After a strong Summer League showing, Koa Peat’s next job is a familiar one for every rookie: settle in, find his place, and start soaking up everything around him before the 2026-27 season gets here.
For the Phoenix Suns’ first-round pick, that learning curve comes with a pretty good classroom. Devin Booker is right there, and Peat is already eager to pick his brain.
“Just playing off him, trying to make him better as a player, doing the little things, screening for him and just learning from him. Obviously he's one of the best players in the league. He's a legend so just learning from him I think is going to help my game for sure,” Peat said of Booker during the Summer Suns' final game Saturday.
Booker has been part of Peat’s basketball life for as long as he can remember. Growing up in Arizona, he watched the Suns and watched Booker’s career unfold in real time.
“I've been watching the Suns since I've been born. When I was 10 years old, I think that's when Booker got drafted,” Peat said previously in his introductory press conference last month.
Now that Booker is his teammate, Peat says the whole thing still feels a little unreal.
“It’s surreal. He’s a legend. To be able to see his greatness every day, it’s definitely going to help me get better as a player.
Peat also got a first-hand introduction to Booker back in February, when he met him at a game alongside then-Arizona teammate and fellow first-round pick Brayden Burries.
“Just super excited. Being able to meet Book was a super cool and surreal moment for me,” Peat said. “Just coming in as a rookie trying to find my role, be an energy guy, try to make the best player better and make the coach trust me and like me are my main two goals.”
Peat’s path to Phoenix came with some draft-day slide. Concerns about his shooting and his old-school style pushed him all the way to No. 30, though the Suns were happy to trade up and bring in the Arizona native.
He gave them plenty to like in Summer League, using his physicality to get downhill, making the right reads, and showing he can defend multiple spots. He finished with averages of 16.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals.
Now the task is straightforward: carve out a role, earn trust, and learn from the veterans around him. Booker is the biggest name in that group, and for Peat, that makes the next step even better.
In Other News...
Jamaree Bouyea Might Be The Suns Rotation Piece Nobody Saw Coming
Jamaree Bouyea spent the 2025-26 season turning himself into a real part of the Suns back end, appearing in 46 games and logging a career-high 14 minutes a night. Phoenix liked enough of what it saw to bring him back on a two-year deal worth less than $4 million, a modest commitment that says as much about his value as it does about where the Suns are trying to find cheap, useful minutes.
The intrigue is whether Bouyea can slide into the defensive lane opened up by the departures of Royce ONeale and Grayson Allen, giving Phoenix another option to throw at bigger wings and forwards. His length and willingness to take on those matchups make him an interesting fit, but the offensive side remains the question, especially with the Suns needing to sort out how much of Allens shooting they can realistically replace. [Read more 🡒]
Khaman Maluach Is Giving Suns Fans Real Reason To Believe
Khaman Maluach did enough in four Summer League games to turn a promising debut into something closer to a statement. The Suns big man averaged 19.5 points and 12.8 rebounds, posted a double-double in every outing before being rested, and flashed the kind of rim protection and floor spacing that can change how a front line looks. For a team looking for reasons to feel better about its long-term outlook, that kind of start matters.
The buzz around Maluach has only grown because the production came with broader attention from national observers, who saw a player already showing real two-way utility. The next question is whether that performance gets the formal recognition it seems to deserve, with All-Summer League selections still pending and the Suns waiting to see just how high this early momentum can carry their newest interior piece. [Read more 🡒]