Charles Barkley knows a thing or two about winning and playoff basketball.
After “Sir Charles” was acquired via trade from the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the 1992-93 season, Barkley won the league’s Most Valuable Player award to go with another All-Star selection and All-NBA First Team nod. His Suns made it all the way to the NBA Finals, ultimately losing to Michael Jordan’s juggernaut Chicago Bulls.
In an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7’s Bickley and Marotta with Dan Bickley and Vince Marotta, Barkley said he likes what he sees from a Suns team that has defied expectations this season.
“I’m very proud of what my Suns are doing so far this year,” the Suns legend said.
He gave credit to the Suns’ depth, lauding its second unit led by a breakout from point guard Collin Gillespie.
“That second unit, I’m so proud of those guys led by Mr. Gillespie,” Barkley said. “They do what a second group is supposed to do: Just come in and bring energy.”
The Suns’ depth has been tested early and often during the 2025-26 season on a multitude of levels. Kevin Durant is no longer with Phoenix following an offseason trade, meaning a number of new pieces were going to have to pick up the slack.
Jalen Green, the marquee name coming back in the KD deal, has missed all but five quarters of play this season due to an ongoing hamstring injury. Grayson Allen missed seven games of his own due to a quad contusion.
And yet, the Suns and their second unit of bench players like Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro and more have stepped up to contribute. They’re keeping this Phoenix team competitive despite losing Durant and for the most part not having Green to take his place.
As is to be expected, though, Barkley kept it real saying he wants to see more out of Suns star Devin Booker.
Charles Barkley calls on Devin Booker to do more for Phoenix Suns
After praising first-year head coach Jordan Ott’s second unit led by Gillespie, “The Round Mound of Rebound” made it clear he wants to see more leadership out of D-Book.
“I need my starters to pick it up a little bit, especially Devin Booker,” Barkley said. “When you’re a star — and it’s a double standard, it is what it is, you can’t get mad, you have to accept the responsibility — he has to come out and ball every night.”
Barkley noted Booker’s poor performance in the NBA Cup game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, when Barkley was in attendance. In that contest, Book shot a woeful 4-of-18 from the field (22.2%) including just 1-of-6 from 3-point range for 16 points while turning the ball over nine times before fouling out.
Phoenix’s star was bailed out thanks to a furious last-minute comeback capped by a game-winning shot from Gillespie.
That rough outing from Booker was the beginning of what has now become a prolonged slump. Including that game against Minnesota, Book has shot under 40% from the floor in five out of six games heading into a Monday night matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. His 3-point stroke has never been his forte, but it’s been misfiring a lot of late. Over that most recent six-game span, Booker is shooting 9-of-38 from long range (23.7%).
“I need more aggressiveness and leadership out of Devin Booker,” Barkley said. He added that Booker looked "lackadaisical” against the T-Wolves and that he’d rather see him be “over-aggressive and screw up than be passive.”
Booker is too good of a player to stay mired in his current shooting slump for long. However, Barkley is right to expect more out of the star player.
The NBA is a star-driven league, and while the second unit and players around Booker have been scrappy and gritty enough to keep the team competitive, Booker’s success is ultimately going to be the catalyst for whether this Suns team is able to make the playoffs at season’s end.
Booker was white hot to start the season, but he’s cooled significantly in this recent stretch of games. That was to be expected to a degree, given that opposing teams will no doubt be keying in on stopping Book as part of their anti-Suns gameplan.
He’s the motor that drives this team, so if opponents can frustrate him into turnovers and poor shooting numbers, Phoenix is much easier to beat.
Barkley noted he wants to see more “mental toughness” from Book and joked about putting “Dillon Brooks’ brain in Devin Booker’s body” saying that would be “scary.”
Booker doesn’t have the demeanor of his teammate known as “The Villain,” but the general point from Barkley stands that he’d like to see more killer instinct from the two-time All-NBA selection moving forward.