PHOENIX SUNS

Devin Booker will take Suns’ scoring record with already unbreakable connection to Phoenix

Feb 3, 2025, 9:39 AM

PHOENIX — Some records are just about one number being bigger than the other. Some records are about something bigger than a number.

Devin Booker becoming the Phoenix Suns’ all-time leading scorer is less basketball achievement and more cultural significance, a moment to appreciate his connection to the city.

Booker is 23 points away from passing Ring of Honor member Walter Davis at 15,666 points, an accomplishment that will likely be finalized on Monday in Portland.

To quickly contextualize how the feat is just as much longevity and greatness as it is a commitment to one franchise, only 63 players in NBA history have reached 15,000 points for the same team, per Stathead. Out of the 50 retired players to do it, 49 of them are Hall of Famers.

There are seven franchises who haven’t even had a player reach that total in their uniform.

Call it the face of the franchise, a franchise icon, franchise legend or whatever you choose. Only a select few have held that status over the NBA’s 79-year history.

Booker is one of them. With that, he is connected to Phoenix — forever.

“It means a lot,” he said, fittingly before the Dallas Mavericks traded a potential generational talent in Luka Doncic over the weekend. “I think it’s going to continue to be more rare and rare that guys have long stints in cities, especially for the team that drafted you. It’s something that I don’t take lightly.

“It’s something that we, I, felt like built from the ground up. This is my home now.”

Suns teammate Kevin Durant is one of those 63 players who have put in the work for one franchise. He reached 15K in Oklahoma City for the Thunder.

Durant told Arizona Sports the deep connection to the franchise started to percolate when OKC began winning and the team could feel the shared excitement of the city lifting it up.

“That’s the kind of vibe you get here with Book,” Durant told Arizona Sports. “When you hear his name when they call the starting five, it’s just rockstar-like.”

Booker’s ascent started with an immediate level of belief and good faith shown by the organization in his rookie season. He felt it from the fans, too.

“When things were going tough I think the city was still rallying behind me and giving me the confidence, allowing me to grow and play through mistakes and still have my back,” Booker said. “Even when we were losing, everyone still saw the potential in me and it meant a lot.”

Booker referenced the mural of the parade for the lost 1993 NBA Finals when speaking on the pride he takes in his role.

“I knew it was something — the fanbase was always here. … I know the Phoenix Suns is Arizona’s baby. … It’s been an honor to be here,” Booker said.

Booker has played in 641 regular season games since the Suns selected him 13th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. It is the fourth-longest stint by an original draftee, trailing Shawn Marion (660), Davis (766) and Alvan Adams (988).

He has spent these years valuing the responsibility he holds. Booker knows he carries a tremendous weight when it comes to the impact he can make on the city, beyond basketball.

In 2019, Booker launched the Devin Booker Starting Five, a five-year pledge of $2.5 million to a total of 25 local nonprofit organizations. One of those pledges was to a new basketball court in Palomino Park that he recently opened.

This is not just for glitz and glamour. Booker will randomly pop up here and there to show support for the community. A local Phoenix car club held its annual holiday charity event for foster children in 2022 and Booker rolled up to help out.

No media, no extra attention. Authenticity in all aspects is incredibly important to Booker.

A month later, when Booker was at a court renovation, that same car club pulled up to give him back that love.

Bradley Beal is another Booker teammate who reached 15K with his original organization, the Washington Wizards. Beal, whose community work as a player in D.C. was well renowned, knows firsthand how much further that solidifies the link between city and player.

And to Beal, it’s something special that forms right away.

“You kinda know off draft night,” Beal said of when the bond really begins to strengthen. “As you continue to build yourself as a player, especially fans, ehey see how hard that you work and how invested that you are in the team.

“Once you get involved in the community, it’s kind of the icing on the cake too. … He is this fanbase.”

For locals reading, Booker is one of you.

He enjoys his time up north, spending time when he can in Flagstaff or Sedona to cool off and remain outdoors. He was tired of all that damn racket from the visiting Super Bowl fans in 2023. He would like to tell anyone reading this from California considering a move that we are at full capacity. No more hiking up the prices.

“I’ve just seen the whole city develop at the same time,” Booker said. “You can drive down the street and I remember when that was a warehouse, I remember when that was an office building. It’s crazy, 10 years in now the city continues to grow.”

Devin Booker has studied Walter Davis as he’s set to surpass him on the Phoenix Suns’ all-time scoring list

The appreciation for Phoenix is clear, just as it is for the Suns.

Booker has found importance in basketball’s history since he began to love the sport as a child. He grew up on the mid-2000s Detroit Pistons, champions he described as the “epitome of team basketball.” Those teams were also full of different personalities.

With that in mind, he is well brushed-up on his Suns knowledge. Booker has known of Davis’ game for a long time ahead of passing him on the scoring leaderboard.

But to make sure to give the late, great Hall of Famer his due, Booker has watched even more of Davis this year to respect this accomplishment as much as possible.

Davis, the fifth overall pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, was a six-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA honoree with Phoenix.

A 6-foot-6 shooting guard like Booker in stature, Davis also thrived in similar areas on the floor. He was an old-school midrange bucket, someone that would move off the ball to catch it within 15-20 feet and then get to work from there. Davis had a dynamic first step to either explode to the lane or get to his pull-up jumper.

Watch him glide in transition and tell me this dude wouldn’t light up today’s NBA, too. Booker agrees.

“Smooth, athleticism off the charts but the touch was still there,” Booker said of Davis’ game. “He was getting by everybody and finishing in the paint, in the midrange — anything you needed to do.”

If Davis didn’t leave the Suns in free agency after 11 seasons, Booker would have had more work to do. Davis went on to score 3,855 more points with Denver and Portland.

Who’s to say what Booker winds up at or how many years he has left in Phoenix? Whatever the future holds, that connection is eternal.

“It’s a special thing for sure, man,” Beal said. “When you’re in one place for a long time or your whole career, that’s a blessing, man. You don’t take that for granted. Speaks volumes of the organization and the city, supporting you, investing in you. And a testament to who (Booker) is as a player, taking on that challenge of leading the organization and being the franchise guy.

“I’m super happy for him, proud of him — that’s something nobody can take away, there’s only one of 30 that have that next to their name.”

Durant didn’t need to be up close to really notice the kinship between Booker and Phoenix as a member of the Suns. He recognized it right away.

“I seen that now since he got here,” Durant told Arizona Sports. “When people started catching on how great he was here, I seen the city just rally around [him].

“I’m starting to think Book is from Phoenix. How connected he’s been to the city, how long he’s been here. He is Arizona to me.”

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