Devin Booker has begun the 2025-26 season in the familiar position of being the Phoenix Suns' best player once more. Although the team have started out 1-2, the 28-year-old is averaging over 26 points per game while also being tasked with setting up his teammates as the lead creator each night as well.
He has done this so far without Jalen Green, although his co-star will be back from injury soon. Instead it is Dillon Brooks - the other name the Suns got back in the Kevin Durant trade - who has immediately tried to fill the offensive void left by losing one of the best players of all-time. That has gone about how you would expect it to.
Booker's attempts down as he struggles to re-adjust.
An interesting - and unwanted - subplot is beginning to develop, and it has to do with Booker's field goal attempts. At 15 each night you would think he's taking plenty of shots, and the 33.3 percent from deep he's begun the campaign shooting clearly has room for improvement too. But this is actually the second fewest attempts he's taken since his rookie year (11.4).
Given Booker is the franchise cornerstone and Green isn't even out there yet, how can this be? The answer worryingly lies in Brooks, who at a whopping 19.7 efforts each night is clearly enjoying chucking them up on a team that isn't expected to go anywhere. Head coach Jordan Ott is allowing this to happen for some reason, but it is also on Booker to take control of the situation.
Dillon Brooks on Devin Booker having just 10 field goal attempts in Suns 129-102 loss to Clippers: "He needs to shoot them even if it looks like a bad shot. I played against Devin a long time. He's a natural scorer. Finds ways to score. He just need to be a little selfish out… pic.twitter.com/UDOv92OyZL
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 25, 2025
Is it just us, or does he look a little slow out there through three games? Still the player we all know and love, just not quite at the level we're used to seeing. That could be down to the fact he's gotten paid and he knows this group will only go so far, no matter how much they buy into defending as a team. That's not the Booker who has always represented Phoenix though, so we ain't buying it.
What is more likely unfortunately is that Booker is again trying to accommodate teammates by giving up shots himself, and Grayson Allen is yet another example of this. His life is about to change when Green comes back from injury - but for now at least - he's been playing pretty well. It probably won't shock you to learn he is taking a career high 12 shots each night.
That's nearly five more than last season, and almost three more than his first campaign when Allen effectively replaced Bradley Beal for portions of the year. It's great that he feels comfortable and is able to contribute, but again that is not the best way for the Suns to get scores on a consistent basis. Booker simply has to be more aggressive.
The "Starting 5" documentary on Netflix featured Tyrese Haliburton, and they delved into the fact that his time with Team USA - he didn't play but still won a gold medal - hurt his confidence and it took time to get back. Booker is well past his "I'll Do It" mantra of Paris 2024, yet he still allows it to reappear in Phoenix with alarming regularity. He needs to call his number much more frequently.