Devin Booker Says That He's "Playing Better" Than Players Ranked Ahead Of Him In All-Star Votes

For years, fan votes have played a huge role in deciding the starters of the All-Star game. This popularity contest is a fixture of the NBA’s midseason festivities, but every now and then, some players grumble about this process.

Speaking to Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic this past Tuesday, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker was not overly positive about the fact that he was 17th in the latest Western Conference fan vote. Though Booker tried his best to maintain a diplomatic tone, his disappointment with the popularity aspect was palpable.

“I kind of understand the process, but am I playing better than a lot of guys? For sure, but that’s not the setup,” Booker told Rankin.

Booker, who is averaging 25.3 points per game on 45.8% FG shooting this season, acknowledged that some players have better backing than him when it comes to All-Star votes. He didn’t name names, but it’s not hard to deduce which NBA players he’s referring to. “There are some super big market teams. There are guys from different countries that have a whole country behind them,” he commented.

Fans, of course, will fill in the blanks. Is Booker referring to his longtime nemesis (and meme co-inhabitant) Luka Doncic, who went from the popular Dallas Mavericks squad to the even more renowned Los Angeles Lakers franchise? Was Booker taking aim at international sensations Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, who have rabid fanbases in Serbia and France, respectively?

When the second fan returns were reported last week, Doncic was on top of the Western Conference with over 2.2 million votes. Jokic came in second with just under two million votes, and Wembanyama placed fifth with 1.3 million votes.

Even with the new “US vs. The World” format that the NBA will be adopting this year, it would take a miracle of biblical proportions for Booker (232,075 votes) to be named a starter. While there’s a good chance that NBA coaches will vote him into the reserve squad, getting to compete in starting five of the All-Star festivities does have a different ring to it.

Booker can hardly be blamed for his frustration, but at the very least, the reality of the All-Star process has sunk in for him. When the sweet-shooting guard does get to see action in the “US vs. The World” games, he’ll have a chip on his shoulder as he takes on (or, indeed, teams up with) the players who got more fan votes than him.