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After making the 2023-24 NBA All-Star game, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker will not be invited. During the announcement of the reserves, Booker was not apart of the selection. However, his teammate, Kevin Durant, will be starting in his 15th All-Star game.
Still, it left Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer feeling sour. Following Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he demonstrated his case as to why Booker deserved to be in San Francisco with his teammate.
“Book is one of the great two guards in our league right now,” Budenholzer said. “What he's done this season, as a scorer, as a playmaker, as a leader. It's just… he's clearly in our minds an all-star. Hopefully, the other coaches see and respect what he's done this season. It's never easy, but that guy is one of the best players in our league, so I don't see how he's not an all-star.”
On the season, Booker has averages of 25.5 points, 6.7 assists, and 4 rebounds per game. During the first half of the season, there wasn't that same scoring pop many were accustomed to seeing. Durant ended up taking the reigns in crunch time and during that stretch.
However, when Durant was sidelined with an injury, everything stepped up. Leadership, scoring, playmaking, and his defense. While some questioned if the Suns were Booker's team, in a five-game absence, the team went 1-4. That was with Durant and Bradley Beal both healthy.
Funny enough, Booker made history for the Suns, and himself in a win against the Brooklyn Nets. He became the 10th player in NBA history to have 200 30+ point games. Luckily for Budenholzer, Booker might be the best scoring guard he's coached. Still, it wasn't enough to reach the All-Star game.
Was Suns' Devin Booker deserving of being in the All-Star game?
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It's tough to say. His first 15-20 games of the season weren't anything to boast about. There weren't egregious performances, but the scoring efficiency and dominance weren't there. However, once he returned from his groin injury, it was a completely different story.
He's had seven games of scoring 30+ points, including a five-game streak of scoring 30+. While his averages are where they usually are, the Suns' success hasn't been consistent. Most recently, they've won 8 of their last 11 games. Between the inconsistencies, Beal's name being thrown in trade rumors, along with Jusuf Nurkic, it's made things uneasy.
Even though the team is trying to limit distractions, it doesn't make them any easier to deal with. When the voting takes place, sometimes the context isn't applied. Even with three All-Stars, there's not overwhelming evidence that Booker is the best on the team, from a statistical perspective.
Many players are built like Booker and can score like him. Not many are like Durant. He's a generational player and is treated as such. On the flip side, Booker has played 41 games, and averaging 37 minutes per game, the highest of his career. Plus, after his defensive showing in the Olympics, he's been asked to take a bigger defensive role.
After Booker was called the ‘Unsung MVP' of the Olympics, he might be just that for Phoenix this season. His selflessness and doing whatever is asked of him has the Suns where they are. The numbers might not show it, but his leadership and direction helped pull the team out of murky waters.
On Friday, they'll travel to San Francisco and take on the Golden State Warriors. Then, Devin Booker might have a chance to prove to everyone why he's deserving of being an NBA All-Star.
