From the moment Devin Booker joined the Phoenix Suns, there were constant changes around him.
The four-time NBA All-Star has played with 114 teammates since being drafted by the Suns in 2015, according to RealGM.com. Frank Vogel will be the team's fifth head coach. Ownership changed in December 2022. And Booker is the only Suns player from the team that reached the 2021 NBA Finals still on the roster.
“In my first five years in the NBA, I had the most teammates I've ever had,” Booker told Andscape earlier this season about this statistic. “I mean, it's not really new for me, but it never gets easier. I develop real relationships with these guys. And I said we'll stay in touch going forward. And I still do that, but it's not the same as spending the full amount. [season] with someone. So I miss a lot of people. It's really bittersweet. But all you can do is hope they have some success in their new situation, hope they get paid, and hope it gets better for them.
“What we have here now isn't bad. It's like building it from the ground up. I'm very proud of this city. They adopted me when I was 18 and now I'm here. So now we're 27 years old. We're in a good place. The city is on its feet.”
The Suns have two other NBA stars in future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant and three-time All-Star Bradley Beal, but there's no question that Booker is the face of the franchise. . and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, Charles Barkley, Walter Davis, Alvan Adams, Connie Hawkins, Dan Majerle, Amare Stoudamire, Shawn Marion, Tom Chambers, and Suns uniforms. Kudos to everyone else who starred wearing the , Booker said. He is close to achieving GOAT status in Phoenix.
Booker finished as the Suns' all-time leading scorer with 14,529 points in 598 regular season games. The four-time NBA All-Star scored 15,666 points in 766 regular season games, second only to recent Hall of Famer Davis. Booker is on track to surpass Davis as the Suns' all-time leading scorer next season.
“Devin's play on the court speaks for itself. He's one of the greatest players to ever wear a Suns uniform,” legendary Suns guard Kevin Johnson told Andscape. . “But what stands out to me is his leadership on the court and his work in the community. He understands that, and he has an impact on so many people around him. This is the person who is there.
“Devin is a generational scorer. Obviously, especially for an organization as admired as the Suns, being the franchise's all-time leading scorer is a testament to a player's consistency and offensive skill set.” Not only does he embody these traits, but his overall playmaking and leadership skills are what set him apart, and I'm sure Walter is as proud as I am to see Devin rise to the top. Dew.”
Considering the Suns' storied history since the team's inception in Phoenix in 1968, Booker is proud of what he has accomplished.
“It was already a storied franchise, a great organization with a great history,” Booker said. ” [former owner and president] Jerry Colangelos, Dan Majeres, Barclays. So the foundations were already there. They just needed a little spark. I had a chance to enter, [the Suns] I believed that the young players would just do what they had to do.”
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Mr. Booker recently joined former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and country music star Dierks Bentley as investors in the Global Ambassador Hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is a major player in the Phoenix area business community. But it made its presence known.
Set against the backdrop of the Camelback Mountains, restaurateur Sam Fox's luxury hotel will open in December 2023 with 141 rooms and four restaurants. Fox said. travel + leisure Booker “has a style and an eye for effortless design,” he said, adding that Booker, Fitzgerald and Bentley influenced every detail of the project. The Ambassador is located next to the Suns' practice facility.
“We've never seen anything like that in this city,” Booker said. “It's going to be a destination where people will come out of town just to stay there. You can enjoy the view from Camelback. [Mountains] It stretches all the way into downtown, but you won't see it anywhere else in Phoenix. ”
And perhaps most importantly, Booker also helps those in need in Arizona.
In 2019, Mr. Booker committed $2.5 million to 25 grants to support Arizona communities, children and families. In April, the Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury Foundation announced that the Devin Booker Starting Five grant funded the renovation of two basketball courts and three learning centers, completing the commitment. . He is also an All-Star Ambassador for the Junior Mercury Legacy League, which extends scholarships to young female athletes who participate in local YMCA youth basketball leagues.
“The book is special. He means everything to this city,” Biel told Andscape. “You walk around and you see No. 1 jerseys everywhere. The fans love him, the city loves what he does in the community. He's made this city, this whole culture, his. I accept them like family.”
Booker was a protégé of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. The late Hall of Famer scored 33,643 points in 20 seasons, making him the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history with a career average of 25 points. The two-time NBA scoring leader spent all 20 seasons of his career with the Lakers.
Booker will sign a four-year, $221 million contract extension with the Suns in 2022, which will be effective next year and will take him until he turns 31. Previous NBA icons include Bryant, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan and Dirk. Nowitzki played his entire career with one franchise. Only time will tell if Booker will follow in such storied footsteps.
Beal respects Booker's longevity in Phoenix, which he can relate to since he played the first 11 seasons of his career with the Washington Wizards before being traded to the Suns.
“I know what it's like to spend a lot of time in the same place,” said Beal, the Wizards' second-leading scorer. “It's a blessing because it doesn't happen to everyone. Organizations don't often give players like that a chance. But it just speaks volumes about you as a player and your character. …
“To stay in a position for a long time, you have to be more than just a good player. It's also about your influence in the community. The impact you have on people every day. You can see it in the influence, his interactions, his mannerisms, his demeanor. It's definitely a constant reminder of how I was in DC and how long I've lived. It’s super cool to see.”
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Booker has never talked to Bryant about what it's like to play in the same spot throughout his career, but he respects the legacy he built in Phoenix by playing his entire career with the Suns. he said.
“It's definitely something that's highly regarded around the league for great reasons,” Booker said. “That's how you end up owning the city, dude. As a mayor who's loyal to the core, that's how people see it. I'm growing up at the same time.
“My fans have watched me grow older. [I was] I was inexperienced and had no facial hair at all when I got there. Now it looks completely different. ”
The current look for Booker's Sons is one of despair.
The Suns needed to win seven of their final 10 games of the regular season to clinch the sixth overall seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The reward was a first-round matchup between rising star Anthony Edwards and the second-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves won the first two games of the best-of-seven series by 25 and 12 points, respectively.
Booker averaged 27.1 points during the regular season, ranking sixth in the NBA. But in his first two games of the series, he averaged 19 points while shooting just 25 percent from 3-point range. The Suns take on the Timberwolves in Game 3 on Friday night (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
“Don't count us out. There's a reason for this,” Booker said after Tuesday's 105-93 loss in Game 2 against the Timberwolves.
With Booker, Durant and Beal, Phoenix looked like a championship contender entering this season. Manager Booker also said at the beginning of the season that if the Suns don't win a championship, “it wouldn't be a successful season.”
But right now, the Suns are thinking more about survival than their first NBA championship. If the Suns fall behind again, there will be no tougher opponent for Booker than him.
“I've always been my harshest critic,” Booker said. “That's the way it is going to be. So I feel the pressure, but it feels really good. That's all I've always wanted. I'm good at putting things into perspective. [I have a] I have a great family around me, great friends around me, and a great living situation. I don't mean to be cocky. I just really appreciate what I do. ”
