Despite Devin Booker being one of the top 15 players in the entire league - and on any given night a top five guy - Phoenix Suns fans have wanted more out of him this season. Not because he's not trying or because it has been a poor season by his standards.
But rather as a result of being too passive at times this season, playing more like the Booker we saw suit up for Team USA this summer. His "I'll Do It" persona was exactly what his country needed - becoming perhaps the most over-qualified role player in the history of the sport - but that is not what the Suns need him to be, whether Kevin Durant is playing or not.
Despite this, Booker is about to enter an exclusive club in the league.
Unless Booker has the kind of game he literally never has before, he will surpass 15,000 points against the San Antonio Spurs in the Emirates NBA Cup. How can we be so certain? He currently sits on 14,999 - and although he has failed to score seven times throughout his decade long career to this point - all of those occasions came in his rookie season.
In fact after the turn of the calendar year to 2016, Booker has never again not scored at least two points in any game that he has played. This is sure to be a big night for him then, and it will solidify his position as the second best scorer in franchise history. Walter Davis currently occupies top spot, but Booker is in line to take that throne later this season.
Devin Booker came out in ATTACK MODE, scoring 25 PTS in the 1Q on way to 52 PTS for the game and securing the Suns W 🔥🎯 pic.twitter.com/GwwQsFAcWD
— NBA (@NBA) January 20, 2024
That's because Davis finished up with 15,666 - and given Booker ended last season with 1,841 and has 470 and counting as of this moment - it is a safe bet that he'll replace Davis. This might not seem like a big deal, but it is something that should be celebrated in The Valley.
There's no guarantee the Suns will ever win a championship with Booker as their best player, as it stands the likelihood of winning the league MVP award shrinks by the year. He was already out of contention by the end of November, and only a supernova run by both player and team could throw his name back into contention.
Are there any other notable players Booker can overtake on the all-time scoring list before the end of the season? If we assume he's going to end up breaking the 16,000 mark - which he is well on pace to do - it would put him above Walt Frazier (15,581) and Tim Hardaway (15,373).
Also worth keeping an eye on are active players such as Kevin Love (15,358) and Jimmy Butler (15,198), who are considerably older and have been slowed by injuries. They won't be able to keep Booker at bay forever, and the smart money is on him overtaking both of these guys and keeping them at arm's length once he does.
Booker then could finish out this regular season in and around the top 120 all-time in points scored, and at only 28-years-old the sky truly is the limit in this category. He'll cement himself as the Suns' leading scorer and will be hard beaten, although catching teammate Durant at eighth all-time (29,246 and counting) appears a tall order at this point.