There does not seem to be any love lost between former Phoenix Suns teammates Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
Booker’s Suns took on Ayton’s Los Angeles Lakers in a preseason game held Friday at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif. The Suns led the Lakers 13-9 midway through the first quarter.
Ayton caught an entry pass in the paint against Suns center Oso Ighodaro. The newest Laker badly overshot a baby hook that clanged off the back of the rim. Booker let Ayton hear about it afterwards.
“Hell naw!” Booker was heard yelling after the miss.
Devin Booker screams “HELL NAH” after the Ayton miss. 🤣🤣
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 4, 2025
(via @ridiculouscage)
pic.twitter.com/f5EXo1W82m
The moment could have reasonably just been friendly banter between two former teammates. But Booker didn’t exactly have much to say about Ayton when the Suns guard was asked about the big man during a pregame media scrum.
“I guess we’ll just have to see,” Booker answered when asked about what Ayton brings to the Lakers.
Devin Booker when asked what his former teammate, Deandre Ayton, cam bring to this year’s Lakers team: “I mean, I guess we’ll just have to see” pic.twitter.com/WgtwUnVCu0
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 3, 2025
Ayton had an unceremonious exit from the Suns organization. He was shipped to the Portland Trail Blazers in the deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. The move came after Suns fans had grown tired of Ayton, who put up good stats but failed to live up to the lofty expectations many had for him on draft day.
A week before the trade, Ayton himself admitted that he felt like the “whole world” hated him. It remains unclear if Booker is among those haters. But judging by his Ayton-related interactions on Friday, they don’t exactly seem like the best of friends.
While Ayton’s on-court production is already considered polarizing, his off-court behavior is reportedly what pushed the Blazers to get rid of Ayton in the offseason.
