In the Laurel MLK Shootout, Booker scored 54 points against Northeast Jones High School, falling nine shy of Litterial Green's Moss Point record for most points in a game, set in 1988. He followed up that performance with 32 points, including a game-winning three-pointer, against Murrah High School and was named ESPNHS.com's Southeast Player of the Week. At that time, his father told reporters that Booker was drawing interest from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Florida, Alabama, Georgetown, Michigan and Missouri.
On March 24 against the Boston Celtics, Booker became the sixth player in NBA history to score 70 points in a game, joining Wilt Chamberlain, David Robinson, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor and Kobe Bryant. It was the 11th 70-point game in NBA history. Booker also added eight rebounds and six assists in 45 minutes. Booker, at age 20, became the youngest player to score 70 (and 60) points in a game. He had the highest-scoring game in the NBA since Bryant scored 81 in January 2006. The Suns' previous scoring record was held by Tom Chambers with 60 points on March 24, 1990. Booker ended the season averaging 22.1 points per game, a near 9-point increment from his 13.8 points in 2015–16.
Devin Armani Booker (born October 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball for one season with the Kentucky Wildcats, Booker was selected by the Suns in the first round of the 2015 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick. In 2017, at 20 years old, he became the youngest player to score over 60 points in a game, finishing with a Suns franchise record 70 against the Boston Celtics. In 2019, at 22 years old, Booker became the youngest player in NBA history with consecutive 50-point games.
On January 12, 2017, he scored 28 fourth-quarter points, in another 39-point night, to set the Suns franchise record for most points in a quarter, previously held by Stephon Marbury's 26 points in 2002. He had a second straight 39-point effort in a two days later to become the youngest player in NBA history to record consecutive games of 39 or more points in the regular season. He was named to the U.S. Team for the 2017 Rising Stars Challenge, and was invited to take part in the 2017 Taco Bell Skills Challenge. On February 4, at 20 years, 97 days old, Booker became the youngest player to score at least 20 points in 16 consecutive games. His 16-game streak is the second-longest by any first-year or second-year player since Vince Carter had a 23-game run as a second-year player during the 1999–2000 season.
On March 3, Booker scored a then career-high 34 points in a loss to the Miami Heat, On March 10, Booker recorded a career-high 35 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. Throughout the month of March, Booker led all rookies in points (22.4) and assists (4.9) per game. On April 9, with 16 points scored in a 121–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Booker reached 1,014 for the season, making him the fourth-youngest player to reach 1,000 career points, following only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant, as well as the third-youngest during their rookie season. Booker finished fourth in the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting and earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors. He became the first Suns player to be named as a member of the All-Rookie Team since Amar'e Stoudemire in 2003.
On January 22, 2021, Booker reached 8,000 points scored in a 130–126 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets, straining his left hamstring during that overtime. He returned to action on February 1, reaching 700 career three-point shots, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in the game, to win 109–108 over the Dallas Mavericks. Two days later, Booker passed Dan Majerle for 10th place in the Suns all-time scoring list in a 123–101 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. On February 8, 2021, Booker scored a season-high 36 points in a 119–113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He later matched his season-high for points on February 13 in a 120–111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Booker was then named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career on February 15 for the week of February 8–14, 2021, becoming the first Suns player to get the award since Goran Dragić in 2014. On February 24, for the second year in a row, Booker was named an All-Star as an injury replacement, this time to Anthony Davis. He and Chris Paul became the first Suns duo since Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in 2010 to be named All-Stars. The duo would also help Phoenix clinch their first playoff berth since 2010.
After playing for the freshman, junior varsity and varsity basketball teams during his freshman year at Grandville High School in Michigan, Booker moved to Mississippi to live with his father after the latter's retirement from professional basketball. He enrolled at Moss Point High School, where his father was hired as an assistant coach, in August 2011. In his team's fifth game of the season—a 52–32 loss to Gulfport High School—Booker scored more points (17) than the rest of his teammates combined (15). In December, he hit a buzzer beater from just beyond half court to beat Harrison Central High School, improving Moss Point's record to 4–6 on the year. By early January, Press-Register sportswriter Creg Stephenson opined, "Sophomore guard Devin Booker has developed into one of the top players on the coast in his first season with the [Moss Point] Tigers' varsity, averaging 22.7 points per game."
During the summer of 2013, Booker participated in the Kevin Durant Skills Academy, the LeBron James Skills Academy, the CP3 Elite Guard Camp, and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 camp. His fellow participants in the NBPA camp voted him to the camp's 10-man all-star team. Booker also participated against international competition at the Nike Global Challenge. At the Under Armour Elite 24 showcase, he won the three-point shooting contest. In August 2013, Booker narrowed his list of potential college choices to Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Michigan State, and Kentucky. He took an official visit to the University of Kentucky on the weekend of September 9 to watch an alumni exhibition game; fellow 2014 prospects Jahlil Okafor and Tyler Ulis also attended.
