The 5 best Phoenix Suns teammates Devin Booker has had

The 5 best Phoenix Suns teammates Devin Booker has had.

4. Eric Bledsoe

A surprising inclusion on this list, Eric Bledsoe is the point guard responsible for the infamous I don’t want to be here tweet. Troubling times for the Suns, and a reminder of just how far they have come since that moment. Why then is Bledsoe on this list at all?

This is more of a “don’t do what I do” choice, and one which Booker figured out while playing with Bledsoe. In the three seasons they spent together, Booker’s first three in the league although that third year spent together lasted only three games after the aforementioned tweet, the two lead the team in usage.

In Booker’s rookie year Bledsoe was on top (27.2 percent), but by Booker’s sophomore season, the front office knew what they had and were putting the ball in the hands of Booker more (28.6 percent, to the 28.1 percent of Bledsoe). Any grumblings about Booker coming in and running the show never went public from Bledsoe, even when there was talk of them splitting duties.

Bledsoe had already done this with Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, and was likely in no mood to receive less of the ball and put the offense in motion less frequently. Unfortunately for Bledsoe, he never came across as a winning player either, and his time dominating the ball coincided with the Suns being one of the worst teams in the league.

That is not all on Bledsoe, and this process was a valuable one for Booker. He had a front row seat in learning how not to handle business, and also in growing into a star in a way that benefitted the whole team. We know he went on to do this, with Booker rarely letting any frustrations show to the media and public, and by becoming a teammate who knew when to shoot, but also pass.

Can we credit Bledsoe with all of this? It might seem like a stretch, but we have to try and find the good in a bad patch in the history of the organization. Bledsoe is only 33 and currently plays for the Shanghai Sharks, despite putting up 18.8 a night when with the Suns. Talent was never the problem, attitude was. Credit Booker for watching that scenario unfold and doing differently.