With Kevin Durant in the fold, the Phoenix Suns now have a “big three” of their own. In an effort to compete in the NBA’s stacked Western Conference that’s likely what the Suns will need in order to make a big playoff run, but with star power sometimes comes star ego.
Devin Booker says that won’t be an issue in Phoenix, though. He, Chris Paul, Durant, and the rest of the organization will be able to get along just fine because they all bring something different to the table for the Suns.
“We don’t have no hierarchy,” Booker recently explained, per ESPN. “That’s the thing about it. You have Chris Paul, one of the greatest leaders of all time. You have coach Monty [Williams], you have [general manager] James Jones. We have guys that are all on the same plan — I think we all have different type of leading styles, which is the great thing about leadership is it comes in many different forms. And I think all of our games, and our mindsets, complement each other very well.”
Of course, it’s tough for a player with Durant’s talent to not play complementary basketball. He makes everyone around him better by just stepping on the court, but he does have the scoring ability to take over games when he needs to. That’s something he’s done everywhere he’s been in the NBA, but he also has championship experience from his time with the Golden State Warriors.
Booker, Paul and the Suns didn’t win a ring, but they did battle the Milwaukee Bucks a few seasons ago in the NBA Finals. Even the experience of making the Finals and losing is important, per Booker, because it gave the team a taste of the mountaintop.
“Once you get a taste of Finals experience and having that under your belt, that’s all that you want,” Booker explained. “We have one goal; we know it’s not going to be easy to get there, but we feel we have the talent, we have the mindset and everything it takes right here in this gym.”
Speaking of the gym, Durant has yet to play with the Suns as he recovers from a MCL injury he suffered on Jan. 8, but ESPN reports that he’s “getting closer to a return every day.”
