Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker is making a strong case for his All-Star candidacy through the early stages of this season.
Booker seems to be taking his game to another level. The former Kentucky Wildcat was already viewed as a great young talent, but his numbers are continuing to improve, and now he's taken on a leadership role with the Suns.
Through his first seven games played this season, Booker has racked up averages of 26.2 points on 53.5 percent shooting from the field (50.0 percent from beyond the arc), 5.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per outing.
Last season, Booker finished with a 32.6 percent mark from downtown — a solid number. He'll likely fall off a bit from his 50 percent mark from this season, but it's clear that he's been working on his perimeter shooting.
Booker and the Suns managed to take down the NBA's last unbeaten team on Monday night, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in 114-109 fashion. The 23-year-old was hot from the field, scoring a team-high 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting from the field (3-of-4 from three-point land), four rebounds, three assists and one block in 32 minutes of action. He knocked down all seven of his attempts at the free-throw line and scored the Suns' first 11 points of the third quarter (16 in the period).
According to ESPN, Booker is now the eighth-youngest player in NBA to reach 6,000 points.
“I've said it for a while: He's a complete basketball player,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said via ESPN. “He's competitive, not afraid of the moment. He makes big plays.”
The Suns struggled to find a rhythm over the past four years (87-241 record over that span). In fact, Phoenix won just 19 games last season. Now, however, the team is being viewed as a top contender in the Western Conference, and Booker is feeling the love:
“That's the love I get here. It's been unconditional since Day 1,” Booker said via ESPN after Monday's win over the 76ers. “It's good to feel the energy in there. The fans are getting what they want — a hard-working team that pushes the issue every night.”
“Every day I wake up, I get another chance to come play the sport I love in the city I love."@DevinBook continued to make @NBA history on Monday!
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 5, 2019
Booker knows the fans in Phoenix are itching for a postseason run:
“The way this team is playing, you have to be one of the happiest guys in the gym,” the FOX Sports crew said to Booker after Monday's win.
“I think I'm one of them,” Booker replied with a smile. “All of the fans have been waiting here through a ten-year drought to make the playoffs.”
"We come in here with a work-hard mentality every day."
– @DevinBook pic.twitter.com/830M9ToR7o
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 5, 2019
It's still early in the season, but Booker seems to have the Suns on a path that leads to a spot in the playoffs. Let's see if he and his teammates can maintain this level of play.
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