Phoenix Suns: 5 big awards for the season’s 1st quarter

No. 1: The Phoenix Suns’ Upside Award goes to Devin Booker.

Booker missed the Suns’ past two games — victories over Golden State and Dallas — with a hamstring strain but figures to return very soon.

Get that? The Suns won the past two games without Devin Booker!

A 10-8 record is nice, but the potential for this team is even better.

Booker is the Suns’ future, the face of the franchise, the All-Star guard whose unflinching dedication to bringing playoff success to Phoenix can’t be overstated.

Basically, there wasn’t any reason for him to pledge his undying love to the Suns.

But he did.

The one-and-done Kentucky star won’t turn 25 until October. Joining the All-Stars for the first time in his career last season, he’s finally capitalizing on the hard work born from the “lack of respect” card.

Booker was drafted 13th in 2015, behind such luminaries as Mario Hezonja, Stanley Johnson and, yes, Frank Kaminsky.

Grateful fans embrace Booker’s gritty, win-at-all-costs style. They are kind enough to shrug when the Kendall Jenner stories bubble to the surface. Who cares? He’s gold on the court. “We wanna win. We NEED the playoffs.”

Booker’s scoring has taken a step back, along with his well-documented free-throw shooting, and fans are eager for the turnovers to stop their swollen numbers.

But Booker is the Phoenix Suns. He’s a capable leader whose line should approach 26/6/6 by the end of this season. When healthy, Booker is — and should be — the go-to guy every night, a player worthy of a top-15 spot among ALL players in the NBA.

And he’s collecting some serious motivation after missing these games because of injury. He’ll be back, quickly figuring out the chemistry with Chris Paul and applying it to the playoff push.

So we can sit back, relax a little (given the 10-8 record at the quarter mark) and enjoy the huge upside Booker provides.