Devin Booker Biography

Devin Booker was born on October 30, 1996, in Michigan, to an African–American father, Melvin Booker, and his Mexican–American and Puerto Rican partner, Veronica Gutiérrez. His father was a brilliant young ‘NBA’ player when he met Veronica during one of his tours for the ‘Continental Basketball Association.’

The couple did not marry but remained on good terms. After Devin’s birth, they decided that they would both take care of Devin, but he mostly stayed with his mother, as his father remained busy with his international basketball career.

Devin spent his early years in Grandville, Michigan, which was a suburb of Grand Rapids. Grandville was a town that was dominated by its white population. Devin visited his father during his summer holidays, in Moss Point, Mississippi, a place that had a significant black population. This proved to be a significant culture shock for young Devin, but he handled it quite well.

While Devin grew up, his father’s lifestyle influenced him greatly. He found a role model in his father and started practicing basketball in school. Devin was immensely attached to his father. Whenever Melvin traveled to other countries for his games, the father-son duo would communicate through emails.

Devin soon started attending ‘Grandville High School,’ and Melvin retired from professional basketball to stay closer to his son. Noticing his immense talent, Melvin tried hard to bring his son back to Mississippi permanently. Devin initially refused to go to Mississippi. However, Melvin managed to convince Devin’s mother, and Devin was soon enrolled at ‘Moss Point High School,’ where Melvin was hired as an assistant coach.

While in high school, Devin exhibited his remarkable sporting talent. In August 2011, Devin scored 17 points in the fifth game of the season, against ‘Gulfport High School.’ His score was higher than the rest of his team combined. He continued to play brilliantly, earning praise from a popular ‘Press-Register’ sportswriter, Creg Stephenson, who wrote that Devin’s average of 22.7 points during the season showed that he had developed to be one of the best players on the coast.

Devin’s performance got better over the years, and his father soon announced that he was contacted by a few ‘NBA’ teams that were interested in acquiring Devin. College basketball was to play a crucial role in shaping Devin’s future as a star basketball player. During a ceremony in October 2013, at ‘Moss Point High School,’ Devin announced that he had been chosen by the ‘University of Kentucky.’

On November 2, 2014, Devin scored 16 points, playing for his college team, against the ‘University of Pikeville.’ With that, he began a great college basketball career, which paved the way for his future career in the sport. In a November match against ‘Montana State,’ Devin scored a season-high 18 points. In the next game, Devin scored 19 points against ‘Texas–Arlington’ to set a new season-high score.

He completed his first season at the university with an average of 10 points and was sure about earning a respectable place in the ‘NBA’ draft which was just around the corner. In April 2015, Devin decided to let go of the remaining years of college and signed up for the ‘NBA’ draft.

In June 2015, he was selected by the ‘Phoenix Suns’ as the 13th overall pick. In his first seven ‘Summer League’ games, Devin averaged more than 15 points per game and proved his mettle. He made his professional ‘NBA’ debut against the ‘Dallas Mavericks’ two days before his 19th birthday. Hence, he became the first player in the history of the ‘NBA’ to debut at 18 years of age, with at least one year of college basketball experience.

While the first part of his debut season with the ‘Phoenix Suns’ was above average at best, the second part turned out to be much better. In a game against the ‘Sacramento Kings’ in January 2016, Devin scored a season-high 21 points. In another January game against the ‘Indiana Pacers,’ he scored 32 points to become the third-youngest ‘NBA’ player and the youngest ‘Suns’ player to score more than 30 points in a game.

In March, Devin scored 34 points against ‘Miami Heat’ to achieve yet another career milestone and his career’s best performance to date. In the same month, he played in his fifth 30-point game of the season, against the ‘Minnesota Timberwolves.’ By the end of the season, Devin was part of another 30-point game and finished his rookie season with 1,048 points in total. He became the fourth-youngest ‘NBA’ player to score 1,000 points in the first season. He averaged 13.8 points per game.

His stunning performance in his rookie season earned praise from basketball legends such as Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. He ended up at the fourth spot in the race for the 2016 ‘Rookie of the Year’ award.

In a match against the ‘New Orleans Pelicans’ in November 2016, Devin scored a career-high of 38 points, and a few days later, he bettered it by scoring 39 points against the ‘Los Angeles Lakers.’ He became the first ‘Phoenix Suns’ player in 28 years to touch the 38-point mark consecutively in two matches.

In January 2017, he scored 39 points against both the ‘Dallas Mavericks’ and the ‘San Antonio Spurs.’ With that, he became the youngest player in ‘NBA’ history to score 39 points in two consecutive games.

In February 2017, he scored 31 points against the ‘Milwaukee Bucks’ and became the youngest player in ‘NBA’ history to score at least 20 points in 16 consecutive games. Devin ended the season with an average of 22.1 points per game.

