Time moves pretty quickly and suddenly one realizes it’s been five years since Devin Booker led the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals before ultimately falling to the Milwaukee Bucks. The franchise has failed to build on any of that momentum as they bowed out in the Western Conference semifinals the next two seasons and have failed to even move past the first round in the last three.
Booker may be entering next season with a different look and a chance that it brings more luck as it’s being reported that the franchise’s all-time leading scorer is planning to switch to jersey No. 15 after spending his entire NBA career with the No. 1 on his chest.
Devin Booker’s uniform history
Booker donned No. 15 while playing for Team USA in the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games, the latter ending in gold for the Americans. His father, Melvin, wore that number while playing for Missouri from 1990-1994.
It’s a cool tribute and the younger Booker has had some success on big stages with that number on his chest.
Still, it feels as though this is going to be a strange visual for people to get used to. Sure, there is a long history of even the most elite NBA stars switching it up. Both Michael Jordan and LeBron James switched it up and Dennis Rodman signaled his radical transformation by going from No. 10 to No. 91.
But No. 1 is different. There’s something about it that seems so final. Once a player gets No. 1, that feels like a statement and they’re never going to give it up. In Booker’s case it’s the jersey he also wore during his one year at Kentucky, so outside of international play, most fans have never seen him in anything else.
It will take an adjustment period. Thankfully, there’s a whole offseason to mentally prepare. And to have fans go out and buy the latest installment of the franchise player’s uniform.