Devin Booker is no longer a good player putting up ridiculous numbers on one of the worst teams in the NBA. After dropping 47 points in Game 6, knocking off the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, Booker has put the league on notice. He has now arrived as a superstar on one of the league’s best teams.
Devin Booker Was Overlooked in the Past
Booker has been a very good player since coming into the league, but in past years, his team was really bad. In his rookie season he averaged 13.8 points. Booker then exploded on to the NBA scene in his sophomore season. He became the youngest player to score 70 points in a game. In that same game, the Suns somehow managed to lose. In that season he averaged 22.1 points per game. He went on to average 24.9 points the next season, and 26.6 in 2018-19. In each of those 3 seasons the Phoenix Suns finished last in their conference, never winning over 25 games. Because of that, Booker was criticized heavily and was even called an “empty stats” player. He was viewed as a player that could put up big numbers, but those numbers were not producing team success.
The Bubble Season
In the 2019-2020 season, Booker continued to produce great stats. Even though he was considered one of the best young players at the time, he still was not named an All-Star. He was snubbed from the original voting tally but was later named an All-Star replacement, filling in for Damian Lillard. The NBA season was ultimately paused because of COVID-19 but the league decided to bring the teams back to play in the bubble. That is where Booker and the Phoenix Suns took off.
Booker was sensational in the bubble putting up 30.5 points per night along with 6 assists and 4.9 rebounds. The Suns went on to go undefeated but still failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Devin Booker’s Takeoff
Once again, Booker was snubbed from the All-Star team, then voted in as a replacement, but did not play in the All Star Game. Booker had his team rolling in the regular season. Now, the Phoenix Suns are the second best team in the Western Conference. They went out and acquired Chris Paul in the offseason, along with some other quality pieces and are now one of the NBA’s best teams, posting a record of 51-21. Going into their first playoff action since 2010, the Suns got matched up with the Lakers, who were the seventh seed. Many believed the Lakers would be too tall of a task for Phoenix. Booker thought otherwise.
Booker came out firing and scored 34 points in Game 1 while leading the Suns to victory. His hot streak continued in the following games. The Lakers had no answer for Devin. In Game 5, the Suns took the 3-2 series lead thanks to Booker, who scored 30 points once again.
In Game 6, back in Los Angeles, Booker was absolutely terrific. He came out scorching one again and scored 22 points on 6/6 shooting from behind the arc, in the first quarter. Scoring heroics continued for Booker throughout the game. He ended the game with 47 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and a series win.
The Lakers played mostly without Anthony Davis and with a hobbled LeBron James, but Devin was by far the best player in the series. After knocking off LA, he has the Suns rolling. Phoenix might just make a run for the title if he continues to play at a high level. Devin Booker is a superstar and he’s coming for the Denver Nuggets in the second round.
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