Devin Booker is the latest NBA star to share their all-time starting five, and the 26-year-old came up with a pretty good lineup.
“No disrespect to anybody,” Booker said. “Probably go (LeBron James), (Kevin Durant), Kobe (Bryant), (Michael) Jordan, (Hakeem) Olajuwon. That’s my five.”
While everyone is, of course, entitled to their opinion, there really can’t be a starting five without Michael Jordan and LeBron James on it. They are now widely regarded as the two greatest players in NBA history, so Booker got that right.
Booker picking Kobe Bryant wasn’t surprising, as he was his idol growing up. You can’t really question someone for having Bryant, who won five championships, two Finals MVPs, and an MVP, on their starting five, though, as he was truly one of the greats.
There is certainly some bias involved when Booker picks his teammate Kevin Durant. Durant is undoubtedly one of the greats too, however, with two championships, two Finals MVPs, and an MVP.
Lastly, we get to Hakeem Olajuwon, and while there may well be some centers that are regarded as greater than him, he was a special player as well. Olajuwon won two championships, two Finals MVPs, and an MVP, while also winning Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Analyzing Devin Booker’s Starting Five
The first thing you notice about Booker’s all-time starting five is that there is no true point guard there. When you have LeBron on the team, though, you probably don’t need to have one. He is one of the greatest playmakers in NBA history and is more than capable of running an offense.
Staying with offense, Booker’s got four of the greatest scorers in NBA history with Jordan, Durant, Bryant, and LeBron. There is diversity there too, as Kobe and Durant provide some much-needed spacing, which would allow Jordan and James to thrive.
Olajuwon was no slouch on offense either, of course, having gone down as one of the greatest low-post scorers the game has ever seen. While there is a lot of firepower on offense, this is an incredible defensive team as well.
Jordan and Olajuwon both won DPOY in their careers, while Bryant’s 12 All-Defensive Team selections are the most for a guard in NBA history. LeBron has also made one of the All-Defensive Teams on six occasions and probably should have won DPOY in 2013. Durant is the only one of the five to never make an All-Defensive Team, but he has shown over the years that he is a pretty good defender.
There aren’t too many issues you can find with this team. You could argue about having Magic Johnson there to have a true point guard, and some other great center like Shaquille O’Neal, but that’s about it.
Could Devin Booker Be In The MVP Conversation This Season?
Booker entered the 2023-24 season on the back of some ridiculous performances in the 2023 playoffs. He averaged 33.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game, and was one of the best players in the postseason.
He carried on from there in the season opener for the Phoenix Suns against the Golden State Warriors, recording 32 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and a steal. It led to some early MVP buzz for the three-time All-Star, and I think he will be in the conversation.
Booker is expected to shoulder a lot of the playmaking responsibilities with Chris Paul’s departure, so expect him to keep putting up big numbers. The Suns should also win a good amount of games, but there is one big concern, and that is health.
All three of their stars are somewhat injury-prone, with Booker already being sidelined so early on. If the injury bug doesn’t stay away, then his case would fall apart fairly quickly.
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