J-Speaks: Booker Reaches 4,000 Career Points

The 50^th season of Phoenix Suns basketball has been one to forget. They are at in the cellar of the Western Conference at 19-46 and will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight season. In recent weeks, the Suns along with other sub .500 teams that will be in the NBA Draft Lottery in May are juggling losses, or as it is referred to as “tanking” to increase their odds of getting the No. 1 overall pick or the best draft position possible for this June’s draft. While the idea of the front offices might be tanking, the players on those teams have are not taking the remainder of this season off, especially Suns’ rising star rising star guard, who made some NBA history over the weekend. 

In the Suns’ 124-116 loss versus the Oklahoma City Thunder (37-28) on Friday night, star guard Devin Booker scored 39 points, with six rebounds and eight assists, on 16 for 28 shooting, including 6 for 10 from three-point range became the third youngest player at 21 years and 123 days old to score 4,000. 

Only Golden State Warriors All-Star Kevin Durant and four-time league MVP and fellow perennial All-Star LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers accomplished this feet at younger ages of 21 years and 66 days, and 20 years, 318 days respectably. 

For Booker, it was his fourth consecutive game to score 30 points or more, a career-best. It was the longest streak in franchise history since All-Star forward Amar’e Stoudemire score 30 points or more from Dec. 20-28, 2004. 

Booker was trying to match former Sun Charlie Scott and Hall of Famer, and NBA on TNT studio analyst Charles Barkley for the longest streak of scoring at least 30 points in a game with five. 

“I mean it still gets always gets me off guard,” Booker, who had 22 points in the Suns 113-112 loss at the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon, said to NBATV’s Jared Greenberg on Monday’s edition of “10 Before Tip” about being put in the same sentence as James and Durant. 

“Those are the top guys in the league. Top two players in the league, so being mentioned with those names is always an honor, but at the end of the day I’m just trying to get better. Trying to get wins, and what ever comes with that comes with it.” 

In what has been a long season for the Suns, and for a number of teams who, Booker has shown in his third season out of Kentucky that regardless of the tough times the Suns have gone through this season with all the losses, including their latest one on Sunday afternoon, he is still bringing his A+ game to the court, and showing major growth both in his game, and a cornerstone of the Suns going forward. 

They do not want to take the approach that the Hawks did when they rested starting guard Kent Bazemore on Sunday, and that some of the Hawks regulars did not play in the fourth quarter. 

“I always live by the saying, ‘You learn winning by winning,’” Booker, who missed the potential game-winner at the Hawks on Sunday said to Greenberg. “I think the basketball Gods would come down on me if I was like, “I’m purposely going to lose to these games for a higher draft pick.’” 

“So, for us personally we take every game seriously. We try to win every game, and we fell short yesterday, but we did notice that. But at the same time, we’re still trying to win.” 

Besides having a great work ethic and willingness to work at your craft even when people are not looking straight at you putting in that work, to be one of the best athletes in your profession or to be one of the very best at any profession, you have bring an attitude that no matter what happens you will bring it day in and day out. Devin Booker is a great example of this and it has shown this season. 

For the third straight season, the No. 13 overall pick in 2015 draft has increased his scoring to 25.1, which is 10^th in “The Association” this season. He has also increased his rebounding and assists per game to 4.6 and 4.8 respectably and increased his three-point shooting to 38.4 percent this season. 

Booker’s growth as a passer and rebounder proves that he is more than just a scorer and a perimeter shooter. That he can make plays for others, especially now that he is part of every other team’s scouting report in terms of the man the opposition must take away on each possession. 

It also shows as mentioned earlier, the maturity, focus and willingness to not let all the losses get him down, which has impressed NBATV’s Steve Smith. 

“I’m so impressed because he hasn’t shown frustration with all the losing. And also, he’s the No. 1 option for them and he’s drawing a lot of attention. Still shooting the basketball,” the NBATV studio analyst said on the Saturday edition of NBATV’s “Gametime.” 

“I like that a guy with all the attention, he’s getting double-teamed still being able to knock down jump shots, but he’s added getting to the bucket.” 

To bring that point into context, Booker went from averaging 3.4 free throws as a rookie, to 5.7 attempts last season, to 6.2 attempts this season, where he is shooting 88.0 percent. 

With a talent like this, that only comes around only every few years, it is up to the front office of said organization to put the right kind of talent around that individual to maximize the prime of their careers, as well as win more games. 

For the Suns, that task is in the hands of general manager Ryan McDonough and owner Robert Sarver, which they have not done. 

Other than Booker, the supposed other young players they have counted on or are counting on to develop in forwards Marquese Chriss and Dragen Bender, center Alex Len, guard Tyler Ulis and rookie swingman Josh Jackson have had flashes, but have not had stand out moments to wear they have shown to the front office that either one of them could truly be a major part of the Suns going forward. 

One player that has made strides towards that this season has been TJ Warren, who scored 35 points on 16 for 26 shooting on Sunday afternoon. 

Along with him, current starting point guard Elfrid Payton, who the Suns acquired at the Feb. 8 trade deadline from the Orlando Magic has been terrific. 

The No. 10 overall pick in 2014, whose will be an unrestricted free agent this summer has averaged 16.4 points, 8.2 assists and eight boards on 47.9 percent shooting in nine games with the Suns. In five of those nine games, he has garnered a triple-double, which includes his latest of 11 points, 14 assists and 10 boards in the setback at the Hawks on Sunday. 

Since Feb. 10, Payton’s first game with the Suns, he James, Thunder All-Star and reigning league MVP Russell Westbrook and Denver Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic are averaging 16-plus points, eight-plus boards and eight-plus assists per contest. 

In a league where it is hard to sign a star in free agency, let alone draft one, when you have one like Devin Booker who seems to get better and better each year, it is up to the organization to surround a talent like that with equal talent, that brings an even more equal work ethic and commitment. 

Gaining respect from your peers and those that cover you is never easy. When that praise and respect comes, it is special and those that harness it to get better are the ones that become special and do special things. Devin Booker has the special quality about him, which is how he achieved the mark he did on Friday night becoming the third youngest player to reach 4,000 career points. 

It is up to the Suns front office this off-season and going forward to acquire and draft the kind of player that will excel alongside Booker and elevate the team to one that will become a playoff perennial, and hopefully a championship contender. 

“I’m very impressed with his game. He continues to improve every year,” NBATV studio analyst Brendan Haywood said. “I’m just waiting for the Phoenix Suns to improve and get the right players around him, so they can grow, and we don’t waste his prime years. Because he’s putting on a show, but no one’s really getting to see it outside of Phoenix.” 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/3/18 6 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith, and Brendan Haywood; 3/5/18 5:30 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “10 Before Tip,” with Jared Greenberg; www.nba.com/games/20180302/OKCPHX#/boxscore/recap; www.nba.com/games/20180304/PHXATL#/boxscore/recap; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/3136193/devin-booker; and www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2583639/elfrid-payton.