Devin Booker has dominated for the past three games. Here’s a summary of his stats below:
As shown, Devin Booker averaged 50.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 65% from the field, 54% from three, and 84% from the line. That includes a 46-point game against Dallas, a 62-point game against the Pacers, and a 44-point game against the Magic.
However, despite these performances, the Suns ended this three-game stretch with a 1-2 record.
On a much smaller scale, this performance is reminiscent of his “empty stat” performances during his early days as a Sun. But, probably like his mindset during this stretch, Devin Booker never gave up.
Before Booker
Before Booker got drafted in the 2015-16 season, the Suns came off a mediocre 39-43 record in the 2014-15 season. Within that season, it seemed to be multiple players who averaged at least 15 points per game including:
-Isaiah Thomas (who averaged 15.2 but got traded later in the season)
-Markieff Morris (who averaged 15.3)
-Goran Dragić (who averaged 16.2 but also got traded during the season)
-Eric Bledsoe (who averaged 17.0)
In other words, the Suns not only didn’t have a clear star, but they didn’t have a clear direction either. They seemed to look to the draft to find answers.
This is where Booker comes in.
The Early Days
After the 2015-16 draft, the Suns didn’t have a good season, to say the least.
Eric Bledsoe, the closest thing the Suns had to star, suffered a meniscus tear that required season-ending surgery. Markieff Morris had issues with the Suns and was eventually traded to the Washington Wizards. On top of all that, the Suns ended with a horrible record of 23-59.
However, one of their very few bright spots that season was Devin Booker.
His rookie season, Booker averaged 13.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 42.3% from the field, 34.3% from three, and 84.3% from the line. Keep in mind, he only played about 28 minutes per game and took 11 shots per game. With a bigger role, he’d have a bigger impact.
Fortunately, he got that chance next season.
In the 2016-17 season, Booker received 35 minutes and used them to his advantage. He averaged 22.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists shooting 42.3% from the field, 36.3% from three, and 83.2% from the line.
He even had a historic 70-point game towards the end of the season!
Essentially, despite putting up another horrible record of 24-58, Booker was, again, one of their few bright spots.
All Booker needed was some space to make mistakes and improve. Fortunately, he got that space the following season.
Essentially, Eric Bledsoe (another ball-dominant Guard) got traded away. Thus, making Booker the leading Guard of the Phoenix Suns.
However, they continued to go through rough patches.
A Lot More Losing
Over the course of the next couple seasons, Booker averaged 25.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists shooting 45.1% from the field, 35.3% from three, and 87.1% from the line. With this added time in the league, Booker did indeed improve.
Specifically, his shooting was better, and he impacted the game in ways other than scoring (like in playmaking, and rebounding). However, the same couldn’t be said about the Phoenix Suns as a team.
During those seasons, they weren’t even close to .500. Individually, in the 2017-18 season, the Suns ended with a record of 21-61. Additionally, in the 2018-19 season, they ended with a record of 19-63.
Essentially, the Suns didn’t seem to be getting better. In fact, they seemed to gradually be getting worse by season.
Therefore, since Booker was now the leader of the Suns, he took the brunt of the blame. But, he never gave up.
Fortunately, change was coming very soon!
The Turning Point
The turning point came during the 2019-20 season. That season the Suns made quite a few changes but some of the most impactful acquisitions include:
-hiring Monty Williams as the Head Coach
-Ricky Rubio as the starting Point Guard
Monty Williams was an assistant coach for a 51-win 76er team. So, he had experience in helping a team win regular season games.
Ricky Rubio was a pure point guard since he got drafted from Spain. During his time in the NBA so far, he played with 2 teams: the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz.
Specifically, his first 6 seasons in the NBA as a part of the Timberwolves. He never was extremely efficient (never shooting over 40% from the field) but was a great playmaker (never averaging less than 7 assists a game).
After those seasons, he was traded to the Utah Jazz where he played two seasons. While there, his assist numbers dipped a bit (only averaging 5 and 6 assists respectively) but he played a significant part in leading the Jazz to 50 wins.
Like Monty, he would also bring winning culture to the Suns.
Finally Winning (Somewhat)
Over the course of the 2019-20 season, the Suns finally seemed like they had some sort of success. They didn’t make the playoffs ending with a record of 34-39. But it was a sign that they were capable of winning, something they couldn’t say for quite a few seasons.
Specifically, thanks to:
-Monty Williams’s rotations and leadership
-Ricky Rubio’s playmaking (where he averaged 8.8 assists)
-Devin Booker’s continued scoring prowess (where he averaged 26.6 points)
the Suns finally had hope to make the postseason next season, which they would eventually do very soon.
In the 2020-21 season, they not only made the playoffs, but they made it all the way to the Finals.
How? Well, they:
-filled in the loss of Rubio with Chris Paul
-draft picks like Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton coming into their own (Bridges averaging 14.2 points and Ayton averaging 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds)
-Devin Booker continuing to score at a high level (averaging 25.6 points per game)
The future was looking promising even with the Finals loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. But that, so far, has been their peak.
In the 2021-22 season, despite ending the season with a 64-18 record, they melted down in the Western Conference Semi-finals vs the Mavericks.
In the 2022-23 season, they ended with a 45-37 record and lost to the eventual champions in the Denver Nuggets (despite the mid-season edition of Kevin Durant).
So, they have decided to make more changes this season (the 2023-24 season).
Current Day
As of the 2023-24 season, the roster and coaching staff of the Suns have changed quite a bit again. For instance:
-Bridges and Cameron Johnson are now Nets
-Deandre Ayton is now a Trail Blazer,
-Chris Paul is now on the Golden State Warriors.
With the help of the Bradley Beal Chris Paul trade, the main three of the Suns are now: Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant.
They haven’t been as dominant as expected so far with a record of 26-20, but there are a lot of games left. So, they have a lot of time to piece everything together.
However, (win, lose, or draw) one thing is evident about this team: Devin Booker will not give up.
Stay tuned for more NBA content, including midseason moves, contract updates, and more pieces about every team.
You can “Like” The Game Haus on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers!
“From our Haus to Yours”
- SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
- PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
- PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
- PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
- PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
- Source: https://thegamehaus.com/nba/devin-booker-never-gave-up/2024/01/30/
