Devin Booker Kept Proving Why The Suns Still Run Through Him

Explore Devin Booker's season-defining performances that drove the Phoenix Suns' surprising playoff push, despite some high-scoring games ending in defeat.

Devin Booker was the steady force behind a Phoenix Suns season that caught plenty of people off guard.

After trading away Kevin Durant and buying out Bradley Beal, Phoenix still managed to finish 45-37 and reach the playoffs. Around the league, that was viewed as a real success story.

Dillon Brooks had the best season of his career, Collin Gillespie outplayed his contract, and role players such as Jordan Goodwin and Grayson Allen helped give the Suns the edge and shot-making that made them a tough regular-season team. But Booker was still the engine.

He made his fifth All-Star team and became one of only two players in the NBA, alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, to average at least 25 points per game in each of the last eight seasons. It wasn’t one of his signature All-NBA years, but he still set the tone for Phoenix night after night.

Here are his best games from the season:

One of Booker’s biggest scoring nights came against the Warriors, when he dropped 38 points in two separate games. Both ended in road losses, but the production was loud. In the second meeting, Phoenix led 44-32 before Golden State clawed back and took a six-point edge into the fourth quarter.

Across those two games, Booker was 21-for-23 at the line and 23-for-39 on two-point attempts. In the first matchup, he scored more points than minutes played, which was not something he did often this season.

Both losses also came during strong stretches for Phoenix. The first was wedged between the Suns handing the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs their first loss and a five-game winning streak.

The second came right before another four-game run.

He also put up 40 against the Celtics in one of Phoenix’s most back-and-forth games of the year. That was his second-highest scoring performance of the season, but it still ended in a loss. Boston closed better, and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum got the final say, with Brown scoring nearly half of his 41 points in the fourth quarter.

Booker did most of his damage inside the arc in that one, finishing with 26 points on 13-for-17 shooting.

In Indiana, Booker and Jalen Green combined for 79 points in a 123-108 win over the Pacers on the first night of a back-to-back. Booker finished with 43, his highest total of the 2025-2026 campaign. It was also one of the better outside shooting nights he had all year, as he went 4-for-7 from three and was perfect on 11 free throws.

When Indiana trimmed the lead to two late in the third quarter, Booker answered. He hit multiple triples and closed the period with a step-back jumper that pushed Phoenix’s lead to eight. That win was the team’s fourth straight, and the Suns were 39-27 afterward, their best mark above .500 all season.

But the shot that really stood out came against Oklahoma City.

Booker only took 11 shots and finished with 24 points, which was below his season average. Still, that game ended with one of the biggest baskets of his career.

With All-NBA defender Alex Caruso on him and the score tied 105-105, Booker buried the shot that completed Phoenix’s double-digit comeback against the team with the league’s best record. The Thunder had already beaten the Suns so badly in the NBA Cup semifinals the month before that it stood as Phoenix’s worst loss in franchise history.

That bucket didn’t just finish off the Suns’ most impressive win of the year. It also kicked off a month in which Phoenix beat the No. 1 seeds in both conferences and helped earn Jordan Ott Western Conference Coach of the Month honors.

The best individual performance, though, came early against San Antonio.

After the Spurs opened the season 5-0, Phoenix handed them their first loss in convincing fashion. Booker scored 28 points on 10-for-15 shooting and added a season-high 13 assists in one of his six double-doubles. The Suns were plus-26 with him on the floor, and they held Victor Wembanyama to nine points on 4-for-14 shooting while forcing six turnovers.

That win was Phoenix’s first against a team that would finish above .500, and it started a 10-5 month. Booker spent a large portion of the season running point, and this was the game that showed that side of his game best. Phoenix led by more than 30 at times, and the confidence from that night seemed to carry through the rest of the regular season, when the Suns stayed above .500 for nearly the entire stretch.

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