Valley of the Suns
Fansided

3 extremely lofty Phoenix Suns goals

By Dan Volpone

LAS VEAGS, NV - JULY 9: Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns boxes out against Mohamed Bamba #5 of the Orlando Magic during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEAGS, NV - JULY 9: Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns boxes out against Mohamed Bamba #5 of the Orlando Magic during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MARCH 08: Oklahoma City Thunder Guard Russell Westbrook (0) making his mover while Phoenix Suns Guard Devin Booker (1) plays defense during the Oklahoma City Thunder game versus the Phoenix Suns on March 8, 2018, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MARCH 08: Oklahoma City Thunder Guard Russell Westbrook (0) making his mover while Phoenix Suns Guard Devin Booker (1) plays defense during the Oklahoma City Thunder game versus the Phoenix Suns on March 8, 2018, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Devin Booker gets MVP votes

Would Booker be the most unlikely MVP of all time? Possibly. His team had the worst record in the league last year, and he’s not even listed on Odds Shark’s potential candidates. Still, it’s not too hard to come up with a scenario where Booker gets some votes.

The Phoenix Suns are bound to improve this year, although how much is yet to be seen. If they’re able to grab a playoff spot, which we’ll get to later, Devin Booker would’ve had to have had a huge year. And going into his fourth season, it’s reasonable to believe there’s a possibility of a massive jump in production.

Just two years ago, Russell Westbrook won MVP on the six seed in the Western Conference after not starting in the All-Star game. Granted, Westbrook averaged a triple double for the season. But it’s clear that being by far the best player on a team that isn’t elite is still a viable path to the award.

Moreover, this Suns team is perfectly built to maximize Booker’s counting stats, a fairly meaningless category of statistics around which the MVP award is largely based for some reason. There aren’t any other huge scorers on the roster, but there enough solid contributors that Booker could get his assist numbers up.

Booker’s improvement as a player could allow him to increase his points even as more talented players are added around him. Leading the team from the bottom to the playoffs could be enough to garner Booker some MVP votes and get Phoenix basketball some respect.

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