Devin Booker’s Phoenix Legacy Better Than Charles Barkley’s, Hints Suns Legend

Just 8 NBA seasons so far and Devin Booker is already on track to surpass some big names in NBA history. The Phoenix Suns‘ star has earned a widespread reputation as one of the best players in the history of the Suns. Some even believe that he may as well have a local legacy surpassing that of icons like Charles Barkley. And the most recent inductee of the Suns’ Ring of Honor seems to be in agreement with this opinion.

Appearing on an episode of ‘The Bootleg Kev Podcast’, Amar’e Stoudemire mentioned how Booker is still in his twenties and has a long career ahead of him. “What he’s accomplished already is incredible. So he’s definitely in those top conversations for sure,” he stated. STAT believes that D-Book is on another level right now. “Devin is definitely at the top of the list when it comes to all time Suns and the way he plays the game,” Stoudemire admitted.

Stoudemire recollected the time the Suns were going through a comparatively dark phase, following which they drafted Booker. The team revamped after that, as per his opinion. He believes the team is now in a better place with stars like Devin, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. However, Stoudemire also feels that Book’s approach towards the game is something else. “The way he plays the game is like fundamentally sound. He goes for it.”

It should be noted that Charles Barkley had a shorter run with the Suns since played just four seasons with the team from 1992 to 1996. Meanwhile, Booker has already played 8 seasons with the Suns and has a long career ahead of him. A statistical analysis of both the players‘ time in Phoenix might further clear the picture.

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Charles Barkley, Devin Booker in Suns: A statistical comparison

Barkley, in his 280 games, which he played for the Suns, averaged 23.4 points while Booker in his 580 career games has averaged 24.3 points for the Suns. However, it is worth mentioning that Barkley scored these points when hand-checking was still allowed in the NBA. The ban on hand-checking was placed before the 2004-05 season in order to reduce physical play and in turn led to increased scoring.

After spending his first 8 seasons in Philadelphia, Barkley was traded the Phoenix in July, 1992. He won his only NBA MVP award during his very first season in the Valley of the Sun. Apart from this, Barkley had much higher total rebounds per game for the Suns standing at 11.5 as compared to Booker’s present 4.0.

However, Book has a lead on Charles when it comes to assists per game. Notably, both the players have led Suns to the finals, but none of them succeeded in securing the championship. So it can be said that both players have made their fair share of contribution to the Phoenix Suns. But Devin Booker still has time on his hand so he may as well just surpass Charles Barkley in the near future. What do you think?

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