Phoenix Suns new head coach Monty Williams compared star shooting guard Devin Booker to former great Brandon Roy:
“He reminds me so much of Brandon Roy,” Williams said, according to Cody Cunningham of Suns.com. “But I think Devin can eclipse that because he’s durable. He’s big and strong. Even though Brandon was [big and strong], Brandon wasn’t healthy.”
Williams was an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers during Roy's formative years in the league, and while there are plenty of parallels between the 6-foot-6 shooting guards, there are also a bevy of differences between them.
Roy broke into the NBA at age 22 and was 23 when he received his first All-Star selection. Booker is still only 22 years old, and while he has yet to receive an All-Star mention, he has already put up high-caliber numbers to make him worthy of the selection:
“Devin’s one of those guys who’s not even in his prime yet,” said Williams. “He’s going to be able to eclipse some of the things that Brandon did.”
Former NBA sharpshooter Steve Blake, who recently joined the Suns as an assistant coach on Monty Williams’ staff, played alongside Roy in the backcourt during the majority of his tenure. Much like Williams, he has also taken notice of the similarities between his former teammate and the young phenom:
“[Booker] can create his own shot, can create shots for others,” said Blake. “I think Booker might have a little better deep ball. They’re both go-to guys, franchise-type players. It’s fun to be around guys like that.”
“Over the years, just being a fan of the game since I’ve been retired, I’ve had a chance to watch him play many times and he continues to get better and better. The respect he has around the league is really high. Everyone you talk to since I signed here is like ‘Booker’s awesome. He’s great. He’s really hard to stop.’ I’m excited to be around a player like that on the coaching side. Should be fun.”
Booker recently turned down a would-be invitation to join Team USA for the FIBA 2019 World Cup, choosing to instead focus on his strength and conditioning after failing to finish the last two seasons due to injury.
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