 Booker during a Suns game. | |
| No. 1 – Phoenix Suns | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Shooting Guard |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 30, 1996 |
| Grand Rapids Michigan | |
| Nationality: |  American
|
| Physical stats | |
| Listed height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight: | 206 lb (93 kg) |
| National Basketball Association career | |
| Debut: 2015 for the Phoenix Suns | |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Moss Point (MS) |
| College: | Kentucky |
| NBA Draft: | 2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th |
| Playing career: | 2015–present (9 years) |
| Career history | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Devin Armani Booker (born October 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. He attended Moss Point High School in Moss Point, Mississippi and played in the 2014 McDonald's All-American Game, before spending one season playing college basketball for the University of Kentucky. He was drafted 13th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. On March 24, 2017, Booker became the youngest player to score over 60 points in a game, finishing with 70 against the Boston Celtics. In March 2019, at 22 years old, Booker became the youngest player in NBA history with consecutive 50-point games. His father, Melvin Booker, played for three teams in the NBA. Booker received his first two NBA All-Star selections in 2020 and 2021 as a replacement player.
Professional career[]
Phoenix Suns (2015-present)[]
2015-16 season[]
On June 25, 2015, Booker was selected with the thirteenth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 2015 NBA Draft. On July 13, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Suns, and in seven subsequent Summer League games, he averaged 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He went on to make his NBA debut two days before his 19th birthday, in the Suns' season opener against the Dallas Mavericks. He became the first player in NBA history to debut at 18 years old after playing at least one year of college basketball. In 21 minutes of action against the Mavericks, he scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in a 111–95 loss. While he began the season as a backup shooting guard throughout the early portion of the season, including starts on November 23 and December 21, a late December injury to starting guard Eric Bledsoe on December 26 led to Booker's promotion to the starting line-up for the rest of the season. Before his teammate's injury, Booker was producing averages of 5.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 14.1 minutes of play. His production then increased throughout the second half of the season.
On January 2, 2016, Booker scored a then season-high 21 points in a 142–119 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Only Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Kevin Durant scored 20+ points more than once at a younger age than Booker. He became the youngest Phoenix Suns player and the fifth-youngest player in NBA history to record a double-double behind LeBron James, Andrew Bynum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on January 6. On January 19, he scored 32 points in a 97–94 loss to the Indiana Pacers, setting a Suns' rookie record with six three-pointers. Booker became the third-youngest player in NBA history at 19 years, 81 days old to record a 30-point game, behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant, as well as the youngest Suns player to score 30 or more points in a game. On February 12, Booker scored 23 points in a close victory for Team USA in the 2016 Rising Stars Challenge. The following day, he competed in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, becoming the youngest contestant to ever participate in the event and only the fourth rookie to compete in the 30-year-old contest, joining Stephen Curry (2010), Kyle Korver (2004) and Dennis Scott (1991). He made it to the final round of the event, beating both James Harden and J.J. Redick in a tiebreaker event after the first round, where he finished third behind the "Splash Brothers" – Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (winner).
On March 3, Booker scored a then career-high 34 points in a loss to the Miami Heat, becoming the first Suns rookie since Richard Dumas in the 1992–93 season to record multiple 30+ point games for the team and the fourth-youngest player to do it in a season. His third 30-point game came on March 9 against the New York Knicks, finishing with 32 points to join Walter Davis (17) and Alvan Adams (6) as the only Suns rookies with 3+ 30-point games. A day later, Booker recorded his second-straight 30+ point game (third in a week and fourth overall at the time) by setting a new career-high with 35 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, joining LeBron James as the only teenagers in NBA history with back-to-back 30+ point games. On March 12, he recorded his third double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 11 assists in a 123–116 loss to the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first Suns rookie with multiple points/assists double-doubles since Negele Knight (3) in the 1990–91 season. He recorded his fifth 30-point game of the season on March 28 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Throughout the month of March, Booker led all rookies in points (22.4) and assists (4.9) per game. His sixth and final 30-point game of the season came on April 5 in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, scoring 34 points on 12-of-25 shooting. On April 9, with 16 points scored in a 121–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Booker reached 1,014 for the season, making him the fourth-youngest player to reach 1,000 career points, following only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant, as well as the third-youngest during their rookie season. Booker finished his rookie campaign with 1,048 points at an average of 13.8 per game. He appeared in 76 of the team's 82 games in 2015–16, a season that saw the Suns finish with the second-worst record in the West (23–59) and the second-worst record in franchise history. In addition, Booker made 51 starts and averaged 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, earning praise from fellow NBA players such as Klay Thompson, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant. He finished fourth in the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting and earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors. He became the first Suns player to be named as a member of the All-Rookie Team since Amar'e Stoudemire in 2003.