Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker flying under radar as one of the NBA’s best

 Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is the third youngest player to reach 4,000 points in his career at the tender age of 21 years old. Only two players have reached the feat at a younger age and that’s Kevin Durant and LeBron James

Devin Booker has blossomed into the building block of the Phoenix Suns franchise. The 21-year old is having quite the season, averaging 25.2 points per game, which ranks him ninth in the entire NBA.

Booker is also collecting 4.5 rebounds per contest and 4.8 assists. He’s really looked impressive since the all-star break, averaging 31.6 points per game while shooting 46 percent from the field. Before Sunday’s loss to the Hawks where Booker dropped 20 points, he had four straight games where he scored at least 30 points, including a huge performance where he scored 40 points in a loss to the Pelicans on February 26th.

In a loss to OKC on March 2nd, Booker shot an astounding 60 percent from downtown, helping him tally 39 points in the loss. Although the Suns are immensely struggling and sit at the bottom of the Western conference, Booker is blossoming into one of the most exciting young stars in the league.

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Versatile game

Coming out of The University of Kentucky back in 2015, Booker wasn’t even supposed to be a one and done player. He played 38 games for the Wildcats in his lone year, not starting one game. He typically came off the bench, yet he still averaged 10 points per game. A big reason he didn’t start as a freshman was that he was surrounded by a lot of talented stars, including Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles, and Willie Cauley-Stein.

He exceeded expectations for John Calipari’s prestigious program, leading to Booker being selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Despite his lack of playing time in college, Suns GM Ryan McDonough voiced that the Phoenix front office was very impressed with Booker’s ability to shoot the basketball, along with a tireless work ethic.

From day one, Booker has impressed in a Suns uniform. In his first season in the NBA, he averaged 13.8 points per game for Phoenix as a 19 year old. He stepped into a Suns franchise and was part of the starting five immediately, making 51 starts in 76 games played for the Suns in his first season.

This year has been Devin Booker‘s breakout season. He brings such a versatile game to the table, showing the ability to shoot from downtown but also get inside to the hoop. He wasn’t even selected for the All-Star game, but he dominated the three-point contest, winning it with ease, scoring 28 points in the final round. Booker loves to shoot the three, attempting 7.2 3-pointers per game, which puts him in the top ten of that category.

He’s shooting just 38.6 percent from downtown, which is decent but it’s not the be all to end all when it comes to Booker’s game. Unlike some others in the NBA who just rely on shooting from the three-point line, Booker is very good inside the perimeter, shooting 43.6 from field goal range. He makes his teammates better by creating lanes to the hoop, whether he decides to take the ball himself and score, or dish it off to someone else.

Bright future

Right now he’s on a team where he is the center of attention. The Suns only hope for the future is Devin Booker. He is the building block of this franchise as they look to get better in coming years by drafting some quality talent and developing them. He’s clearly worked very hard to get to this point in his career. To go from starting no games in college to stepping into the NBA as a 19-year old and start three-quarters of the game as a rookie and excel is a testament to his character and talent.

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He’s improved a lot since his first season, but I believe he’s really going to develop into one of the faces of the NBA in the coming years.