KEY POINTS

  • Devin Booker s averaging 27.1 points per game in 51-percent FG shooting
  • Steve Nash was the last Phoenix Suns All-Star in 2012
  • Coach Monty Willams said that Booker is worthy of the distinction

Phoenix Suns’ star Devin Booker has the numbers but those are not enough for him to be named to any of the teams going to Chicago for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.

The fifth-year guard out of the University of Kentucky has been producing the numbers that some coaches may have overlooked. Booker is averaging 27.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.1 rebounds for the Suns. He’s been averaging at least 22.1 points within his last four seasons in the league but still, he’s not getting the looks that a lot of fans think he deserves.

Part of the All-Star reserves pool was Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Rudy Gobert, Brandon Ingram, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, Domantas Sabonis, Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum, and Russell Westbrook.

The 23-year old Booker ranked eighth in the Western Conference voting for guards with 811,479 votes – and ranked fourth overall per weighted score, which includes Player Votes and Media Votes.

Other than Booker, Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal was also snubbed for the All-Star game. The two were the only players who are averaging at least 27 points a game but didn’t make the All-Star team within the past three-and-a-half seasons per StatMuse's tweet.

“I’ve done a lot to promote our guy, and I wouldn’t do it if I feel like he wasn’t worthy of it,” Suns coach Monty Willams said during last week’s interview by Arizona Sports. “It’d be hard-pressed to name another guard that’s that much better than Devin, that is that efficient and plays the way he plays and means as much to our team and where we are as much as Devin.”

The fans and some fellow players aren’t taking the selection nicely as they feel like Booker should have been part of the 24-man roster for the annual event.

Booker may be overlooked this season, but his numbers continue to climb and only time will tell until the league notices what they’ve been missing – a Phoenix Sun playing in an All-Star game for the first time since Steve Nash in 2012.

Devin Booker Phoenix Suns Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns drives to the basket against Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter at American Airlines Center on January 28, 2020 in Dallas, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images
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