Depending on who you ask, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker may not be deserving of All-NBA or even All-Star recognition this season.
Don’t count New York Knicks and NBA lead announcer for ESPN/ABC Mike Breen among those detractors.
Breen got to see Booker and the Suns up close once again on Jan. 9, when the Knicks fell 112-107 against Phoenix at Mortgage Matchup Center. Book scored a game-high 31 points on 10-of-23 shooting — including 4-of-6 from 3-point land, an area where he’s uncharacteristically struggled during the 2025-26 season.
Booker added eight assists against just two turnovers along with three rebounds, a steal and a +11 box plus/minus by the end of the night.
Stats aside, the Suns got the win against one of the Eastern Conference’s most formidable opponents, and Breen let his thoughts be known on Booker.
“He’s a star player who’s coachable. He’s a star player who plays defense. He’s a star player who’s so unselfish,” Breen said of The Valley’s star, as relayed by the Suns on Instagram. “He’s clutch. He’s got everything you want in a franchise player.”
Breen eloquently summed up why Suns fans have such reverence for Book, the lifelong Sun who may keep that tag for the remainder of his career.
Booker’s clutch gene is certainly something Suns fans are familiar with. He reminded the league at large of that talent Jan. 4 against the reigning champion OKC Thunder by sending them packing with a game-winning 3-pointer over the solid defense of Alex Caruso.
Book may not be an elite, lockdown defensive player like former NBAer Tony Allen or (insert your Thunder player of choice here), but Booker plays sound and smart defense, switching 1-5 when the situation calls for it and holding his own. His 1.1 defensive win shares already this season is more than three times higher than it was a season ago.
His coachability has been on full display this season as the Suns defy expectations and experience a much-needed turnaround compared to a season ago.
“We’re all rallying behind coach,” Book said of first-year head coach Jordan Ott. “We’re all having fun with it.”
That, above all else, seems to be the key in Phoenix.
With lessened expectations after the departure of Kevin Durant via trade, it seems the Suns as a unit are embracing the underdog mentality and playing with a joy and grit that’s been relatively absent in The Valley in recent years.
The team’s roster and coach turnover took a front seat, but this year's Suns are playing freely and with a palpable sense of togetherness.
If Book doesn’t wind up making his fifth career All-Star team this season despite the epic turnaround, it may mark the first time the Suns make the playoffs without an All-Star representative since the 1996-97 squad.
That team finished two games under .500 at 40-42 but snuck into the playoffs anyway. They pushed the Seattle SuperSonics to a decisive Game 5 in the first round, but ultimately got the boot.
At 24-15 at the time of writing, the Suns are now the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. Not having an All-Star despite that success would certainly be odd, but it would also allow for Phoenix to once again rally behind their underdog persona.
At least Breen, someone who watches basketball night in and night out, recognizes the impact Booker continues to make as the head of the snake in The Valley.