It is no secret that the Phoenix Suns are going to be relying on Devin Booker as much as they ever have this coming season, but that is no bad thing either. Fans having watched for the last two plus years as the 28-year-old has tried to make it work alongside Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, sharing the ball and the offensive burden.
That experiment flamed out badly, and to give the front office in The Valley some credit they're now rebuilding this roster with Booker's offensive talents in mind. Dillon Brooks looks like the perfect foil as a defensive menace next to Book, while the center position has at least been tended to with the additions of Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach.
Booker's defensive instincts key to turning fortunes around.
A lot less has been made of Booker's defensive contributions to the Suns, and that appears to be even less important now. He is going to be the main attraction once more, although a combination of a teammate with a similar skill set in Jalen Green and the possibility of playing the point guard position again does complicate matters.
But there is actually reason to believe - based off what we saw last season - that Booker's defensive efforts can help the Suns to exceed the modest expectations in place for them next season. To the surprise of many, Booker was among the league leaders in loose balls recovered in 2024-25, as he managed 0.8 per game. Even former head coach Monty Williams was in on this early.
“I’ve been saying it for three years now, you find me another elite scorer that plays defense like Book does.” - Monty Williams on Devin Booker not ducking defensive matchups pic.twitter.com/db2qj7RTyv
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) May 1, 2022
That number might not look like a lot, but it was tied for the seventh best mark in the entire league last season. In an ironic twist that you couldn't make up, it was the same number as Toumani Camara. The All-Defensive second team selection from last season who the Suns just gave away. He is already viewed as one of the best defenders in the entire league, yet Booker matches him in this category.
Josh Hart (1.1) and Dyson Daniels (1.0) were the top two names in this category, and both are viewed as elite defenders in the league. In fact only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (0.9) can realistically claim to be a better offensive player than Booker of all of the guys who feature at the top of this list.
There is obviously a lot more to defending than recovering loose balls, and it is fair to point out that the Suns were somehow worse when Booker was on the court - giving up a horrendous 118.5 points per game - than they were across the whole season (117.7). But actually caring and fighting for the ball were not hallmarks of the Durant/Beal tandem, although Booker clearly did try.
Which is why this stat can be so important as the Suns look to rebuild this coming season. Booker is going to have the kind of teammates we've already mentioned who will react really well to seeing their star player do the little things defensively to try and win games. Put simply though this kind of effort will be the minimum required for a roster that is going to become a more defensive-minded group.