Devin Booker will never tire of the clutch
« Never in my life, that will never happen. It is an irreplaceable feeling. »This is what Devin Booker answers the journalist who asks him if he might have a tendency to “get tired” of holding the ball in his hand to grab a decision in the heat of the moment.
« I’m far from retired, but the day that comes, I’ll look back on those moments you dream of as a kid, a team that believes in you with the ball in hand, regardless of the score », develops the leader of the Suns, who offered himself a new career-defining moment face au Thunder.
When Jaylen Williams tied the game with eight seconds left, Devin Booker said to himself during his team’s timeout, ” It’s our turn. » His turn precisely. “ I’ve been there before. In my imagination and during summer training, it always boils down to moments like this. So I felt like I was on familiar ground. »
He would prefer a “buzzer”
On the throw-in, the fullback returned the leather to the halfway line, with Alex Caruso on top of him. A cross later, he had a sneaky opportunity to get close to the circle, but Lou Dort was also there to cover him. Booker suspected a doubleheader was coming and it would be difficult for him to get into the paint to get free throws.
Then he went up and converted a long shot. ” On the outside, we can’t afford to give an All-Star or All-NBA caliber player a chance to win », laments Caruso when his opponent regrets… not signing the “buzz”. Because after his successful shot, the Thunder had less than a second left to try to equalize.
« I have a thing with leaving 0.7 seconds on the clock, not sure why. Ideally, you want to fire your shot just as the siren sounds. My main priority was a good shooting angle, and, yes, I felt it was good as soon as it left my hands “, describes Booker, who did not want to celebrate before Ajay Mitchell missed the last shot.
Don’t celebrate too soon
« I don’t want to be that guy who celebrates and watches the opponent score only to lose the match. That’s one of my biggest fears », admits the Suns leader who finished with 24 points on 5/11 shooting (13/15 on free throws), with… only one winning basket on the night (1/4).
Enough to make this final sequence all the more palatable for Booker, who has had a lot of trouble shooting from long range this season, shooting just 29.7% from 3-point range. His worst percentage of his career, by far.
« It’s hard, it’s mental. I’ve had times like this before, but probably not to this extent. It’s frustrating. Especially when you do a lot of reps in training, put them all in, and when you’re on the court, you still fail. It’s all mental in this game. Hopefully that can be a trigger, to get it out of my head and finally make the shots I’m making. »
This game-winning goal boosts his solid experience in this situation. It was the ninth basket of his career to take the lead in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime. According to ESPNonly DeMar DeRozan (11) has made more shots since Booker arrived in the league during the 2015-16 season.
https://vvv.youtube.com/vatch?v=ZAu80Vdo8eI
| Devin Booker | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | The team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | That | Pd | Ft | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2015-16 | PHO | 76 | 27:44 | 42.3 | 34.3 | 84.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 13.8 |
| 2016-17 | PHO | 78 | 35:29 | 42.3 | 36.3 | 83.2 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 22.1 |
| 2017-18 | PHO | 54 | 34:32 | 43.2 | 38.3 | 87.8 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 24.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHO | 64 | 35:02 | 46.7 | 32.6 | 86.6 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 6.8 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 0.2 | 26.6 |
| 2019-20 | PHO | 70 | 35:53 | 48.9 | 35.4 | 91.9 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 26.6 |
| 2020-21 | PHO | 67 | 33:53 | 48.4 | 34.0 | 86.7 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 25.6 |
| 2021-22 | PHO | 68 | 34:29 | 46.6 | 38.3 | 86.8 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 26.8 |
| 2022-23 | PHO | 53 | 34:37 | 49.4 | 35.1 | 85.5 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 27.8 |
| 2023-24 | PHO | 68 | 35:59 | 49.2 | 36.4 | 88.6 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 6.9 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 27.1 |
| 2024-25 | PHO | 75 | 37:16 | 46.1 | 33.2 | 89.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 7.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 0.2 | 25.6 |
| 2025-26 | PHO | 31 | 34:02 | 46.3 | 29.7 | 85.4 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 6.3 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 25.7 |
How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.
2026-01-05 07:38:00
