While we’ve become accustomed for several years to see stars miss matches to try to be as fresh as possible at the time of the Playoffs, Devin Booker is not the type to sit on the sidelines when he’s not. is not injured. New proof at the start of the season, where the Suns All-Star rear is one of the players with the most minutes on the clock.
Since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, only five have had more playing time per night than Booker: Luka Doncic, Mikal Bridges, Fred VanVleet, Donovan Mitchell and Anfernee Simons.
There you go, that’s the list.
Then comes the friend Devin with his 36.9 minutes per game. 36.9 minutes, all in 20 games played this season, without ever missing a single one. Suffice to say that load management – which basically consists of taking time off during the season to take care of yourself – is a rather foreign concept to Phoenix’s number 1 scorer.
” It’s not my thing. I’m 26 years old. I train hard. I spend a lot of time in the summer to make sure my body is able to handle this load. I want to be on the court, I want to win basketball games and do what I have to do to help the team. I’ve always been like that. »
– Devin Booker, via The Athletic
We know that a regular season of 82 games is long and tiring. Even more for a star like Booker who has so many responsibilities in his team. Even more today without Chris Paul, Cam Johnson or even Jae Crowder. But regardless, Devin grew up watching his idol Kobe Bryant and we all know the Black Mamba wasn’t one to take RTTs.
Devin Booker for the past four seasons
- 3 games missed in 2019-20 (35.9 minutes on average)
- 5 games missed in 2020-21 (33.9 minutes)
- 14 missed games (hamstring injury, COVID protocol) in 2021-22 (34.5 minutes)
- 0 missed games in 2022-23 (36.9 minutes)
When Devin Booker is not injured and is therefore able to play, he plays. The durability it shows this year is also part of the arguments that explain why it is ranked fourth in the latest edition of our MVP Race. « The best ability is availability tends to say a certain LeBron James. And today Book is present every night in terms of performance and leadership, thus allowing the Suns to be once again at the top of the West (record of 14 wins – 6 losses) despite absences and other turbulence having surrounded the recovery.
As Booker says himself, he is currently 26 years old and is therefore in his physical prime, a prime he wants to make the most of. Devin also has a style of play less risky than others, he who is not the kind of player to rely on athletic qualities to dominate. D-Book is above all about technique, footwork, and the art of scoring, all those things that usually allow an All-Star like him to last.
But in the end, what really pushes him to be on the field as much as possible is to inspire the youngsters. Again and again. Because as Kobe said, this is the true mark of the greats.
“Every time I wake up, I’m grateful for my opportunity to play, and I’ve never lost sight of that since I was a kid wanting to play in the NBA. And I do not lose sight of the kids who are in the stands and who are looking at me perhaps for the first time. »
– Devin Booker
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Source texte : The Athletic