Hang uno up in the rafters. Booker is in his #15 era.
New number, new Book. Scoring 70 points in a loss Book is out, and gold medal Book is in. The Olympic 3 and D Book. The “I’ll do it” Book. The being-anything-the-team-needs-him-to-be Book.
What could the player that Steve Kerr named the “Unsung MVP” of the 2024 Olympic gold medal team bring to the run-it-back Suns? I say, he’ll bring what he’s always brought, exactly what his team needs to win.
Steve Kerr went on to say this about Devin Booker.
“He’s
probably the guy who has been the most adaptable to go from a different role in the NBA to a new one here. He’s adapted to being an on-ball guy, ball mover. The offense clicks when he’s out there, the defense is really good.”
In my opinion, the Suns need Booker to fill a new role in the 2026-27 season. More CP3, less Kobe. More Gary Payton, less Allen Iverson. This Suns team doesn’t win a playoff series or nab a 4-5 seed because Booker takes more shots. Not if that means Jalen Green has to take fewer shots. Or Dillon Brooks gets trigger-shy. Or Collin Gillespie defers. This isn’t the 2017 Suns, or the CP3 Suns that needed Booker to flame on every night. Booker doesn’t have to provide the bulk of the shots on this Suns team. SG1 isn’t a winning strategy. Let Ant and Spida spin their tires in the conference finals, chasing that title. The answer isn’t always more gas.
You know what the run-it-back Suns need more than 25 shots a night from Booker? Some of that Paris Olympics defense.
For being a team that wants to build off the defensive side of the ball, the Suns couldn’t keep anyone out of the lane, and by the time they got to the playoffs, the secret was out. Expect teams to attack the Suns with the drive until the tape gives them reason to pause. The Suns can’t be the type of swarming defense Jordan Ott envisions if they can’t stay in front of the ball. The coaching staff and front office are surely working to address that weakness, but could the Suns’ best player be a part of the solution?
Booker played good defense last season. Can he make that a more consistent part of his game? Can he step up and take on a difficult assignment in a playoff series? Could he hold up when he gets switched onto Ant, Luka, or Shai. What would that allow the rest of the team to do? If Booker is mixing it up on defense, game in and game out, what kind of effort are you going to get from Jalen Green? How does that intensity transfer to the young core? How aggressively do Collin, Oso, Fleming, and Dunn play? A great individual offensive performance can increase everyone’s confidence shooting the ball. Could great individual effort from Book on the defensive end have a similar effect? The rising tide raises all boats. The Suns need Devin Booker to be the rising tide, on the defensive end, and as a playmaker on offense.
Booker’s numbers weren’t as off from previous seasons as the fan reaction would have you think, but the efficiency numbers were down. Yet the biggest critique from Book’s post-season performance was that he wasn’t aggressively seeking his shot. Then people see Jalen Brunson in the finals relentlessly attacking, and everyone stands up and says, “See! That’s what Booker needs to do.” But when Booker was at his best, making finals runs, getting MVP votes, and making all NBA teams, he was efficient. His 45.6 FG% last season was the lowest it’s been since the 2017-18 season, and his 33.0 3PT% was the lowest it’s been since the 2018-19 season. How does forcing contested shots help that?
Booker is great when he’s pushing the 50/40/90 mark. If he has to shoot it 15-17 times a game instead of 20 to get there, so be it. Booker needs to leverage his basketball IQ and gravity to be a playmaker first, like you see from superstars like Jokic or Lebron. Not just to create open looks for his teammates but also to open up better looks for himself. Lebron and Jokic don’t attack the wall teams build to contain them. They work the ball around the wall until the defense has to come out to cover the corners of the court they thought they could sacrifice. That’s when Jokic or Lebron start scoring. That’s how they get the looks they want, not the looks the defense wants.
Booker would benefit from being a more opportunistic scorer this upcoming season. When he’s playing with the bench unit at the end of the first quarter. Go nuts. When the Suns brick consecutive shots, and the other team sparks a run. Get aggressive, get a bucket. When he catches Austin Reeves in rotation. Take him to the hoop. But you don’t need to kill yourself in the first half getting to your spot if Green or Brooks are getting good looks. Be smart about when you spend your energy. The Suns don’t need Booker to take over in the second quarter; they need him to get buckets in the 4th. That’s how, on any given night, Booker can take fewer shots than Jalen Green or Dillon Brooks and still be the franchise player the Suns pay him to be. CP3 had it down to a science.
Booker can’t stay 2023 forever. I’m sure he looks at guys like Lebron and CP3, who stretched their careers out long past their expected expiration date, and thinks how he could do the same for his career. Their games evolved with age, with the way defenses played them, with the teams they had around them. Booker’s game will evolve too.
From coming off the bench for Calipari at Kentucky to hitting corner threes for Steve Kerr in the Paris Olympics, Devin Booker has always been willing and able to assume whatever role he needs to play to win. For over a decade, he’s been the Sun’s offensive engine wearing the number 1. Maybe that’s not what the Suns need right now. Maybe the Suns need the Olympic Booker. Maybe it’s time for Suns fans to open their minds to what #15 has to offer.
Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the only thing that will change about Devin Booker is his number. Let me know in the comments what you expect from Book next season. Will we see a new Book? Or will SG1 strike back?
