As the Suns’ de facto point guard last season, Devin Booker had his best season as a creator. Not only did the 27-year-old average a career-high in assists (6.9), but he was also in the 97th percentile of all players in box creation; a statistic that records the number of open shots a player creates for their teammates.
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Booker is a clear three-level threat who has learned to leverage his gravity over the seasons. Unfortunately, Phoenix did not reap many benefits from playing their long-time franchise star as the floor general, as they recorded the sixth most turnovers per game (14.9) last season.
Their new head coach, Mike Budenholzer, recognized that the roster was missing true playmakers and addressed the team’s needs by signing Tyus Jones and Monte Morris this off-season. Coming into 2024-25, the Suns have built a much more complete roster around Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. But it will take a massive leap forward from the guard, the youngest of the three superstars, for Phoenix to rise into championship contention.
Despite averaging 27 points per game average last season, Booker is slowly falling behind his contemporaries from beyond the arc. He banked a respectable 36.4% of his 6.1 three-point attempts in 2023-24. However, neither his volume nor efficiency matched up to his contemporaries, Luka Doncic (38.2% on 10.6 FGA) or Jayson Tatum (37.6% on 8.2 FGA).
Booker has been most comfortable from the corners, shooting threes at a 50% clip from that spot last season. However, most of his deep-range attempts came from above the break, where the four-time All-Star couldn’t reach 40% efficiency. Above the break three-pointers are shots from beyond the arc that aren’t from the corners.
In fact, as per the NBA’s advanced shooting stats, the Suns superstar has never cracked 40% on his above-the-break threes.
2020-21: Devin Booker’s lowest mark of the decade
With Chris Paul orchestrating the offense, Mikal Bridges improving his shooting and DeAndre Ayton setting screens, the 2020-21 season should have unlocked the most efficient version of Booker as a three-point shooter. However, after a year where he shot 35% on 5.1 above-the-break three-point attempts, he took a step back.
He averaged five above-the-break three-pointers and knocked down only 32.5% of them. It was his worst efficiency from that spot in the last five years. It was an uncharacteristically off-year for Booker whose three-point attempt rate (28.8%) also fell to its lowest point since his sophomore season in the league.
In the playoffs, the well-rounded Phoenix roster reached the NBA Finals, but Booker’s above-the-break shooting continued its downward trajectory. Seven Suns players shot better than the guard from that area in the postseason as his efficiency fell to 31.4%.
For the best scorer on the team, that was never going to get the job done. The Milwaukee Bucks were able to cinch the Suns’ offense in the Finals and win the NBA championship in six games.
2021-22: NBA Finals loss stirs an improvement from deep
Booker bounced back with a vengeance after the Suns’ Finals loss. He averaged his then-career-high 26.8 points per game and attempted seven three-point attempts on average for the first time since 2018. His three-point attempt rate crossed 33% for the first time since 2019 as the superstar let it fly without hesitation.
Interestingly, his best three-point shooting seasons are the ones where he averaged the most attempts from deep. It’s an impressive feat to maintain efficiency while taking more shots. However, being more effective with higher volume is almost unheard of. This also applied to Booker’s above-the-break threes.
He attempted six per game from that spot that season and knocked down 38.1% of his shots, a near 6% improvement over the previous year. He was also the third most efficient Suns player from that range. Unfortunately, they would still become only the second team in NBA history to win 64 games and not make the Conference Finals after Luka Doncic and Mavericks eliminated them in the second round.
2022-23: Devin Booker’s efficiency remains erratic
In the 2022-23 NBA season, Booker averaged 27.8 points per game, surpassing the career-high he set in the previous campaign. However, before the Suns traded for Kevin Durant in February, they were only a shade above .500 due to injuries to key players. Booker was among those, as he suffered from a left groin and ankle strain, limiting him to 53 games, the fewest of his career.
Due to the roster changes and injuries, his shooting splits trended in the wrong direction again. He was the Suns’ 11th most efficient shooter from above the break. His volume also fell as he attempted just five threes from above the break and converted only 34.8% of them.
His overall three-point percentage also slid down to 35.1% and Booker’s shot diet featured more shots inside the arc causing his three-point attempt rate to dip below 30%. The Suns would still manage to embark on a winning season, recording 45 wins before another second-round exit – this time at the hands of the eventual champions, the Denver Nuggets.
2023-24: Booker stagnates in above-the-break shooting
Last season, the guard shot 35.1% on 5.6 above-the-break three-point attempts per game. 32% of his total shot attempts also came from beyond the arc, showing some improvement in his willingness to shoot from deep. However, every player who attempted more above-the-break threes than Devin also converted them at a higher clip – except for LaMelo Ball and Jordan Poole.
His mid-range game remained elite as he banked 48.7% of his 5.6 shot attempts from that range. However, with league leaders Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic converting nearly 39% on 10 above-the-break three-point attempts, Booker will need to emulate that playstyle for his team to be a championship-caliber team.
They are already blessed with an elite midrange shooter in Kevin Durant and an efficient three-point shooter in Bradley Beal, albeit at a lower volume. If Booker can make strides from deep – the way he did with his defense – the Suns will be in the best position to return to the NBA Finals and end the franchise’s 56-year wait for a championship.
