Heat Coach Has High Praise For Suns Star Guard

Devin Booker is on the cusp of making his fifth All-Star game. He’s been one of the best guards in the league for a few years now, but his position in the NBA hierarchy has always been in question.

Early in his career, he was the young star on a bad team. It was always unclear how valuable he really was as he was putting up the big numbers, but his team wasn’t always succeeding at a high level. 

Then he contributed heavily to the Suns' epic run to the NBA Finals but wasn't really praised as the singular star that got them there. 

Then he had the Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant era, where he was (with those other two) criticized for being unable to win despite having a stacked roster. 

This season, however, Booker is truly showing his worth. At the beginning of the year, many around the NBA believed that the Suns might be headed for the lottery. Instead, Booker has helped the team into playoff positioning in the stacked Western Conference. 

Recently, the Suns faced off against the Miami Heat, and Erik Spoelstra had some high praise for Booker. "I love Book. I love what he's all about. I think what he's doing this year probably speaks to his desire to win and do whatever is necessary to win as much as any other year. He's doing a lot of role-player stuff. You would think coming into this year without the big names, in September, people probably thought he would have to score 30+ a game, but he's embraced the team, and I think he's probably fed a bunch of life and confidence into the roster."

Spoelstra got to watch and coach Booker on Team USA in the Paris Olympics. He saw firsthand just how good Booker really is. Getting praise from a coach as accomplished as Spoelstra is a high honor, and Booker definitely deserves it.