The Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker has been on a tear ever since the NBA Playoffs began. The 26-year-old shooting guard was the star player during the Suns’ series against the LA Clippers and has followed suit in the two games against the Denver Nuggets thus far. 8 games in, no player has ever managed to score more points than Booker apart from a certain Michael Jordan.
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In the Suns’ game 3 defeat against Nikola Jokic and company, Booker again starred for his team, finishing with 47 points on the night. It was his 3rd 45-point night during the 2023 NBA playoffs which made it a total of 293 points in the 8 games thus far.
Devin Booker’s imperious form after 8 games leaves him second only to Michael Jordan
In a stacked offensive team boasting of Kevin Durant and Chris Paul, it is Devin Booker who has emerged as the obvious postseason star. Against the Clippers, Booker scored 186 points in 5 starts which included 2 45-point displays, in games 3 and 5.
Apart from being his team’s top scorer, Booker has shown a high efficiency of over 60% and has been at his best when his team needed it the most. After games 1 and 2 ended with losses for the Suns, Booker responded in game 3 by scoring 47 points.
He converted 20 of his 25 shots on the night and had 9 assists and 6 rebounds to show for his troubles as well. His performance leaves him with a realistic shot at ending up with some legendary numbers at the end of this postseason. ESPN shared an informative post about Booker’s numbers until now, revealing the kind of impact he has had on his team.
Devin Booker has his 4th 45-pt playoff game.
All other Suns players in franchise history have 4 such games.
Booker has 293 points this postseason. That is the most through a player's first 8 games of a postseason since Michael Jordan in 1990 (325). pic.twitter.com/gIoVJvE5r1
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 6, 2023
Devin Booker’s 2023 postseason is 2nd only to Michael Jordan’s 1990 run after 8 games
The fact that Jordan did not win the 1990 NBA championship despite having such tremendous numbers is quite surprising. The Bulls ended up losing the Eastern Conference Finals to the “Bad Boys” of Detroit Pistons, but not before he had announced himself as one of the greatest of all time.
Jordan began the postseason run with a thorough dismantling of the Milwaukee Bucks. He finished with 48 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in game 3 and had 145 points in just 4 games.
Following a 3-1 series win, it was against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals that Jordan got into the groove. He scored 39 in game 1, 45 in game 2, and 49 in game 3 before producing another 45-point display in game 4.
While Devin Booker has no doubt proved his star credentials in the last few seasons, this postseason has given him an opportunity to take his status to the next level. The 26-year-old is already in some elite company after 8 Playoff games and should be able to finish with some extraordinary numbers, especially if the Suns come close to winning the NBA title.
