The Phoenix Suns just did Media Day for the 2024-24 season, and there were quite a bit of things to take away from everything we heard.
The most notable would likely be everything we heard about Jusuf Nurkic and how he fits the team. Of course, there was plenty of Deandre Ayton talk, too, and how that trade even went down, what factored into it, and how they feel Nurkic fits the system better. We also heard the big three, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant, say they will be playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Another notable thing we heard was about Devin Booker talking about the Ayton trade, and he even mentioned Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, who were both a part of the Kevin Durant trade. It was obvious he missed them.
That, though, wasn’t even the best thing Booker said on Media Day. He had what may go down as an iconic line, especially in the Suns’ Media Day history.
When Booker was asked when he felt like he had arrived or if going to an NBA Finals and being a contender every year made it feel like he arrived, he responded perfectly.
“I feel like I’ve been there, honestly, since 96,” Booker smirked. “That’s when I arrived.”
Basically, he is saying, as the kids say today, he is him. He is that dude. I mean, this is a guy who scored 70 points in a game in just his second year in the league. He has never averaged fewer than 22 points per game outside of his rookie year.
Booker led the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals. Sure, Chris Paul was huge, and Deandre Ayton was also a big reason, but Booker was the guy, as he has been since he stepped foot into the NBA. He has been there since 1996, for sure.