Kevin Garnett: Suns are Devin Booker's Team

The Phoenix Suns belong to the leadership of Devin Booker - not Kevin Durant - according to NBA legend Kevin Garnett.

The Phoenix Suns have aligned a handful of stars in their lineup for the 2023-24 season, and the team hopes the stars will be aligned come next June during a postseason push that has many believing a franchise-first NBA title will come back to the Valley.

Devin Booker arrived in Phoenix back in 2015 and has powered through some awful squads to help the organization reach new heights. With help from names such as Chris Paul, Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges, the Suns saw a run to the 2021 NBA Finals and a record-setting regular season in the year following. 

Those aforementioned players are all out of the picture, as stars in the likes of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal now join Booker in Phoenix for the upcoming season. 

Booker has grown into a leader for the Suns, and NBA legend Kevin Garnett says despite Durant and Beal's presence alongside him, it's still Booker's team to lead:

"I don't think the responsibility is on KD," Garnett said on his podcast with Paul Pierce. 

"I think this is Booker's team. This is definitely Booker's team. Hell yeah. This is Booker's team and this is everybody in the cast coming to support him. That's straight up."

It’s time for the younger generation of stars to do the heavy lifting.@KevinGarnett5KG gives his case for why Devin Booker is the number one option in Phoenix now.

New episode of Ticket and The Truth drops tomorrow on our YouTube. pic.twitter.com/VMC9dMRYcd

— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) August 13, 2023

When asked by Pierce if Booker was getting the first look on offense over Durant, Garnett doubled down. 

"KD ain't trippin'," Garnett said. "Guess what, they double Booker? You're going to leave KD [open]? You're not leaving KD. KD want that. Yeah. Listen - LeBron and KD, it's time for them to be spot up [players]."

At his introductory press conference, Beal said he knew it was Booker's team off the bat.

"We all have to compete, we all have to do this thing together and make it happen, but understand that this is 'Book Nation.' I understand that this is his stomping grounds and this is his arena. I'm excited for that," said Beal. 

When it comes to last shot duties or taking command of the team, both Booker and Durant have shrugged off the notion of just "one" person handling those responsibilities in the past. With a full offseason together, there's hope the dynamic duo can continue to grow and provide more success on the court. 

Beal is a great scorer - and Durant is one of the game's all-time greats - but there's little doubt as to who commands Phoenix's team.