In the last few seasons, Devin Booker has realized his potential and emerged as one of the NBA’s premier talents. After leading the Phoenix Suns to the NBA finals last season, he’s now contributing huge numbers once again as they’re tied for the best record in the league at 27-7.
The Suns’ 27th win of the season was sealed in a blowout against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Booker was instrumental, scoring a brilliant 38 points on 50% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from three-point range.
In doing so, Booker reached the 10,000 point milestone in his NBA career. Having achieved this at the age of 25, he became the 7th youngest player to reach the landmark in NBA history.
However, the Suns guard feels like he should have reached this stage sooner, jokingly taking a shot at his old coach Jeff Hornacek when talking about his achievement after the game. His words were reported by PHNX_Sports writer Gerald Bourguet.
“Honestly, this one means a lot. I think 10k is better than the 5, 6, 7. I feel like it’s a real milestone that I hit.
“If Hornacek put me in more, I’d be at about 12 right now.”
https://twitter.com/GeraldBourguet/status/1476418011393265665
Booker clarified after his comment that he was joking, and he clearly thinks that his old coach would get a kick out of his comments. However, there is some truth to what the Phoenix star said.
While Booker did play in 76 games his rookie year with Hornacek as his coach, he played just 27 minutes per game. His scoring average that season was 13.8 points per game. After Hornacek was fired, Booker’s minutes went up to 35 a game, and he has averaged above 22 points a game in every season since.
While this milestone is a special moment for Book, the main aim this season for the Suns will be to get back into the NBA finals and potentially win the championship that eluded them last season.
