The Phoenix Suns certainly came away from their 2021 NBA Finals loss to the Milwaukee Bucks with plenty of what-ifs, including Devin Booker's fourth quarter no-show in Game 3.
Booker did not play a single fourth quarter minute of the Suns' 20-point loss to the Bucks in Game 3, as he finished shooting a lowly 3-14 in the contest. Many questioned whether an injury forced Booker to miss the final 12 minutes of the contest, but he deflected away from such speculation after the game.
Now, Suns head coach Monty Williams is revealing that Booker did indeed have a notable injury issue in the blowout loss.
Speaking to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on his “The Woj Pod” podcast, Williams shared that Booker dealt with a minor hamstring injury in the game.
“People didn’t know that Book [Devin Booker] was dealing with a hamstring deal in Game 3 and he got all kinds of flak for what he couldn’t do,” Williams said. “What people didn’t understand is he was basically playing out there on one leg. Those guys, because they are tough and never want to rely on excuses, would never say anything.
“That part bothered me because I heard all the stuff that was said about Devin and Chris [Paul] in the Finals.”
Even with the lingering injury issue, Booker still managed to play in the remaining three games of the NBA Finals. The two-time All-Star responded with back-to-back 40-point showings in Games 4 and 5 of the series. Still, it was not enough for Phoenix, as the Bucks won four straight games en route to their first NBA championship in 50 years.
Booker still agreed to join Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following the Suns' Finals series. He was not at his usual world-class self over the tournament, but the team still captured gold in the end.
The Suns guard is now enjoying a much-needed break from basketball, but he will look to be fully fit by the team's opening game of the upcoming new season.
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