Is Devin Booker A Foundational Piece For The Phoenix Suns?

Shooting

We start with the low-hanging fruit of any Devin Booker discussion: his unbelievably smooth shooting stroke, which is even more beautiful when you consider it goes in as often as it does.

In 17.5 minutes per game, Booker is averaging 7.3 points per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor, which ranks seventh among all rookies. The six players ahead of him — Jordan Mickey, Montrezl Harrell, Willie Cauley-Stein, Richaun Holmes, Larry Nance Jr. and Karl-Anthony Towns — are all frontcourt players who take most of their shots from inside the paint.

Simply put, Devin Booker’s shot release is like a unicorn: exceedingly rare, and a thing of beauty to behold in person.

Even more impressively, Booker has made 25 of his first 50 three-pointers as a professional, which ranks first among all rookies. That’s a slightly limited sample size of course, but the eye test and the numbers indicate that the comparisons to Klay Thompson‘s shooting prowess were not misguided.

Devin Booker is not ready to be a starter on anything but a tanking team like the Suns, posting a -12.7 point differential in the seven games he’s started. But strictly from a shooting standpoint, there’s no question that Booker already has a trademark skill that will consistently earn him playing time.

Next: More Than Just A Shooter