The Phoenix Suns have arguably been the best team in all of basketball over the past season. Regardless of whether they ultimately win or lose the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, what this group has done in the last year has been remarkable.
One big reason for the team’s success has been the excellent camaraderie between franchise star Devin Booker and veteran Chris Paul.
But things weren’t always this smooth. In fact, they were quite heated in the early going.
Earlier this week, Booker opened up about what happened when Paul initially joined the team this past offseason.
“I don’t think it’s really about to throw hands, but you know the closest thing you can do without doing it.”
Devin Booker spoke about the competitiveness with Chris Paul in their very first practice as a team 😳 pic.twitter.com/gm7WTraje7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 5, 2021
“I used to try bringing him to the post, every time he used to switch on me,” Booker said.
“So, while we’re walking down to the post, he would be like, ‘I am not going for that, I am not going for that.”
Things would eventually escalate.
“We were doing a 3-on-3 drill, and it was kind of like the survival of the fittest mindset,” Booker continued.
“I don’t think it’s really about to throw hands, but you know the closest thing you can do without doing it.”
At the end of the day, iron sharpened iron. Booker is having a career year, and a lot of that is due to Paul’s influence.
This story about Jimmy Butler and Rachel Nichols is wild. https://t.co/qMwCXDmx6o
— Game 7 (@game7__) July 6, 2021
Coming into the NBA Finals Booker is averaging 27 points per game on 44 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent shooting from beyond the arc, as well as 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He has quietly turned into a very well-rounded player –and that’s a big reason why the Suns are where they are this season.
More importantly, he has also turned into a tremendously thick-skinned player. Nothing rattles him. Not accusations of dirty play, not the 7-Suns-In-1-Night scandal — nothing.
That mental toughness will be viral to the Suns capturing their first ever franchise title this year.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
