Eddie Johnson: Suns’ Devin Booker ‘is not in his prime yet’

In his six seasons with Phoenix, guard Devin Booker is starting to cement his name as one of the best players to ever wear a Suns uniform.

Since getting drafted No. 13 overall by Phoenix in the 2015 NBA draft, Booker has been slowly building a strong basketball resume in the Valley.

Some of his NBA accolades so far include: NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2016, winning the NBA Three-Point Contest in 2018, two All-Star selections in 2020 and 2021, leading the Suns alongside Chris Paul to the NBA Finals and now a trip to Tokyo to represent Team USA in the Olympics.

Former Suns player and current Phoenix play-by-play TV analyst, Eddie Johnson joined Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf on Thursday to talk about Booker’s impact in the Valley during this playoff run for the Suns.

“Devin Booker is not in his prime yet. He is not in his prime. And he’s devastating,” he said. “So the key is obviously to keep that unit and to keep them together. And they’ll come into next year humbled that they didn’t finish it.”

Despite falling short in the Finals, Booker and the Suns had an impressive playoff run that rejuvenated basketball fans in Phoenix.

In his first 22 playoff games for Phoenix, Booker averaged 27.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 44% from the field.

“[Booker] can knock down a three, he’s great at the mid-range,” Johnson said about Booker’s game. “You can put it on the floor and he can attack the basket. He can finish against anybody and he can play with his back to the basket. So it’s nothing he cannot do on the floor as a basketball player.”

Johnson added that he has noticed an improvement in Booker’s defense along with his ability to get his teammates involved through his passing game.

“In the NBA, if you just look back historically, guys on average, that’s when they really take off is when they’re 25-26 years old,” Johnson said. “[Booker] is 24 right now. And then everything tends to just go clear for him and he sees everything. So he’s not quite he’s not all the way there yet, which is a scary thought for the opposition.”

There are a couple of NBA stars who didn’t win their first NBA title until they reached their late twenties such as LeBron James (27), Stephen Curry (26), Kevin Durant (28) and most recently Giannis Antetokounmpo (26).

With the Finals now in the rearview mirror, Booker will look to add on to his resume and help guide USA men’s basketball to another gold medal in Tokyo this summer.