In 38 games for Kentucky in 2014–15, Booker averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 21.5 minutes per game. He subsequently earned SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and the All-SEC Second Team.
In Kentucky's first exhibition game against the University of Pikeville on November 2, 2014, Booker was the team's second leading scorer with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including two three-pointers; he also had three assists.
On April 9, 2015, Booker declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. He was joined by fellow Kentucky teammates Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
On June 25, 2015, Booker was selected as the thirteenth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 2015 NBA draft.
During the offseason, Booker trained with head coach Earl Watson and former NBA player Baron Davis at UCLA, was invited to be on the select team that practices against Team USA in preparation for the Summer Olympics, and played two games for the Suns during the Las Vegas Summer League. With teammate Eric Bledsoe returning from injury in 2016–17, Booker was retained as the starting shooting guard while Brandon Knight was moved to the bench. Booker scored a career-highs of 38 points and 39 points on November 4 and 6.
On January 2, 2016, Booker scored a then season-high 21 points in a 142–119 loss to the Sacramento Kings. On January 19, he scored 32 points in a 97–94 loss to the Indiana Pacers, setting a Suns' rookie record with six three-pointers. Booker became the third-youngest player in NBA history at 19 years, 81 days old to record a 30-point game, behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant, as well as the youngest Suns player to score 30 or more points in a game. Booker participated for Team USA in the 2016 Rising Stars Challenge. He also competed in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, becoming the youngest contestant to ever participate in the event and only the fourth rookie to compete in the 30-year-old contest, joining Stephen Curry (2010), Kyle Korver (2004) and Dennis Scott (1991). He made it to the final round of the event, where he finished third behind the "Splash Brothers" – Curry and Klay Thompson (winner).
On November 6, 2017, Booker scored 18 points in a 98–92 loss to the Brooklyn Nets to reach 3,000 career points and the fourth-youngest player in NBA history to score 3,000 points, behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony. On November 13, a 36-point game and 26th 30-point in his career tied Steve Nash for 15th most in franchise history. Over the Suns' first 17 games of the season, Booker had seven 30-point games. On December 4, Booker scored a season-high 46 points in a 115–101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
On September 10, he was ruled out for six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair the fifth metacarpophalangeal joint in his right hand after he jammed it in practice on March 14, 2018. He recovered in time for the Suns' season opener on October 17, scoring 35 points in a 121–100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Throughout the beginning of the season, he had multiple 30+ point games despite missing a six-game stretch when he strained his hamstring. On January 24, Booker became the fifth youngest player in NBA history to reach 5,000 career points, behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard.
On July 7, 2018, Booker signed a five-year, $158 million maximum contract extension with the Suns.
In 2019, Booker bought a 5,590 square foot house in Paradise Valley, Arizona for $3.5 million.
On November 23, 2019, Booker almost put up a triple-double with 35 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, and 9 assists in a 100–98 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. From December 27, 2019 until January 7, 2020, Booker scored over 30 points in seven straight games, including a 40-point performance in a loss against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 5. This streak broke a franchise record for most consecutive 30+ point games in a row, beating a record previously set by Charlie Scott twice and Charles Barkley once. In addition, his streak from December 28 until January 7 made him the only player since the 1983–84 NBA season to record six straight performances of 30+ points and 6+ assists with 47% shooting efficiency. On January 28, Booker became the fourth-youngest player to reach 7,000 career points, behind only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony. Booker was named an All-Star on February 13, 2020 as an injury replacement after Damian Lillard suffered an groin strain injury a day earlier. He also replaced Lillard in the Three Point Contest, an event he had previously won, and finished as the runner-up behind Buddy Hield.
Booker's maternal grandfather is from Mexico. Devin is the only child of his father, Melvin Booker, a former professional basketball player. In 2020, Booker was named a global ambassador to the Special Olympics for his support for his younger half-sister who has microdeletion syndrome, a genetic chromosomal disorder.
Due to his mother's ethnic background, Booker drew interest from the Mexican and U.S. national teams. He played on the 2016 USA Select Team that trained against the 2016 U.S. Olympic team. In February 2020, he was named a finalist to play on the 2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team. However, the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Booker and Team USA won the Olympic gold medal in men's basketball.
