Devin Booker is tired of the Kobe Bryant comparisons. He made that clear this week, and you cannot blame him for drawing the line.
Asked again about being the modern version of Kobe, Booker pushed back firmly. He said the comparisons are flattering but unfair, both to him and to the legacy of one of the greatest scorers ever. Booker said he wants to be himself.
He is right. The comparisons started years ago because of the mid-range game, the footwork, and the cold-blooded scoring runs. Booker has even spoken about Kobe as a mentor figure who took him under his wing before his death in 2020. The connection is real. The comparison still does not fit.
Kobe won five championships. He spent his entire career with one franchise. He was the alpha on a Lakers dynasty for two decades. Booker is a different player on a different timeline. Putting Kobe’s resume on his shoulders is a setup for failure.
What Booker is doing right now is separating himself from that mold. He has become one of the best playmaking shooting guards in the league. He averaged over seven assists per game last season. That is not a Kobe role. That is closer to a James Harden or Trae Young type of skill set.
Booker has earned the right to define his own game. He has made four All-Star teams. He carried Phoenix to a Finals run. He has put up the kind of scoring numbers that few non-Lakers wings in this era have matched.
The Kobe comparison also leans heavily on style, which is a lazy way to evaluate a star. Booker plays with his own rhythm. His step-back is different. His pull-up off the right elbow has its own signature. He is a craftsman, not a copy.
NBA fans love the player-to-player comparison game. It is fun. It also boxes guys in. Booker is not Kobe. Kobe is not coming back. Anointing a successor to the Black Mamba does a disservice to both legacies.
The Suns also have to start treating Booker like a singular asset. They have spent the last three years building rosters as if any star pair would magically work next to him. Now that the dust has settled, Phoenix has to construct a team that fits Devin Booker’s game, not a recycled blueprint of someone else’s.
His response was not arrogant. It was thoughtful. He took the time to honor Kobe and then explain why he wants to be measured on his own work.
That is the kind of self-awareness you want from a franchise star. Booker is not chasing ghosts. He is building his own resume. By the time he hangs it up, he might force the next generation of stars to be compared to Devin Booker instead.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
