Devin Booker has had a marvelous career at just 28 years old, turning 29 in late October.

He has played in 673 games in his 10-year career thus far. It’s still crazy to think he is entering year 11 in the association.

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Booker is the Suns’ all-time leading scorer and will continue to distance himself from 2nd place as long as he dons Phoenix purple and orange.

Devin is a four-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA member. He led the Suns to an appearance in the NBA Finals. He has hit iconic game-winners. He led the Suns to a perfect Bubble Run. He has won gold medals with the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Olympic teams. The accolades show he has accomplished quite a bit, and yet, he may just be entering his prime.

His mere presence attracted stars Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal to join Phoenix. Jimmy Butler was the latest on the list of players who preferred Phoenix as a destination, though that fell through.

Forget about the granular details for a second and consider the reality that existed when the Suns drafted Devin Booker in 2015. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, but Phoenix was not viewed as a “destination” franchise for nearly a decade.

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Devin Booker stuck through the dark times to make that reality happen. We can’t forget that. But the NBA is a “what have you done for me lately” league. As are sports. And now, it’s all about what’s next.

Now, fast forward to August 2025, and most Suns fans are still recovering from what has been one of the most disappointing stretches in franchise history. That is relative to the lofty expectations, of course.

Booker endured disastrous eras of Suns basketball early in his career and never once complained. The difference is that he is now a grizzled vet rather than a young kid trying to make a name for himself. How much more patience does he have? How much more patience do Suns fans have? These are the questions that are at the back of a lot of fans’ minds right now, and it’s okay to think about them as we move forward.

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Book’s Team

Make no mistake, this is now Devin Booker’s team. Chris Paul is gone. Kevin Durant is gone. Book does not have a single current or former All-Star teammate on his roster for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

I think it’s time for him to remind everyone of the assassin he can be. And more importantly, make a leap as a true leader. This is his team now. It may have always been, but it is now more than ever.

What better year for him to make “the leap” than this year? There should be decent floor spacing around him, along with a pair of vertical lob threats to take some pressure off of him.

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Jalen Green should be able to take some of that scoring pressure off of him, but the scouting reports will be very clear for opposing teams. “Stop Devin Booker” will be etched at the top of every whiteboard as teams prepare for Phoenix. This is familiar territory for Book.

Having a heavy workload on a team with an over/under of 31.5 wins gives Booker an exciting opportunity to overachieve. The expectations are low for the first time since that 2019-20 Bubble Suns run. If the Suns can make the Play-In Tournament and win more games than last year (36), then the discourse around both Booker and the Suns will be a lot different than it has been of late. And more importantly, we’ll have fun watching that.

One thing we all know by now is that Devin Booker is a consistent bucket. He has been one of the best scorers in the association for more than the past half-decade.

NBA players to average 25+ PPG every season over the last 7 seasons:

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*Kevin Durant missed a season during this stretch.

The consistency of scoring in creative ways is something we all can admire about Devin Booker.

The playmaking and defense have come a long way. The question is — what’s the next evolution of his game?

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