PHOENIX — He may not be an All-Star at the moment, but last week, it was clear that no player in the NBA's Western Conference was better than Devin Booker as he earned the title of Week 14 Western Conference Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.
This is Booker's second Player of the Week honor this season (Week 5, Nov. 20-26), and the ninth of his career. No player in Suns' history has been named the Player of the Week while playing for the team more times than Booker. Kevin Durant, who was named the Western Conference Player of the Week last week has won the award 32 times, but only once with the Suns.
This is the first time the Suns have had back-to-back Players of the Week since Steve Nash won the award in back-to-back weeks in January 2007.
Booker earned the honor by scoring 168 points in the Suns' four games last week. Three of those games saw Booker score more than 40 points, with the most (62) coming against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 26. The only time Booker has scored more points in his career was in 2017 when he scored 70 against the Boston Celtics.
In the Suns' four games last week, Booker averaged 42 points, five rebounds and 1.3 steals. He also shot 63.9% from the floor and 50% from behind the three-point line in those four games. The Suns went 2-2 last week with wins over the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks and losses to the Pacers and Orlando Magic.
In 37 games played this season, Booker is averaging 28.6 points and 6.3 assists per game, which are both career-highs.
Milwaukee Bucks center Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 29.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the Bucks' four games last week.
The Suns will wrap up a seven-game road trip this week with games in Miami against the Heat on Monday, in Brooklyn against the Nets on Wednesday, in Atlanta against the Hawks on Friday and in Washington D.C. against the Wizards on Sunday.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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