Damian Lillard has been absent for most of this season after having abdominal injuries hampering him going all the way back to July last year during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Lillard decided to get surgery after the Portland Trail Blazers looked doomed to the lottery and hasn’t played in 2022.
However, Lillard is still a student of the game and has had his eyes on the action all season long. Anyone who has watched basketball this season will tell you the Phoenix Suns look like a class apart from the rest of the NBA, with Devin Booker taking a more explicit role as the first option on offense with Chris Paul supporting him.
Booker has seen his numbers rise this year as the Suns are dominating the NBA, on-pace to finish 10 wins over the second-best team in the NBA. As a result, NBA legend Isiah Thomas had sent support to Booker to be included in MVP conversations, with Damian Lillard also echoing his support.
Damian Lillard showing love to Devin Booker again 🤝 pic.twitter.com/bbhRzy9nUX
— 𝘼𝙖𝙧𝙮𝙖𝙣 (@AaryanS19) March 23, 2022
Booker should be in the MVP conversation, but this season’s field is incredibly competitive across the top. There is a very clear top-three for everyone in Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis ANtetokounmpo. While their teams aren’t winning like Booker’s Suns’, their individual numbers are bordering on historic.
Other top contenders see the likes of Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, and Luka Doncic be thrown into the mix. Booker should be right next to them. While these other players have better narratives attached to them, Booker’s impact on wins with his near 26-point scoring average should warrant this conversation.
Booker has more years to make a run for the MVP, but he may need to put up numbers that blow everyone out of the water, as historic individual seasons are the ones that everyone remembers and votes for.