In October 2017, he scored 34 points against the ‘Portland Trail Blazers’ to finish his 21st career game with 30+ points. With this, he became the third player in ‘NBA’ history to achieve the feat. In a March 2018 game against ‘Oklahoma City Thunder,’ he scored 39 points. He became the third-youngest player in the history of the ‘NBA” to reach 4,000 career points.

In July 2018, Phoenix Suns extended Devin’s contract by 5 years for $158 million. In September, he had to undergo surgery for his metacarpophalangeal joint. Following his recovery, he scored 35 points against the Dallas Mavericks in a 124–121 win. In January 2019, he reached 5,000 career points, becoming the third-youngest in NBA history to do so.

In February 2019, he made 20 points in a 124–121 win against the Miami Heat. In the following month, he scored 59 points against Utah Jazz but the Phoenix Suns lost the match in a 125–92 game. Devin next scored 50 points against the Washington Wizards which made the youngest NBA player to score 50 points in consecutive games. In April, the Phoenix Suns suffered another loss against the Utah Jazz in a 118–97 game. Devin also injured his ankle during the match and was out for the rest of the season. In November 2019, he scored 35 points and 12 rebounds in a 100–98 win over Minnesota Timberwolves.

Between December 27, 2019, and January 7, 2020, Devin scored 30+ points in seven consecutive matches and thus breaking the franchise records previously set by Charlie Scott and Charles Barkley for most straight 30+ point games in a row. He also became the only player since the 1983–84 NBA season to have 6 consecutive games with 30+ points and 6+ assists with 47% shooting efficiency. On January 28, 2019, he achieved 7,000 career points, becoming the fourth-youngest player to do so.

In the 2020 NBA Bubble, the Phoenix Suns made an 8-game winning streak, a feat that hadn’t been achieved since the 2009–10 season. Devin was one of the major contributors to this amazing victory streak as evidenced by his performance against the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. He was also nominated for the Seeding Games MVP Award.

On January 22, 2021, the Phoenix Suns suffered a 130–126 loss against Denver Nuggets. Nevertheless, Devin was able to reach 8000 career points in the game. In February, he helped the Suns score a 109–108 victory against the Dallas Mavericks. However, in the next match, they lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in a 123–101 game.

On February 8, he scored 36 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to score 36 points again against the Philadelphia 76ers. He was named Western Conference Player of the Week, becoming the first Phoenix Suns player to get the honor since Goran Dragić in 2014.

In May 2021, he made his NBA playoff debut where he scored 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists in a 99–90 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game 6, he again led the victory charge against the Lakers and scored 47 points and 11 rebounds in a 113–100 game. In the conference semifinals, he made 34 points and 11 rebounds against the Denver Nuggets in a 125–118 victory. This led the Phoenix Suns to make their first appearance in the Western Conference Finals since 2010. In the conference finals, he scored 40 points against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 and 22 points in Game 6, leading the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals.

In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Devin made 27 points in a 118–105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. In the next game, he pulled out 31 points in a 118–108 win. However, the Phoenix Suns lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Nevertheless, Devin became the third player in the history of the NBA to have the most consecutive 40-point games.

In the 2021–22 NBA season, he was named the Player of the Week in the Western Conference for his performance in week 6 which enabled the Phoenix Suns to achieve an 18-game winning streak. Later, he was named an All-star for the third time. In March 2022, he scored 49 points against the Denver Nuggets in a 140–130 victory. He also became the fourth youngest NBA player to register 11,000 points. He was also honored with the All-NBA First Team.

Devin scored 56 points in the first two games against the New Orleans Pelicans in a postseason series. However, he had to pull out of the series due to an injury. He made a return around the Western Conference Semifinals where the Phoenix Suns initially held a 2–0 lead but later lost seven games against the Dallas Mavericks.

In July 2022, he entered into a 4-year extension contract with the Phoenix Suns for $224 million. On November 18, he scored 49 points against the Utah Jazz in a 134–133 loss. He next gathered 51 points in a 132–113 win over the Chicago Bulls. In December, he put out 58 points against the New Orleans Pelicans which eventually resulted in a 118–114 win.

On February 7, 2023, he made 19 points over the Brooklyn Nets in a 116–112 win. He next scored 25 points in a 124–115 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. On March 5, Devin contributed 36 points against the Dallas Mavericks in a 130–126 win. On March 8, he went on to score 44 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He pulled out 45 points in the first playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3. In Game 5, he scored 47 points in a 136–130 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. In Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, he made 47 points against the Denver Nuggets in a 121–114 win. However, the Phoenix Suns lost the series after losing six games against the Denver Nuggets.

Devin once ran into controversy when he asked a fan’s girlfriend to sit on his lap. However, the matter did not do much damage to his career. Media reports claim that while in college, he had had many affairs. In 2020, he started dating Kendall Jenner. The couple briefly separated in June 2022 before reuniting in July of that year. However, they again parted ways in November 2022.