Is Devin Booker a top-5 guard in the NBA?

Oct 2, 2022 - 10:15 AM

The Kentucky Wildcats have consistently produced stars at the highest level in basketball, and Devin Booker is another example of a player that has erupted onto the scene since his time in Lexington.

Booker was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 2015 NBA Draft. The 25-year-old was the second-to-last lottery pick, denoting that 12 players were taken before the star guard. Booker has made a lot of teams envious.

The three-time All-Star guard averaged 26.8 points per game, the most of his career last season. He’s also continued his improvements as a shooter, knocking down a career-best 2.7 threes per game on 38.3% from the field.

His playmaking also took a step in the right direction as he notched 4.8 assists per game which, while not a career-high for Booker, was the most of his career since Chris Paul joined Phoenix.

The question still stands though: Is Booker a top-five guard? SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell recently wrote on his top-30 guards, and Booker cracked the list but wasn’t included in the top five.

“Devin Booker has been one of the league’s most reliable backcourt scorers for so many years, and he’s still only 25 years old. A throwback shooting guard who wins with tough shot-making and elite footwork, Booker continues to fine-tune his game year-over-year. After cutting back his turnovers and improving defensively last season, the Suns need Booker to continue to grow in the face of some decidedly bad vibes around the team. The good news for Phoenix is that Booker never lets them down,” O’Donnell wrote.

Ja Morant was the one immediately ahead of Booker with Damian Lillard, Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry following up. The only one that Booker has a real claim over should be No. 3 Young who isn’t nearly at the level of the others on the defensive side of the ball.

Nonetheless, Booker is on the outside ever so slightly. Per ESPN’s NBA Rank, Booker sits higher than both Lillard and Young, so there is a good chunk of opinion that goes into these type of rankings.

What say you? Is Booker a top-five NBA guard? Let us know in the poll below and in the comments section!

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