There's no doubt that Devin Booker might end up being the best Phoenix Suns' player of all-time when all is said and done. The superstar having been with the franchise since they drafted him in the 2015 NBA Draft.
These days are filled with highs in The Valley - including the run to the 2021 NBA Finals - not to mention a teammate in Kevin Durant who gives Booker a chance to win it all. There were plenty of dark days prior to this as well - from three-headed point guards to whatever Josh Jackson was - and Booker was the lone shining light then too.
Booker has seen a lot in Phoenix, but we've never heard him called "a movement shooter" before.
Which is exactly what Rob Mahoney of The Ringer called Booker on a podcast talking about Team USA's Olympic adventure in Paris recently. At just after the seven minute mark, Mahoney described Booker as a movement shooter when talking about the impact - or lack thereof until the semi-final versus Serbia - Stephen Curry was having for his country in Paris.
His comparison of the two was based in how they move about the court and help their teammates by doing so, with Mahoney saying "I mean he (Curry) still makes Team USA better with his movement, like he provides something to this group that basically no one else does maybe short of Devin Booker... a movement shooter which is something they need for their spacing".
This is a way of looking at Booker that we haven't really seen before, certainly the Suns much prefer when he has the ball in his hands more and is creating for himself and others. But this also might go some way to explaining why Booker as the team's point guard didn't work last season, because he does some of his best work when he moves around the court and pops up elsewhere for open looks.
"When Devin Booker hit the 3 at the top of the key, that's when I felt the momentum kind of shift."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) August 9, 2024
Steph Curry on Booker 3 in 8-2 #TeamUSA run. Kevin Durant scored remaining 5 points as USA cut Serbia lead to five in 4th.
Story on #Suns duo impact on comeback win.👇#Paris2024 https://t.co/RpuV5i1m31 pic.twitter.com/5f7U0Yf9dF
Really it says a lot about how good Booker is that he can do this for Team USA, yet last season for the Suns averaged a career high 6.7 assists per game. To do this while missing backcourt teammate - and supposed other point guard Bradley Beal - was even more impressive.
Mahoney may also have unearthed something else here, and it is the fact that Booker has put himself firmly in the closing group for Team USA. Despite being bounced from the playoffs in the opening round last season, he's out there at crunch time while recent NBA Champion Jayson Tatum is getting DNPs.
Perhaps that's because unlike Tatum, Booker is comfortable not having the ball in his hands and taking whatever he is given on any given night while playing on possibly the greatest team ever assembled. To be compared to Curry is a massive compliment, given his style of play basically changed the league a decade ago.
With Tyus Jones now in The Valley - and Durant looking as good as ever this summer - don't be surprised if the Suns lean into this movement shooter version of Booker some next season. It's clearly had success for the national team, and is another way one of the best to ever do it in a Suns' uniform is able to hurt opponents.