My Mind’s on Devin Booker, and Devin Booker’s on My Mind
By Adam Maynes
How close is Devin Booker All-NBA Third Team?
Becoming All-NBA will be a tough road for Devin Booker in the near future, but with the way he has turned up his play since Eric Bledsoe was shut down there might be statistical argument that he deserves at least consideration now, and depending upon growth could receive full-out recognition with the All-NBA Third Team as early as next year.
The league’s 2015-16 list of All-NBA guards were as followed:
1st team – Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook
2nd team – Chris Paul and Damian Lillard
3rd team – Klay Thompson and Kyle Lowry
Up top I see no change with the 1st team this season. The only possible adjustment being the switching of Curry for James Harden, although I think Curry is probably guaranteed 1st team for the foreseeable future.
Chris Paul is still putting up Chris Paul-like numbers, although he has missed 21 games this season; missed the All-Star game (due to injury) for the first time since 2007; his points, assists, steals, and free throw percentage are all down from last season; and the Clippers overall are having somewhat of a down year. However, the Clippers were 8-13 without Paul this season which does heighten his prestige, and his 18.0p 9.2a averages are still spectacular so if he slips, he probably slips to third team, and not out of the rankings all together.
Damian Lillard is averaging a career-high in points and rebounds, and with the Blazers currently on the verge of making the playoffs, he is all but locked back into his position on the All-NBA team, although I believe he’ll slip to 3rd.
Kyle Lowry most certainly did not play himself out of 3rd team recognition this season, however he too has missed 21 games so far due to his wrist, with five more games on the schedule he is guaranteed to miss. This could cause him to slip as well, unfortunately out of the rankings, to be replaced with James Harden.
Klay Thompson is averaging a career-high in scoring and field goal percentage, and this season he holds the second highest single-game scoring record behind only Devin Booker. Of the top-6 he seems the absolute most likely to lose his ranking, likely to be replaced by Isaiah Thomas.
Last season John Wall, Kemba Walker, and Tony Parker, all received votes for the All-NBA team as well – Parker receiving one vote.
Busting into the top-6 in 2017 for Devin Booker is going to be extremely difficult, if not anything more than a pipe-dream. He can, however, receive enough votes to place him in the top-10 for guards, and with a solid final four games and a strong 2017-18, could see a rise into all-NBA recognition and celebration next season.