Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker is having a down year by his standards, and the team is struggling around him. Carmelo Anthony thinks he knows why.
In the latest “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast, Anthony theorized that Booker has tried to tweak his game after spending time with Team USA at the Olympics last summer. Anthony believes that Booker had to take on a more passive role in the Team USA offense, and kept that mentality this season with the Suns in an effort to help the team.
“I think Book is suffering from the USA team. Not suffering in a negative way. He’s been impacted by the culture of Team USA,” Anthony said. “Everybody is telling you, ‘Man, you’ve got to do something else. Be something else and bring something else to the table. Go do the dirty work.’ … (He) found (himself) doing all the little s— to impact the game. We win. Now, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, s–t, this is what Book could do. This is what’s going to happen in Phoenix. He’s got (Kevin Durant) there. He’s got (Bradley) Beal there. Book can be USA Book.’ He accepted it for the USA team.
“You come back to Phoenix, not Team USA, but also having a different mentality on how to win. Now Book starts to sacrifice his game for Phoenix. … Olympic basketball makes you come back to your team on a whole other level. ‘I ain’t going to try and average 30 this year. I’m going to go try to average 22 and get my assists up.’ This is how they play mind games with themselves.”
Did Devin Booker's time with Team USA change his approach with the Suns? 🤔
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) March 28, 2025
Rudy: "Whatever team he has, he needs to get back to being D. Book."
Melo: "He's been impacted by the culture of Team USA … now you come back to Phoenix but have a different mentality on winning now." pic.twitter.com/W5kO3hoPds
Booker’s scoring is down slightly this season, from 27.1 points per game last season to 25.3 this year entering play Saturday. His assists have ticked up slightly from 6.9 per game to 7.1, but his shooting percentage has dropped from 49.2 percent last year to 45.3 percent this season.
Anthony might be right that Booker is trying to fulfill a role he does not fit perfectly. There have also been reports of behind-the-scenes tension, which he has tried to downplay.
Entering play Saturday, the Suns are 35-39 and one game back from the final play-in spot. Booker may not be solely to blame for the team’s poor season, but he has been shaky enough that speculation about his fit with the current roster is bound to continue.
