Devin Booker as a point guard for the Phoenix Suns. Born out of necessity, the 29-year-old has had to endure years of being used in this way, and to his credit he has always put his best foot forward and has even averaged over seven assists a night across a whole season.
But we all know that the best use of Booker is as a pure scorer who can act as a secondary playmaker when required. That was the version of Book that propelled the Suns to the NBA Finals, and he finally has a head coach in Jordan Ott who understands that using him in this way is how the franchise will get the best out of him for the remainder of his career.
Booker the scorer returned in 2025-26 and Suns made playoffs
It is clear from the roster makeup and how coach Ott used the players at his disposal in the wake of Kevin Durant’s departure that he believes in Booker as a scoring threat before all else. Even with Jalen Green either injured or in the backcourt alongside him, coach Ott resisted the temptation to have Booker go pure floor general again.
Instead he had Collin Gillespie out there with him, while later in the season both Jordan Goodwin and Jamaree Bouyea were handling the ball. Dillon Brooks also got involved from time-to-time, and although that is not the best use of his own skills, it gave Booker another option to ensure he could focus on putting the ball in the hoop.
His six assists a night were his lowest output since the 2022-23 season, the same year that Kevin Durant was added to the roster. That does not feel like a coincidence, and neither does the 26.1 points both leading the team and being an increase on the 25.6 of the season before. Curiously his field goal attempts (18.7) were his fewest since 2019-2020, but there is a reason for this.
Booker no longer being tasked with setting everybody else up as much as before, but also continuing to be the selfless star who knows when to let others such as Brooks take over for a stretch. Green needed to get his shots as well, while he hasn’t had a center like Mark Williams in the middle since peak Deandre Ayton back in 2021.
In hindsight we know Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel attempted to turn Booker into a true point guard because of the disjointed rosters they had to work with thanks to the addition of Durant and Bradley Beal. But coach Ott untangled that mess in a matter of weeks to show the league that it doesn’t have to be complicated.
You use your best player in the way he is most effective, and for Devin Booker that will always be as an elite scorer and maker of difficult shots. Sprinkle in some secondary playmaker responsibilities when a possession breaks down or to give an opponent a different look a couple of times a quarter, and that is the secret sauce to ensuring you are getting the best out of the star player.
Add us as a preferred source on Google