Suns' star duo shock omission from latest NBA list
By Luke Duffy
Let's talk about it - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander/Jayson Tatum/Joel Embiid
Beginning with the fifth player on this list, and we've compared Booker to Jayson Tatum in the past. If one of the main cases Booker had over Tatum then was that he'd been to the finals - and it was - then it must now work the other way with Tatum having won his first ring. Alongside Jaylen Brown the pair have been on a journey together, and at only 26 Tatum is better then both Suns.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander benefits from the recency of the best season of his career, and he was a finalist for the MVP trophy. Something Booker can never claim to have done, while Durant is a long time removed from winning the award himself with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Suns fans would pick Booker over Shai if they had to, but that's down to loyalty above all else.
Where it gets interesting is with Joel Embiid. He can't stay healthy for long enough to go deep in the playoffs, and he's never appeared in the conference finals. If you needed one player to win you a series - even a Game 7 - are you taking Booker, Durant or Embiid? Exactly, which is why there should be more consideration of Embiid being this high.