Devin Booker left the Mortgage Matchup Center sounding like a player already thinking about what Phoenix has to build next, even after the Suns were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 131-122 loss Monday night.
Booker said the relationship with first-year coach Jordan Ott mattered from the start. “It’s the foundation from day one,” he said. “Since the hire, he’s came in 100% locked in. We’ve been aligned. We’ve been on the same page.”
Phoenix finished the season with a 45-37 record after entering with modest outside expectations, and Booker called it a step forward for a roster that spent much of the year piecing itself together through injuries.
“We still have some learning to do,” Booker said. “This was a great test for us, a great stepping stone, first step, and this is a nice place to be.”
The Thunder’s defensive attention on Booker was a theme all series, and he said Oklahoma City’s game plan was clear. “It seems like the game plan is, don’t let me get any touches at any time,” he said.
Booker finished with 24 points in the finale and scored 12 in the third quarter, but he said the Suns need to be quicker in punishing that kind of coverage. “I think make them pay for it early in the game,” he said. “It shouldn’t take two or three possessions to figure that out.”
He pointed to the 2021 Finals run as the model. “The year that we had success in the finals, we would do it right away,” Booker said. “And throughout the game the defense would loosen up and I’d get cleaner opportunities.”
Booker also used the postgame session to praise the growth of Phoenix’s younger players, including Collin Gillespie, Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen. “He just needed the opportunity and he took full advantage of it from day one,” Booker said of Gillespie.
He added that the Suns’ young players should keep watching the playoffs and learning from what they just experienced. “You realize how every possession matters, every moment matters,” Booker said. “It’s something to build on going into next year.”
Booker said the season also tested him as a leader, especially with the constant turnover around the roster and coaching staff. “I approach every day with a new chance mindset,” he said. “We did some good things this year.”
Even after the sweep, Booker insisted the Suns’ foundation is stronger than it was a year ago. “We exceeded everybody else’s expectation but not ours,” he said. “So we still have some learning to do.”
