Devin Booker Enters Year Eleven Still Carrying the Load

By the Suns Nightly Desk · Wednesday, September 23

Devin Booker heads into 2026-27 as the same 30-point threat Phoenix has leaned on for years, coming off 26.1 points a night last season on a usage rate that led the roster. The Suns haven't played a game yet, but his extension, his health and his bench-role flashes from late last season all point to the same question: how much more can he carry.

Devin Booker of the Suns — Devin Booker. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Role. Booker opens year eleven as the only proven engine in a rotation Jordan Ott is still sorting out. Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges give him company, but the scoring load and the shot creation still start with him, same as it has for most of a decade in Phoenix.

Last Season's Line. Across 64 games last season, Booker logged 33.5 minutes a night and put up 26.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists, with 3.1 turnovers. He connected on 45.6 percent of his shots and 33.0 percent of his threes on 5.8 attempts, and made 87.3 percent at the line.

The Bench Flashes. Phoenix used him off the bench late last season, and he answered with 24.4 points a night over his final five outings, clearing 20 points on four separate nights in that stretch. It read as a preview of how much scoring he can still generate outside a starting role.

The Advanced Numbers. His usage rate sat at 30.7 percent, still the highest number on the roster, and his efficiency held up under that load: a 58.5 true-shooting figure, a 115.9 offensive rating and a plus-3.9 net rating for the Suns. His assist rate of 29.3 percent shows the setup work alongside the scoring.

The Contract. Booker's max extension covers two seasons through 2029-30 and carries the richest annual salary in NBA history. He is owed $57.1 million this season, climbing to $61.0 million, then $64.1 million, then $69.2 million in the deal's final year.

Health Check. Booker isn't on the injury list entering camp, unlike a roster that already has one projected starter sidelined for months. His own availability, 64 of 82 games last season, is the number worth tracking once the games start counting for real.

The Ask. What he needs to be this season hasn't changed: the highest-usage, highest-efficiency option on a team still sorting out its frontcourt. If Ott leans on him the way Phoenix did down the stretch last season, the bench flashes suggest he can carry that weight again.

On deck Preseason opens October 5 at the Pistons, with stops at the Bulls on October 7 and the Spurs twice before October 21, when the Suns open the regular season at Portland.

What is Devin Booker's contract with the Suns?

Booker is in a max extension that runs through 2029-30, paying him $57.1 million this season and rising to $69.2 million in the final year.

Is Devin Booker injured heading into the 2026-27 season?

No, Booker is not on the Suns' injury report entering training camp.