Devin Booker's Leadership Shining for Suns

The Suns' franchise player is also now the unquestioned leader of a team with huge goals

The Phoenix Suns' huge 133-115 win over the red-hot Minnesota Timberwolves last night coincided with the return of the team's MVP- coincidence?

Probably not.

Devin Booker has come a long way from being a sixth man at Kentucky and the 13th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. 

The superstar has likely surpassed even the most optimistic of expectations from outsiders- scoring back to back 40-point games in an NBA Finals, receiving two max-level contracts, gracing the cover of the NBA 2K series, getting name-dropped in songs by Drake and even getting his own signature shoe line from Nike. 

The leadership he's brought to Phoenix since day one might be his most impressive accomplishment. The Suns were appearing to head into a rebuild once they struck out on acquiring LaMarcus Aldridge.

Booker was in a poor situation from the start: on a bad team, sitting behind Eric Bledsoe/Brandon Knight in the rotation, playing next to disgruntled teammates such as Markieff Morris, and getting his game checks from infamous owner Robert Sarver. 

Despite this, numerous players knew he was special from the start. Former Suns big man Tyson Chandler was one of them.

In an interview from over the summer on the "All the Smoke" podcast, Chandler recounted the first time he witnessed Booker practice with the squad, and he was impressed to the point in which he told then-Suns general manager Ryan McDonough that Booker was already the best player on the team- as a rookie.

Many other players caught on early. Players such as Jimmy Butler, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and now-teammate Kevin Durant praised Booker for his fearlessness and already refined skill-set, among other things.

One monumental task Booker encountered was not only growing into a leadership role, but also embracing it as well. 

Check.

Becoming the franchise player of a team at any age is tough, but the Suns were undoubtedly Booker's for good after the then-20 year old dropped 70 points in a single game on March 23, 2017, in Boston of all places. 

Once Eric Bledsoe demanded out of Phoenix, Booker became the de-facto franchise player and leader - it was still a less-than-ideal situation.

The Suns fired Earl Watson in a corresponding move to the notorious Bledsoe tweet and he was on his third NBA head coach in his third season in the league. 

McDonough continued making egregious draft picks like clockwork and failed to hand Booker stability virtually anywhere on the roster, but particularly point guard. 

On top of that, Booker had to work every day to reel in immature teammates such as Josh Jackson and Marquese Chriss while also trying his best to make the largely misfit roster of complimentary pieces better. 

Nearly anyone in the situation Booker was in at the time would've folded and asked out, particularly to play in New York or their best friend (in Booker's case, Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota).

Booker didn't. 

He took a personal, vested interest in spearheading the Suns' rebuild, becoming more and more involved in personnel decisions. The Suns hired Monty Williams as head coach, finally signed a stable point guard in Ricky Rubio and made several strong moves to build the roster with NBA-ready talent. 

Booker's ability to elevate and lead the team in the 2019-20 NBA season drew the attention of stars. He is the main reason behind Chris Paul and Kevin Durant having a desire to come to the Valley. 

That leadership has grown to even higher highs after the departure of Paul. 

While Kevin Durant is a leader in his own fashion and has done a great job trying to keep the Suns afloat, there's just simply an intangible quality of leadership that number one brings both on/off the court.

That once again showed with the Suns' near 20-point win last night. 

Phoenix coach Frank Vogel touched on that in a post-game presser question with a thoughtful response: 

“I just think his leadership on this team is really invaluable. He’s leading when he’s not in uniform; in film sessions, in practices, he’s our most vocal guy and he’s really taking the reins of that this year with this team and even moreso on the floor as the point guard, running the show," said Vogel on Booker. 

"We ask our point guards or primarily ball handlers to get us into the action and I will put us in action if I want to see it, but I want them knowing their key, and he really takes control of that and obviously the shot-making, the attention he draws to the ball, his ability to pass the ball is really exceptional – an underrated part of his game – and he was great tonight.”

Booker is officially one of the handful of players that players are lining up to join, coaches are going out of their way to coach, etc. 

Booker - now the prime ball-handler in Phoenix's offense, has officially taken over the role of commander after Paul departed for other avenues. 

“Yeah, he definitely did a lot of that last year, or the last three years. We have multiple leaders on this team that lead in different ways," Booker said last night. 

"I think the term leadership goes off if you’re successful or not. There are many ways to do it. I have had many teams with different players and you just kind of have to figure out what is most effective to who you are trying to lead. Credit our team to having a lot of experience from the coaching staff down to all the players that everything is collaborative. We can talk through situations; it is like we have been there before. Feels like we have been a team for a long time.”  

The growth Booker has shown in every front throughout his NBA career should be valued and cherished by Suns fans - but the willpower to stick through a bleak situation and build a lasting contender might be the most special showing of leadership the Valley has ever seen.