Devin Booker Proves He Can Win In West, Helps Suns Book First Finals Stint In 28 Years

Critics have been very harsh on Devin Booker, and everything they said has surely been running in the back of his mind after he was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 2015.

For his first five seasons in the league, many dismissed his accomplishments, branding him as a one-dimensional player that can't defend.

“If he was so great, why can’t he lead his team to the playoffs?”

One only needs to look at the teams that were built around him during that time.

The front office whiffed multiple times in the draft, only striking gold in 2018 when they selected Deandre Ayton first overall and stealing away Mikal Bridges from the Philadelphia 76ers in the same draft by trading Zhaire Smith and a 2021 unprotected first-rounder from the Miami Heat.

Booker, Ayton and Bridges comprised the core of the Suns moving forward, but they finished the 2018-19 season with a franchise-worst regular-season record of 19-63.

Booker, then-22 years old, had 15 games where he scored at least 35 points, tying for fourth in the NBA and first in franchise history.

He also put up back-to-back performances of 50 points, 59 against Utah on March 24, and 50 against Washington on March 27--the first player in franchise history and just the 10th in league history to do such a feat.

The hiring of Monty Williams as the team’s head coach for the 2019-20 season was key to their success and Booker’s continued rise to stardom.

The Kentucky product continued to play his best basketball throughout the season, dropping 26.6 points per game and 4.2 assists in 35.9 minutes.

His performance netted him his first All-Star selection as a replacement for Damian Lillard, who was out due to injury.

The Suns’ 8-0 NBA Bubble run, highlighted by an iconic Booker game-winner over Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers, was still not enough to make the playoffs.

The front office decided to trade away Kelly Oubre Jr. and Ricky Rubio to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Abdel Nader and All-Star Chris Paul.

READ ALSO: Chris Paul's Phoenix Suns: Most Complete Team In Franchise History?

The veteran leadership of Paul was the extra push that the Suns needed to unlock their full potential and reach the postseason for the first time in 11 years.

Their unforeseen run through the regular season netted them the second-seed, meaning that they’ll be facing LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

Booker torched the Lakers in the series-clinching Game 6 victory with 47 points on a blazing 68% shooting from the field in 46 minutes, showing that he can step it up in big moments.

In the second round, Phoenix went up against the Denver Nuggets and league MVP Nikola Jokic.

What many hoped to be a competitive series turned into a Phoenix sweep.

Game 4 saw Booker score 34 points on 44% shooting to continue a most improbable run that only the Suns faithful could have predicted (and concretized the "Suns in 4" meme).

Smelling the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 1993, the Suns were set to face off against Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Booker led the team to a 2-0 lead despite not having “CP3” in the first two games, where he sustained a broken nose and the team cruised to triumph courtesy of the “Valley-Oop” in Game 2.

Booker struggled to find his shot in Game 3 as he finished with a playoff-low 15 points on 5-for-21 shooting.

An embarrassing loss at home in Game 5 seemingly lit a fire under the young Suns and they entered Game 6 up 3-2 with a winner’s mentality.

Booker and Paul scored early and quickly in the first quarter, playing at the pace that brough them there in the first place.

The Clippers were poised to make a run in the middle of the game but timely buckets from Booker, Paul, Ayton and the rest of the Suns bench helped put the game away in the fourth.

Winning in the West has never been easy. Just ask Steve Nash and all the Suns teams he was on.

If Booker can lead the Suns to their first-ever NBA title, he can finally silence all doubt.