Since the NBA’s announcement of this year’s All-Star reserves list, a feeling of injustice has been coiling among the fans and critics. The players also got a hint of it and one of the snubbed stars of the league, Devin Booker, was no different. So was the performance against the GSW on Friday night an answer to that injustice? Book made himself clear about it.

After the 25-point win over fellow conference rivals, the Warriors, the inevitable question was thrown at Booker. “No,” the combo guard confidently voiced when asked if the performance was a reaction to the All-Star snub. Booker scored 31 points on the night from 52.2% field shooting. “I was just trying to get the win. It’s been a long time coming. I’m out there just trying to collect Ws.”

The dub surely was emphatically sealed against the Dubs. “I think the whole team had it rolling. We’re playing unselfish. We’re defending at a high level,” Booker said in the locker room interview after the game. One of the most underrated aspects of Book’s game is his defensive ability. He showed that again by guarding Steph Curry in multiple instances, resulting in a collapse of the GSW offense. “Obviously Steph is always going to get tough coverage. We locked into that. We got stops, secured the ball, and shared the ball very well,” Booker further added.

The Phoenix side had 41 assists last night, with Devin Booker contributing 11 of them. The total was the most by the Suns since 2007. Not only were the passes connected, but the shots also fell positively. The whole team had 56.2% shooting success from the field and 48.7% of shots from beyond the 3-point arc found their mark.

The Booker-led show established the fact that the league needs more All-Star spots, a sentiment his teammate Kevin Durant carries. Since the release of the All-Star reserves list, a video of Booker from 2019 has been making rounds on the internet where he called out the league for its politics in the voting process. Incidentally, KD has the same thoughts 6 years after that.

Kevin Durant defends Devin Booker shedding light on league politics

Kevin Durant isn’t happy that his teammate wasn’t included on the list, and it was written all over his face. When asked about Devin Booker’s snub, he didn’t hold back from unveiling the existing politics in the league. “You know how politics get, you know how narratives get. We’re playing in a narrative-based game where sometimes it don’t really matter what you do on the court,” Durant highlighted in the postgame locker room interview.

To earn the spotlight and make the cut, the veteran believes, “You gotta kinda sell your play, sell your personality a little bit.” But that’s not really Booker’s style. “Book not even close to being that type of person. If you don’t follow his game, then you’re not gonna get much from it,” he added. Durant understands how things work in the league and has made his peace with it. “It’s unfortunate that that’s the nature of our game. I wish it wasn’t so political.”

Even though Booker couldn’t secure the All-Star tag for the fifth time, the 28-year-old earned the full recognition of his teammate, who believes Booker doesn’t need any external validation. “We all know that he’s an all-star college player, MVP college player,” Durant said. And if that wasn’t enough, KD added, “That’s Hall of Fame type of player that can do anything out on the floor. So, I would love to have my teammate there with me. But knowing Bug, he doesn’t need that validation at all, but I wish he was there.”

Booker might not be with Durant during the flashy February weekend, but his impact on the Suns’ jersey could take the team to new heights. Maybe that’ll be the best way to respond to the snub.