Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker had a whirlwind of a Thursday.
The team’s second-leading scorer was named the Western Conference Player of the Month and earned his fourth NBA All-Star appearance. Booker is one of seven reserves for the All-Star game.
Booker is averaging 28.3 points, good for sixth in the NBA, and 7.3 assists. He and Mavs superstar Luka Doncic, who is an All-Star starter, are the only players to rank in the top-10 in points and assists per game this season among qualifiers.
Booker’s fourth All-Star appearance (he was selected as a fill-in in 2020 and 2021 and was a standard pick in 2022) was voted on by the 30 NBA head coaches. Booker is one of two guards (Warriors’ Stephen Curry) to make the reserves.
Booker’s third Western Conference Player of the Month selection might have been his best to date.
In 16 games, Booker averaged 30.0 points, 6.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds. He shot 53.9 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range.
He scored 40-plus points in three-straight games from Jan. 24-28, matching the longest such streak of his career, highlighted by a 62-point performance on Jan. 26 in Indiana to set the Gainbridge Fieldhouse arena scoring record. Over the three-game stretch, he averaged 50.1 points on 65.1 percent shooting, surpassing Michael Jordan for the highest field goal percentage by a player averaging 50-plus points over a three-game span.
Booker, who to most is a top-10 player, also totaled 204 points in four away games from Jan. 19 to Jan. 28, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only player to score at least 200 points over a stretch of four road games. He also leads the NBA in quarters scoring 20-plus points (five), which all happened in January.
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