Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker is making moves both on and off the court.
Booker has pledged a $2.5 million donation to Arizona children and families in need, deciding to give $500,000 a year over the next five years to Suns Charities:
.@DevinBook pledges $2.5 million donation to support Arizona children & families in need! pic.twitter.com/hgphL5qLnb
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 12, 2019
“As a leader, I feel like it's my duty and responsibility to give back to the community that we represent,” Booker said. “A lot of people look at basketball as just a bunch of guys that make a lot of money out there on the court. It's not that. It's a lot bigger than that for us.”
Good on Booker for making a difference.
This season, Booker is averaging 24.8 points, 6.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals over 35.2 minutes per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the floor, 32.6 percent from three-point range and 84.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Over the summer, the 22-year-old signed a massive five-year, $158 million contract extension with the Suns, a deal that was heavily scrutinized due to the fact that many felt Booker was unproven and not yet ready to be a franchise player.
While Booker still struggles on the defensive end of the floor and is actually laboring with his perimeter shot this season, he has taken significant steps to improve as a playmaker, as evidenced by his average of nearly seven assists a night.
Booker, who played his collegiate basketball at the University of Kentucky, was originally selected by Phoenix in the first round (13th pick overall) of the 2015 NBA Draft.
He owns lifetime averages of 20.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.3 boards per game.
