Despite an outstanding week, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker missed out on his third Western Conference Player of the Week this season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving instead won the award, the first time he has been named a conference Player of the Week since the 2014-15 season, one year before Booker came into the NBA.
You could certainly make the argument that Booker should have gotten the award.
This was the fifth time Irving has won the award in his career, while Booker has achieved the honor nine times.
Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama were also nominated for the award.
The Eastern Conference Player of the Week went to Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Other nominees…
West: Devin Booker (PHX), Anthony Davis (LAL), Luka Dončić (DAL), Rudy Gobert (MIN) and Victor Wembanyama (SAS)
East: Paolo Banchero (ORL), Jalen Brunson (NYK), Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey (PHI), and Tyrese Haliburton (IND) https://t.co/uOye15im29
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 8, 2024
Game-by-Game Stats
For more context, here are the game-by-game stats for Booker and Irving, highlighted by a 48-point performance by Irving last night and a 52-point outing by Booker last Monday.
Booker:
- April 1 in 124-111 win over Pelicans: 52 points on 19-28 (67.9%) FG and 8-16 (50%) 3PT | 9 assists | 3 rebounds | 1 block | 3 turnovers
- April 3 in 122-101 win over Cavaliers: 40 points on 13-25 (52%) FG and 5-9 (55.9%) 3PT | 8 assists | 1 rebound | 1 steal | 4 turnovers
- April 5 in 97-87 win over Timberwolves: 13 points on 3-12 (25%) FG and 1-5 (20%) 3PT | 13 assists | 3 rebounds | 3 steals | 7 turnovers
- April 7 in 113-105 loss to Pelicans: 25 points on 9-16 (56.3%) FG and 0-6 3PT | 7 assists | 3 rebounds | 1 steal | 4 turnovers
Irving:
- April 2 in 194-100 loss to Warriors: 27 points on 10-19 (52.6%) FG and 4-8 (50%) 3PT | 2 assists | 1 rebound | 3 steals | 1 block | 4 turnovers
- April 4 in 109-95 win over Hawks: 26 points on 10-21 (47.6%) FG and 3-7 (42.9%) 3PT | 5 rebounds | 1 assists | 1 block | 4 turnovers
- April 5 in 108-106 win over Warriors: 26 points on 9-19 (47.4%) FG and 2-7 (28.6%) 3PT | 8 rebounds | 7 assists | 2 steals | 1 block | 5 turnovers
- April 7 in 147-136 OT win over Rockets: 48 point son 15-25 (60%) FG and 3-8 (37.5%) 3 PT | 7 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal | 2 turnovers
As you can tell by those stats, Irving was more consistent and Booker’s poor shooting performance against the Timberwolves coupled with going 0-for-6 from downtown in last night’s loss to the Pelicans probably set him back. However, Booker did have two consecutive 40-point games and was way above Irving in assists.
Devin Booker awarded second Western Conference Player of the Week this season
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
