Devin Booker And Phoenix Suns Cement Long-Term Partnership With Max Extension

The Phoenix Suns have always been home to superstar Devin Booker. They are synonymous with one another, representing a two-sided loyalty that only exists in a handful of NBA cities.

Their relationship remains fruitful, and it will carry on for the rest of the decade.

Booker and the Suns have agreed to a two-year, $145 million maximum contract extension that keeps him in the Valley through the 2029-30 season. The new deal takes Booker through his age-33 season, inching him closer to his goal of staying with one franchise from start to finish.

It’s now the richest annual extension salary in NBA history – breaking the record set by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only eight days ago.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Suns owner Mat Ishbia met with Booker and his representation Wednesday night in Las Vegas as they finalized the extension details. Ishbia’s tone and messaging regarding Booker’s future with the team hasn’t changed one bit. He’s repeatedly stated how critical Booker is to their culture and that he will not be traded. This was Ishbia putting his money where his mouth is, and stamping those sentiments with actions.

With Booker still having three years and $171 million remaining on his contract, this extension won’t kick in until the summer of 2028. As the league’s salary cap continues to rise, so will a player’s annual salary on a maximum contract.

Here is the breakdown of Booker’s projected earnings over the next five years:

• 2025-26: $53.1 million
• 2026-27: $57.1 million
• 2027-28: $61 million
• 2028-29 (extension): $69.9 million
• 2029-30 (extension): $75.5 million
• Total contract: $316.6 million over five years

Once his extension begins in 2028, he’ll receive an 8% raise the following year.

It’s important to point out these dollar amounts represent a certain percentage of the league’s cap. As a max player, Booker will still receive approximately 35% of the cap – which has already been the case for a few years. Considering the cap will likely balloon to $200 million by 2030, it’s best for fans to understand each player’s contract through the ‘percentage’ lens versus the raw value.

In the case of Booker, this deal makes complete sense for both parties.

Of course, there are mild concerns any time a player is extended with multiple years left on their current deal. Pessimists would argue it’s risky business, considering you’re betting heavily on the future when there’s a possibility of their production severely declining as they age. In some cases, it’s better to wait until their contract is on the verge of expiring instead of tying up your books for the next half-decade.

This logic shouldn’t apply to Booker’s deal, however. He’s still in the early stages of his prime.

Booker turns 29 in October. Given the context of his playstyle, size, and shot creation tactics, it’s silly to suggest his age will be a death sentence in the final years of the contract. His game doesn’t exactly rely on speed as much as other guards, and if there’s one thing Booker has demonstrated over the last few seasons, it’s that he can find new opportunities to evolve when defenses catch up to his strengths.

For the Suns, this is absolutely the correct path.

Sure, the organization wasn’t up against the clock and didn’t have to extend him right away. In theory, Phoenix could have let next season play out, reevaluated their situation, and worked in tandem with Booker to determine what’s next.

But what message does that send? To both the player you watched grow up in your environment and the future stars who might fall in the Suns’ lap.

Every single time, you pay your franchise cornerstone – the one who willingly has stuck beside you through all of the uncertainty. All of the culture shifts. All of the disappointing seasons before breaking through the door in 2021.

It’s not just about his talent. It’s about who the franchise is.

Booker is synonymous with Phoenix basketball. He’s the one fans rally behind. He’s the one who connects with the community and helped lead the charge during the most exciting time in Suns history. Between the surprise NBA Finals run that featured a 20-plus win improvement in 2021 and being a top-four MVP candidate during the franchise’s most dominant regular season in 2022, he quickly became an Arizona sports legend. And that counts for more than people realize.

Unless you’re the Mavericks, you simply don’t trade an icon that represents your team, city, and state with that much pride.

Also, the conversation would be different if Booker didn’t have a proven track record of attracting star talent to Phoenix.

But he does.

In the past five years, his influence helped draw Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal to the Valley. And here’s the thing – none of those guys were free agents. They maneuvered their way to Phoenix, either due to Booker’s private recruiting (in Beal’s case) or the close relationships he’s formed off the court.

Those guys ultimately don’t join the Suns without Booker setting the foundation, or changing the narrative in 2019-20 by nearly leading a young team to the playoffs. And throughout all of his pitches to free agents or disgruntled players around the league, you can guarantee he’s propping up the city of Phoenix – not just the basketball scene.

This record-breaking contract extension is fitting for Booker’s journey, considering he’s no stranger to raising the bar while donning the purple and orange.

