Devin Booker had himself a lot of fun at NBA All-Star Weekend, but it has been all downhill since then. A hip injury keeping his sidelined as injuries pile up for the Suns.
Video footage from the midseason exhibition recently surfaced on social media, and it appeared to show Giannis Antetokounmpo attempting to recruit Booker to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lighthearted exchange between the two should be taken seriously
You probably think we're overreacting here. After all, isn't Giannis the player who is surely going to be on the move this offseason?
Perhaps in saying he would "fight for" Booker, it is joining forces in The Valley that could be the end game of this chance meeting between the two.
Don't count on that happening, and in fact there is reason to believe this could end up with Phoenix losing their franchise cornerstone.
Giannis to Book: "You make every jersey look cool. But you wear a different jersey than me. If you wear the same jersey for as me, I'll fight for you like Isaiah Stewart."
— LEEZUS (@AndrewLeezus) February 23, 2026
Giannis to PHX pic.twitter.com/yPQALi1ze4
Do you remember that footage that existed of Kevin Durant (shudder...) and Kyrie Irving talking pretty seriously in the tunnel of a previous All-Star get together?
At the time people put forward the theory that the pair were plotting to join forces, and those who did were laughed at by everybody else.
Irving was on a contender with the Brooklyn Nets, while Durant had found basketball in its purest form as part of the Golden State Warriors.
Only that's exactly what happened, and the pair worked their way to the Brooklyn Nets and even convinced James Harden to join them in the process.
It was Giannis (and Durant's big toe) that stopped the Nets winning a championship, but there is no doubt their meeting at All-Star Weekend was part of the journey that led to them teaming up.
Obviously this is taking a very negative outlook for the rest of the campaign in The Valley, but the good vibes have vanished quick with the bad injury luck that has hit the roster.
There's every chance the Suns will fall into the play-in and then fail to make the playoffs, and that could be just the kind of sobering experience that makes Booker realize how far away from contention he is.
That would change immediately if Antetokounmpo was his teammate, and there's a reason why these midseason get togethers are viewed as so important to those in the know around the league.
To see Giannis so blatantly talk about how much he admires a player he beat to win a ring is also jarring. Let's hope Booker's focus remains on Phoenix, just like it always has.