Devin Booker’s Historic Playoff Performance: Could He Be the Best Offensive Player in NBA History?

How does it feel to hear a player average 26 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting? The hit rate numbers are pretty cool. Derrick Rose was MVP for scoring fewer points (25) and shooting slightly worse (44.5 percent). This kind of performance is at least worthy of the best NBA team in the regular season. If it is in the playoffs, this is an even more amazing performance. “Stunning” is exactly the word that Devin Booker can aptly describe in this year’s playoffs.

To be honest, this may not even be enough to describe him. After all, Devin Booker not only averaged 26 points per game and shot 47.6% in the 2023 playoffs, but this was his worst individual performance in the playoffs.

In Game 1 against the Clippers, Booker opened the playoffs with 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting. He has only scored 30 or less in one game since then. , he scored exactly 30 points on 10-for-21 shooting, one of only two games in the playoffs in which he missed more shots than made them.

Booker’s performance in this playoffs is like this. When the Suns trailed the Nuggets 2-0 in the second round, Booker tied the next two games with 83 points and more than 79% shooting. The facing defense will even ignore his teammates in order to double-team Booker. And yet he overwhelmed opponents for it, dishing out 12 assists in a Game 4 win, and in the process becoming the first player in the NBA to score at least 35 points and shoot at least 75 percent from the field in two consecutive playoff games. players.

Although the Suns were eliminated, Booker’s brilliant performance made “NBA history” a term that everyone often hears. Although it may be limited to the second round, Booker did create history. His performance will make everyone discuss whether he is “NBA history” Best Offensive Player of the Playoffs,” and here are his outstanding performances.

1. Booker averaged 36.8 points per game in the playoffs. Among all players who played at least 8 games in a playoff game (equal to participating in at least two rounds), his scoring average ranked fourth in NBA history, ranking The three players ahead of him are all players from 60 years ago: Elgin Baylor in 1961 (38.1), Elgin Baylor in 1962 (38.2) and Jerry West in 1965 (40.6). The next two players behind him are Michael Jordan’s 36.7 points per game in two seasons, and LeBron James’ 35.3 points in 2009.

2. As of G4, Booker is shooting 61.7 percent in the playoffs, setting a new record for a player with 30-plus points in the NBA playoffs and surpassing Shaquille O’Neal’s 61.2 percent in the 1998 playoffs. To find a player who scored better and played at least 8 playoff games, you might have to go all the way to James Worthy’s 62.2 percent in 1985, but he averaged only 21.5 points per game.

3. Booker’s three-point shooting rate is close to 51%. Among the players with more than 20 points in NBA history, only 8 players have made at least one three-pointer per game in the entire playoffs and have a three-pointer percentage of more than 50. %, Booker is the first player to score more than 30 and achieve this achievement.

4. Booker has made just six free throws a game in this stretch. Only Stephen Curry and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have fewer free throws in the playoffs and each scored more than 30 free throws.

There was no gimmick involved, Booker didn’t take advantage of any rule loopholes or find weak spots in the defense to help him score, and what we saw was all-time god-level performance.

At that time, the Suns needed him to maintain this performance if they wanted to survive in the playoffs. Kevin Durant has done enough. There are enough data to show that in addition to Booker’s individual outstanding performance, their combination also had the potential to perform amazingly. But Except for him? The Suns paid $30 million to bench CP3 with an injury, and even when he was in good shape, he averaged a career low in any playoff offense, and DeAndre Ayton scored four points in Game 3 before being pulled.

The Suns had title contention with Booker and Durant, but the rest of the roster doesn’t look like a championship team.

Not all championship rosters are flawless, and each team is given a fair year. If the best players are good enough, even a slightly flawed team can have a chance. Booker far exceeds “Good enough”, if he can lead the Suns to win another 10 games, he will undoubtedly be the best offensive player in the playoffs in NBA history.

[Contributing Editor Lin Yi/Responsible Editor Xie Yiqian]

This article is compiled for reference:Devin Booker might be having the greatest offensive postseason in NBA history

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