In the 2020 NBA Bubble, Booker helped the Suns reached an 8–0 record as of August 11, 2020, holding an 8-game winning streak for the first time since the 2009–10 season. On August 4, Booker hit a fade-away game-winning jumper at the buzzer over Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to lift the Suns to a 117–115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and bring their record there to 3–0 at the time. On August 11, he scored 35 points, breaking a franchise record set by Walter Davis for the most games of 30+ points scored with the team, as well as get 9 rebounds and 7 assists in a 130–117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. During his time in the NBA Bubble, Booker was named a nominee for the Seeding Games MVP award (earned for the best overall performance in the NBA's resumed regular season games), as well as earned a spot for one of the All-Seeding Games Teams, averaging 31 points per game during these games.
The son of former basketball player Melvin Booker, Devin is a four-time All-Star and helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021. The following season, he was named to the All-NBA First Team and helped lead the Suns to a franchise record of 64 wins. Booker also won a gold medal on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo.
During the 2021–22 NBA season, on November 29, 2021, Booker was named the Player of the Week in the Western Conference for his performance during Week 6 of the season, which helped the Suns achieve a franchise-record 18-game winning streak. He received the honor again on January 17, 2022 for his efforts during Week 13. Booker was named an All-Star along with teammate for the third year in a row alongside teammate Chris Paul when reserves were announced on February 10. That night, he was selected for Team Durant as part of the All-Star Draft. On March 24, 2022, Booker scored a season-high 49 points in a 140–130 road victory over the Denver Nuggets, becoming the fourth-youngest player in NBA history to score 11,000 points. He finished the week averaging 37.3 points and 6.3 assists per game and was named the Week 23 Western Conference Player of the Week. Booker and the Suns finished the regular season with the league's best overall record at 64–18. Booker was also named to the All-NBA First Team, the first in his career.
On July 7, 2022, Booker agreed to a four-year, $224 million maximum contract extension with the Suns; the same day, he was announced as one of the cover stars of NBA 2K23. On November 18, Booker scored 49 points alongside eight rebounds and 10 assists in a 134–133 loss to the Utah Jazz. On November 30, Booker scored a then season-high 51 points in just three quarters on 20-of-25 shooting from the field in a 132–113 win over the Chicago Bulls. He was named Western Conference Player of the Month, averaging 29.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, and 5.8 assists per game in October and November. On December 17, Booker scored a season-high 58 points in a 118–114 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He became the sixth youngest player to reach 12,000 career points trailing only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, and Tracy McGrady.
On February 7, 2023, Booker returned to the lineup after missing the previous 21 games with a left groin strain. He had 19 points, six assists and four rebounds in a 116–112 win over the Brooklyn Nets. On February 24, Booker put up 25 points, six rebounds, and eight assists in a 124–115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also made his 1,052nd career three-pointer, surpassing Steve Nash for the most three-pointers made in Suns history. On March 5 against the Dallas Mavericks, Booker scored 36 points on 15-of-25 shooting to go along with five rebounds and 10 assists, lifting the Suns to a 130–126 win. Booker also got into an altercation with Luka Dončić with 3.5 seconds remaining in the game, as they ended up nose-to-nose and were both issued technical fouls. On March 8, Booker scored 44 points on 17-of-23 shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from the three-point range in a 132–101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also became the first player in Suns history to have four straight games with at least 35 points.
On November 17, 2023, Booker recorded 24 points and a career-high 15 assists in a 131–128 win over the Utah Jazz. On November 24, Booker scored 40 points on 15 of 21 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from outside the arc in a 110–89 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. On November 26, Booker put up 28 points, 11 assists, two blocks, and a game-winning three-pointer in a 116–113 win over the New York Knicks.
On January 19, 2024, Booker put up 52 points, with 25 of those coming in the first quarter, in a 123–109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On January 24, Booker scored 46 points on 17-of-23 shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from the three-point range in a 132–109 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Two days later against the Indiana Pacers, Booker had 29 points in the first quarter, setting a Suns franchise record for points in a quarter. He finished the game with 62 points on 22-of-37 shooting in a 133–131 loss, becoming the ninth player in NBA history to record multiple 60+ point games. Booker also set the record for most points in a game in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, marking his fourth different arena where he's set the single-game scoring record, joining the Footprint Center, TD Garden, and Vivint Arena. After another 44-point outing against the Orlando Magic on January 28, Booker was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the ninth time in his career, averaging 42 points, five rebounds, and 63.9% from the field in four games. He was also named Western Conference Player of the Month for the third time in his career, the most in Suns franchise history. In 16 games in January, Booker averaged 30.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.4 rebounds, while shooting 53.9% from the floor and 40.0% from three-point range, with the Suns going 11–5 during that stretch.