemire was thinking long-term, Carter recalls, and didn’t want his knee to worsen. Losing one season was better than being prideful and tanking his career. The surgery was green-lighted, and after the tense 60-minute procedure, Stoudemire persevered and worked intensively for weeks to recover and rehabilitate.

“Although [Carter’s] a surgeon, he doesn’t want to operate unless it’s absolutely necessary,” says Suns head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson, now in his 17th year with the Suns. “It says a lot about him personally and the way he treats people. He’s got everyone’s best interests at heart.”

Carter is used to relieving pain for high-caliber athletes and weekend warriors. An avid hiker, he’s even triaged injured people on Camelback Mountain. But it gets far more personal when his sons are in pain.

This year, Carter’s 16-year-old son Grady dislocated his kneecap and sprained his ACL playing on the Saguaro High School lacrosse team in Scottsdale. Around the same time, Carter’s 18-year-old son Garrett broke his foot. There was no “miracle surgery” for Grady and Garrett; Dr. Dad could only provide some comforting words for his disappointed boys.

And he refused to behave like the parents of student athletes who convince their kids to play against medical advice.

“It’s frustrating when parents think their kids are going to be the next Michael Jordan or the next Kurt Warner,” Carter says. “They’re in a state of denial and push their kids to play through injuries.”

The Suns have never put Carter in that position, and he’s eternally grateful. He has no intention of leaving Planet Orange anytime soon.

“The Suns are like family, and this job is very gratifying,” Carter says. “They talk about Amar’e getting traded, but as long as they don’t trade me, I’ll be here.”