Devin Booker earns 1st Team All-NBA, 1st Suns player to do so since 2007
May 24, 2022, 5:26 PM | Updated: May 25, 2022, 7:56 am
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half of Game One of the Western Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at Footprint Center on May 02, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Mavericks 121-114. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker has long been disrespected nationally but this season he has been properly recognized.
After finishing fourth in voting for Most Valuable Player, Booker was named to First Team All-NBA on Tuesday. Teammate Chris Paul is on the third team.
Booker averaged a career-high 26.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game to go with 4.8 assists on strong 46.6% shooting from the field and 38.3% at 3-point range. The All-NBA honor makes him eligible to receive a supermax contract extension this offseason of four years and $211 million that would kick in starting in 2024-25.
It has been a long road to get here. Booker’s first two All-Star honors in 2020 and 2021 came as an injury replacement, with his second snubbing being particularly puzzling. That led to an outpouring of support from his fellow players, including this infamous tweet from Los Angeles Lakers guard LeBron James.
Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 24, 2021
This was always the biggest tell, that Booker was far more respected by his peers than the media, which this fellow media member can say is the group that knows far more what they are talking about. The latest evidence of this was Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant selecting Booker first in the 2022 NBA All-Star Draft amongst all the reserves.
When it came to All-NBA, Booker’s voting totals for last season saw him 10th among guards for the six spots despite a similarly great statistical season and being the best player on a 51-21 squad.
The lack of recognition for Booker was a specific sting to Suns fans and the organization in particular because Booker’s tremendous play represented the only bright light for the team prior to Phoenix’s ascent last season.
It turns out that ascent is all Booker needed to be looked at as not only one of the up-and-coming stars in the league but now one of its superstars and signature faces.
Booker is the 16th player in franchise history to make an All-NBA team. For the first team specifically, he is the eighth and the first since both Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire were on the 2007 edition.
