In the wake of another former Phoenix Suns player bashing the organization, Devin Booker continues to go about his business setting a recognizable example.
The Valley’s professional sports market it very fortunate to have had a number of highly likable star players who have suffered through many years of losing with their respective franchises, never to say a single word of negativity, even in the face of numerous opportunities to throw some well-deserved shade.
Shane Doan played for the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes for 19 seasons and made it out of the first round of the playoffs just once.
He was unceremoniously told not to come back after the 2016-17 season, and even with opportunities to be traded prior to that season and a chance to play for other franchises after, he decided that he was a Coyote for life, retired with the franchise, and has since remained a consistent and loving former-member, never speaking a single word of ill-will.
Larry Fitzgerald is statistically the second-best wide receiver in NFL history, and arguably deserves the same position in all general rankings.
He has only been out of the first round of the playoffs three times, has only been to the Super Blow once, and unless something miraculous happens, will never taste another playoff appearance again with this franchise.
A Minnesotan by birth, he has had multiple opportunities to bash the franchise for so rarely giving him a quarterback who can consistently throw him the ball or an offense which can score points, and yet he too has never spoken a single word of hate towards the Arizona Cardinals, instead choosing not only to consistently take the high road, but also likely remain with one franchise for the entirety of his own career.
Luis Gonzalez was on pace to become the oldest player in MLB history to hit 50 or more doubles in a single season (and did so) when he was told he would not be retained following the 2006 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Randy Johnson was let go with 295 career wins (118 with the Diamondbacks) following the 2008 season – was not happy about it – and was forced to win his 300th career victory while with the San Francisco Giants.
While Randy was publicly peeved, neither he nor Gonzo ran around the country calling out the franchise which had led them each to their only World Series title, and where they each had the most individual success of their respective careers.
The list is long of those who have spent so much of their time with a Valley franchise, never to have tasted ultimate success, or at least to have been let go in a manner that was far less worth the blood, sweat, tears, and losing they left and endured in Arizona.
And then we have the Phoenix Suns.
Long is the list of players who have come and gone, leaving a trail of profanities and complaints on their way out (and even some players – like Draymond Green – who have never even played for the franchise), bashing everything from the team, to management, to even the community itself once they found themselves elsewhere.
Like trolls on social media, they sure do make it look easy to complain about something when the people you are complaining about have no opportunity to respond to their faces.
Then there is Devin Booker.
Young, brash, individually successful, and has never tasted victory for the entirety of his thus far four years in the NBA.
Never too has he spoken poorly about the franchise that has employed him since day one.
He puts his head down and works – like Larry Fitzgerald.
He does so with a smile – like Shane Doan.
He pushes his franchise, teammates, and management further through his own consistent desire to win by working on his craft 12 months a year – like Randy Johnson.
At times we almost expect him to publicly call out the franchise and demand a trade.
And yet, to this day, absolutely nothing but a silent work ethic that puts former Suns (and sometimes teammates of his) to shame.
The Phoenix Suns are fortunate to employee such a personality.
NBA players today are some of the biggest whiners in the professional sports world, finding every excuse to bash their professional situation, without any regard to the millions of dollars they are paid to play a game their fans could only dream of, taking a very “me”-centric perspective on their careers.
Certainly even in professional sports one cannot be truly faulted for thinking of themselves and their happiness on some level.
But in the NBA, players like Devin Booker do not come around all that often – uber-talented but on a losing team, yet willing to wait for the right situation to find him, rather than he seek that situation out.
As he enters the first season of his five-year max contract extension, many people around the Phoenix Suns and basketball world have claimed that it is up to Booker to live up to the contract.
On the contrary, I believe that he already has, and that it is up to the franchise to live up to the billing that he has provided them as a next-level talent who just shuts up and plays.
Who knows what the future holds and if at some point before that contract is up things get so bad he decides he wants out and demands a trade.
If that is the case, we can then look back and review how the relationship between he and the Valley deteriorated and if on his way out he threw parting shots at the team that will have paid him well over $100 million for his services.
But if he does continue to stick with the franchise while they attempt to right the ship; or if he does want out but says nothing more than complimentary plaudits, then he too will fall into the list of current and former Valley stars who are as deserving of our love and affection as sports fans as any other stars in any other cities or sports who have won while ours did not.
The Phoenix Suns and their fanbase are extremely fortunate to have Devin Booker in the Valley; a quite, consummate professional who chooses to speak highly of his franchise and desires to win here, rather than bash the team or demand a trade elsewhere – the absolute easiest position he can take.