The Footprint Center lit up on Saturday night with excitement as a special guest occupied the front row. All cameras panned on “The Baltimore Bullet” as the Phoenix Suns prepared for their matchup against the Mavericks. Yes, you rightly guessed it. It was none other than the 23-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps with his model wife, Nicole Johnson. The man looked ravishing in his all-black attire but what stole the show was his shoes. Phelps not only came to support Devin Booker on the court but also his signature collection.

The 39-year-old donned the $140 orange sneaker from the Nike Book 1 collection that was released this year, while Nicole wore her Jordans. Following this, the legendary swimmer couldn’t help his competitive streak as he conducted a poll on his Instagram story asking his 3.8 million followers whose shoes looked better. Guess Phelps wants first place on social media as well.

Thrilled with Phelps’ support, Booker shared the Suns’ post featuring him and his wife on his IG story with the caption, “(Book emoji) club.” The night ended on a positive note for the combo guard, as Phelps’ presence boosted his business and served as a lucky charm for the team, who defeated the Mavs by 114-102.

Booker began the season with an explosion on the Suns’ opening night. The Michigan-born presented his USC Trojans inspired PE in front of the Intuit Dome. The shoes had the classic USC colors, yellow and red, which Booker flaunted during the warm-up. However, there’s no point in drooling over the stunning pair as it’s an exclusive edition and will not hit the market. He also dropped a Michigan State Basketball-themed shoe earlier this month during the team’s preseason game against the Pistons. The 27-year-old had long waited for these debuts.

Booker renewed his ties with the sneaker giant last year. After working on his first signature collection, the 4-time All-Star said, “At the beginning of the design process, we landed on the idea of the shoe combining lifestyle and performance worlds. The goal was to create something that would be timeless”. His vibrant collection so far has managed to receive love from fans. Though his side quest is running well, his on-court performance seems to have dipped.

Devin Booker had a hard time finding the target

Booker contributed 21 points in Saturday night’s win along with a rebound and 5 assists. However, the ex-Kentucky suffered because of his unimpressive shooting streak. Though he tried shooting 12 times from the field, 8 of those shots refused to pass through the rim. The shots from downtown were no different.

Booker succeeded twice in shooting threes while attempting eight shots. Even in the previous fixture against the Lakers, he exhibited shooting difficulties which caused the Phoenix side an on-road loss early in the season. But now the tide is again turning on his side as Book and Co. will look to avenge their loss against the Lakers on Monday.