Coming out of college, Devin Booker was low in the pecking order of Kentucky prospects. Karl-Anthony Towns was going to be at the top of the draft board. Willie Cauley-Stein wasn’t that far behind. Trey Lyles drew more critical acclaim. The Harrison brothers got more publicity, even if neither was viewed as a better NBA player than UK’s three point specialist. But as the sun sets on the most disappointing season in recent memory in Phoenix, a metaphorical phoenix is rising. At just 19, Devin Booker is cementing himself as the future of the Phoenix Suns, and these last two months are his to fully catch fire.
Booker was part of the latest and greatest class of freshman to enter the NBA from Kentucky. John Calipari’s lot lost in the Final Four to eventual runners-up Wisconsin, but as usual had a handful of youngsters primed for the NBA plucking. Devin had a relatively quiet tournament statistics-wise, but scouts still could not stop wiping the drool from their respective faces regarding his shooting ability. He earned comparisons in the lead up to the draft ranging from Klay Thompson and Gordon Hayward to J.J. Redick. Needless to say that is fairly good company for an incoming prospect.
But there were holes in Booker’s college game, and in his overall makeup, that left some skeptical about his potential impact at the next level. Yes, he was a tremendous shooter. However, the vast majority of his shots were spot up jumpers at UK, 89% of them to be more precise. He could spot up at the three point line, but he couldn’t make his own shot or create contact inside the three point arc. He was too small for two guard and was a liability on the wing against more athletic guards and small forwards. All these question marks and critiques allowed the Suns to take Booker with the second to last pick in the 2015 lottery.
He seemed a perfect fit for the Suns system. With space creators, and fellow UK alums, Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe, and Archie Goodwin driving and kicking, Booker could be a dagger producer in the desert. That sadly was not the case as he was sparsely used over the season’s first two months. After an impressive opening night showing against Dallas when he hit 6-of-7 shots for 14 points in 21 minutes, Booker only saw 20+ minutes of action five more times before Christmas. But then a significant announcement was made that changed the course of the season for both the Suns, as well as Booker.
Eric Bledsoe, who was injured in November, was ruled out for the rest of the season after meniscus surgery days before the calendar flipped to 2016. Although the news sent the once promising Suns further into the tank, it gave then head coach Jeff Hornacek the impetus to see what he had in his first round pick. Starting with their December 26th game against the Sixers, Booker hasn’t played less than 20 minutes in a game since.
The results were the antithesis of everything detractors said of Booker’s game coming into the season. Not only did he continue to be a lethal three point shooter, he displayed an ability to get to the rim and get to the free throw line. The latter was especially important seeing how Booker is an 83% shooter from the charity stripe. He showed a previously unforeseen rebounding aptitude as well as a killer instinct late in games. Booker was slowly becoming more and more confident as his role increased with the club. He scored in double digits in every game in January except for one and drained multiple threes seven times, including six in setting a career high with 32 points in a narrow loss to the Pacers.
There have been several eclipses during this Sun’s rise though. When Hornacek got the axe at the start of February, Booker struggled initially under new coach Earl Watson. Watson put Booker in more of a ball handling role alongside Brandon Knight, and it led to quite the turnover barrage out of the gate. The Suns continued to lose and it seemed as if the experiment may have to be cut short. After that first shock to the system though, Booker has been at his best.
He entered the All-Star Break with a near triple double (15 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds) against the defending champion Warriors before shining on the weekend itself. He replaced Nerlens Noel in the Rising Stars game and scored 23 off the bench for the winning Team USA squad. Booker then made it to the final round of the Three-Point Shootout only to fall by the wayside as Golden State’s Splash Brothers battled for the crown.
Booker has been excellent in March, fully entrenched as the go-to option on offense for Phoenix. He’s averaging over 20 points a game and his team has won back to back games for the first time since November. If not for that month plus in early season exile, Devin Booker would be in serious consideration for Rookie of the Year. For now though, he’s just going to have to settle for being the new face of a franchise in desperate need of remodeling. The weather is getting warmer, but we have just begun to see Devin Booker heat up.