The Phoenix Suns players did their best to make the most of their 2023-24 campaign. One of the players who stood out among the rest was Devin Booker, who had a great season with the Suns. Booker wrapped up his ninth season with Phoenix and redeemed his performance from the 2022-23 campaign.
Booker's season was riveting before it even began. With the arrival of Bradley Beal during the offseason and Chris Paul's departure, the All-Star's role was up in the air. The team didn't have a solid starting point guard and another star shooting guard became a new star for the Suns.
What was Booker's role going to be?
Booker's 2023-24 season with the Suns showed promise as he took on a different responsibility for the team.
There were questions on what kind of role the Suns star would take on for the season. With Beal being 6-foot-4, he's too short to take on a small forward role. Booker wasn't qualified to be a full-time small forward since tons of forwards are more powerful than him around the league.
Because of the dilemma of having two All-Star shooting guards, one of them had to move to the point guard spot. Given that Booker has more experience in being a facilitator, he became the "unofficial" official starting point guard for the Suns.
As expected, he excelled in his new role, which isn't new to Booker. The former Kentucky star has had his chances of being the floor general since entering the league. But for this season, he gave the fans the full experience of having him as a point guard. I even argued about how the star guard should be the next point guard even before the season started.
The 6-foot-6 guard had a great campaign as he was healthier than the previous season. Although he missed a few games, Booker still managed to play 68 games and qualify for an All-NBA nod. As the team's point guard, he didn't struggle to keep his consistent production on offense, averaging more than 25 points for the sixth straight season.
ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM.
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) May 23, 2024
Congrats, Book! 👏 pic.twitter.com/CTXoPdH2aE
Booker put up identical stats that he generated during the 2022-23 season. The Suns star averaged 27.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists on 49.2% shooting from the field. He showed off his passing skills this season as he averaged the most assists in his career, slightly higher than his 2018-19 average of 6.8.
The 27-year-old shooting guard remained reliable throughout the season after missing a few games at the start. Booker showed his importance to the team as the team had an offensive rating of 119.3 when the star was on the court. That was the second-highest among the Suns players. When he was off the court, the team had an offensive rating of 109.7.
Fans saw Booker take on a new responsibility for the team and excel. As the facilitator for the team, he still showed that he was capable of putting points on the floor and being effective.
Defensively, his performance stayed consistent. Although, he showed more attentiveness to opposing teams when playing defense. Booker remained a decent defender who had spurts of value on that end of the floor.
In the playoffs, Booker did what he could to try and get a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the hounding defense of the Wolves during the first two games made it difficult for the star to contribute as a scorer. He averaged 27.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and six assists on 35 percent shooting from deep.
In Game 4, that's when Booker found loopholes in the Wolves' defense and finished with 49 points while he shot 61 percent from the field. But it was too late for the Suns to make the series competitive as they eventually got swept.
Ultimately, Booker had a great campaign, despite the wild 2023-24 season for Phoenix. He did whatever he could and remained healthy. But the odd group that the front office assembled ruined the title hopes for the four-time All-Star.
2023-24 season grade: A