Devin Booker had himself a memorable All-Star Saturday night in Los Angeles, coming only one made shot away from winning the 3-point contest for the second time.
Instead it was Damian Lillard who ended up with the trophy, although with Booker appearing in the All-Star game proper for the fifth time we can't imagine he was too upset. Cool that he looked like he really wanted to win though.
Ryen Russillo continues to be a massive Booker supporter
Ahead of the midseason exhibition Ryen Russillo was on his podcast over at Barstool Sports, with his collaborator Steve Ceruti joining him for a fun game of "would you rather?"
They did a similar exercise last year, and one of the questions Ceruti posed was would you rather have Booker or Cade Cunningham for the rest of this season. Without hesitation, Russillo chose Booker.
When this was brought back up he accepted that if he was asked that question now he would pick Cunnningham, but he wasn't done going to bat for Booker.
Devin Booker’s shooting form is a piece of art. pic.twitter.com/6i76rHeqTp
— Jake Weinbach (@JWeinbachNBA) February 14, 2026
That's because he made a reappearance this year, with Ceruti asking if Russillo would rather have Booker or Tyrese Maxey until season's end. Russillo's choice? You better believe it was Book.
He would then go on to ponder, as he so often has, why exactly Booker is continually underrated and often used as the barometer for if a player is a true superstar or not.
Ceruti didn't help matters by accepting that Booker is the player he puts in these comparisons to try and gauge if an up-and-coming star is on an upward trajectory if they are selected over the Suns' franchise cornerstone.
Yet Booker has managed to achieve what Cunningham and Maxey have not to this point, which is lead a team to the NBA Finals. Even if he had Chris Paul along for the ride.
He's also part of a team that has shattered all expectations and sits at 32-23 heading out of the All-Star break ahead of the stretch run of the regular season.
In fact you could make a case this has been Booker's most impressive achievement to date, managing to form real chemistry with Dillon Brooks and lead a roster of competent veterans that have missed Jalen Green for most of the campaign.
So even though Booker is now out of the national spotlight once more because the Suns don't have a Paul or a Kevin Durant alongside him, Russillo knows what it is by giving props were it is due.