128-102. That was the score of the last Phoenix Suns game of the 2020 NBA season, which finished in the bubble in Florida. Devin Booker averaged 30.5 points per game across eight games in the bubble. It was a bittersweet finish to a season, as an 8-0 record wasn’t enough for Booker to lead Phoenix to the playoffs.
Fast forward to 2021. Booker leads the Suns to their first playoff appearance since the 2009-10 season where they finished 54-28. Phoenix finished 2nd in the Western Conference with a 51-21 record, and its magical postseason run was sparked by the incredible play of Booker. In Booker’s first career postseason appearance, he averaged 27.3 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists per game. Booker torched teams through the playoffs as he accumulated seven 30+ point performances throughout the first 3 rounds against the Lakers, Nuggets and Clippers.
Booker, while trusting the star point guard in the backcourt with him, Chris Paul, and their dominant center in Deandre Ayton, reached the finals to face the Milwaukee Bucks. Even in games where Booker shot poorly, he still made his impact felt. In Game 1, Booker finished 8-21 from the field and 1-8 from three but contributed 6 assists, 3 steals and finished with a +/- of +18 in a Suns win. While they would ultimately fall in the Finals in six games to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, Booker’s postseason and more specifically, Finals performances shouldn’t fall under the radar at all.
Booker’s 82 combined points in Games 4 and 5 would end up being the most in NBA history in consecutive Finals game losses. Only John Havlicek and LeBron James come close to that point total but fall just short with 80. Booker also joined Rick Barry as the only other player to ever record 10+ 30-point games in their first career postseason. He also joined Barry and Wilt Chamberlain as the third player to ever record three or more 40-point performances in their first postseason.
Booker made his mark on the postseason, shooting 168-337 from inside the arc which included multiple flawless 3rd quarter performances from the mid-range area. While Booker and his Suns fell short of winning it all, Booker ended up winning it all, in Japan. Booker joined Team USA a few days after losing in the Finals where he would go on to average 9.3 point per game and 1.5 steals per game in just over 20 minutes per contest.
While Booker didn’t finish the summer as an NBA champion, he did finish as an Olympic Gold Medalist. Nonetheless, the Suns are still expected to perform at a high level this season and make the playoffs to compete once again for their first-ever title.
