The NBA released its Top-10 MVP candidates through Nov. 4 and had Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker right in the thick of things.
The Phoenix superstar came in at No. 5 on the NBA.com list with 27.7 points per game, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
Booker signed a four-year, $224 million supermax contract extension in July and has not disappointed in 2022, leading the Suns to a 6-2 record and tied for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
The fourth-place finisher in last year’s MVP race, Booker scored 194 points through the first seven games, the fourth-most points by a Phoenix player in franchise history over such a span to start a season. Booker turned 26 years old on Oct. 30, but by then had produced the sixth-most points (11,363) before a 26th birthday in NBA history. Although Booker ranked 10th in the NBA in scoring (entering Friday’s games), his value goes beyond the numbers. The eighth-year veteran continues to develop as a playmaker and, most importantly, a leader for a team that aims to finish this season among the top in the West.
Booker has continued to elevate his game to the next level in his eighth season in the league. After making two All-Star Games as a replacement, one outright, and then finally being named to the First-Team All-NBA last season (first Phoenix player since 2007), the Suns’ superstar has been getting handed his roses again.
He came in only behind the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 1), the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (No. 2), the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (No. 3) and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jay Morant.
The five players ranked behind Booker are Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard (No. 6), Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (No. 7), Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam (No. 8), Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (No. 9 ) and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 10).
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