Last season, in his 642nd carer game, he became Phoenix’s all-time leading scorer after demolishing a record that stood for nearly 39 years. Now, he’s ready to lap the field offensively:

The sustained excellence is what separates him from a lot of other dynamic combo guards. Although he took a slight step back last season with his 3-point efficiency, every other facet of his game remained consistent. He still gets to the line at a solid rate (6.2 attempts per 36 minutes), and his adaptability in various lineup contexts is a valuable trait to the Suns’ front office.

Many people don’t want to believe it, but he’s already positioned himself in some outstanding company, historically. Booker has averaged at least 24 points per game in eight of his first 10 seasons, joining a list of only 13 NBA legends to match or exceed that number:

Plus, this is only illustrating his scoring acumen – not taking into account the strides Booker has made as a passer over the years.

Following the departure of Paul, the Suns had to utilize Booker in more of a point guard role the last two seasons. There were certainly a few hiccups along the way, but he’s fresh off ranking in the top 10 of potential assists and points generated by assists. That’s in addition to being the league-leader in hockey assists.

In simpler terms, Booker isn’t afraid to get off the ball and empower others when he’s facing heavy defensive attention.

When you factor in the five assists per game he’s averaged in a Suns uniform, he’s one of just 11 players to combine this level of scoring and facilitating over the course of a career (minimum 600 games):

Booker’s loyalty to the Suns hasn’t wavered one time since walking up to the stage during the 2015 draft.

Not even in the darkest years when Phoenix couldn’t break 25 wins, suffered blowout losses every week, and repeatedly swapped out his coaching staff to prevent any stability.

Not even when the former owner was exposed for misogynistic and racist behavior.

And not even when the team locked itself into a Big Three that couldn’t stay healthy together.

Truthfully, if there was one superstar most people would salute for requesting out, it might be Booker. Nobody would blame him for wanting to take a detour and furthering his career elsewhere.

However, that’s not what he’s about. He embraces the responsibility of leading a team through the doldrums instead of running from failure.

Despite missing the playoffs for the first five seasons of his career, Booker stayed the course. He kept improving his skillset every offseason, evolving from a sharpshooter to well-rounded offensive engine with a terrific blend of downhill scoring and playmaking out of the pick-and-roll.

Each year, Booker applied new elements of his game and made tangible progress on both ends of the floor. All of the lessons he learned during the grind, mostly from veterans such as PJ Tucker, Tyson Chandler, and Chris Paul, allowed him to mold his leadership style and master the intangibles every No. 1 option needs.

More than anything, his willingness to endure and grow through the losing seasons helped build the type of character and level-headed approach that most of the all-time greats possess.

This kind of loyalty from a superstar is increasingly rare in today’s NBA, making the Suns’ reciprocation all the more important. If fans are longing for the good ol’ days of players trusting the process instead of running from challenges, Booker is one of the few who embody that movement.

Since 2009, only five players have logged at least 700 games with a single franchise. Booker is on that list, next to multi-time champions and MVP winners:

• Stephen Curry – 1,181 games
• Draymond Green – 1,050
• Giannis Antetokounmpo – 943
• Nikola Jokic – 839
• Devin Booker – 720

At the end of the day, a commitment of that magnitude is just cool to see, in any sport. If the Warriors, Bucks, or Nuggets front offices traded those generational talents against their will, each fanbase would riot.

That’s not the type of business the Suns brass could afford to do, especially after trading one future Hall-of-Famer in Durant without getting a ton of value for him.

While it’s true that Booker isn’t as transformative or dominant as Curry, Giannis, and Jokic and some may argue it’s not worth marrying your franchise to him with the same commitment, Phoenix would (justifiably) counter by saying it’s bigger than basketball.

When Ishbia purchased the team in 2023, one of his grand pillars – and promises to the fanbase – was community engagement. He wanted every leader in the Suns organization, not just players, to prioritize involvement with the fans and give back to those who make sporting events possible.

Nobody stamps that identity, or embraces those activities, more than Booker.

Look no further than his ‘Devin Booker Starting Five’ initiative, which launched in 2019 and spanned to 2024. Each year, Booker awarded five Arizona-based nonprofit organizations with a $100,000 grant, supporting their efforts to enrich the lives of underserved youth and families across the state. Overall, he pledged $2.5 million to 20 different youth-serving nonprofits as part of the program.

That’s in conjunction with his charitable efforts to refurbish basketball courts and local parks around the Valley, providing more than $250,000 in free dental care to support Special Olympics Arizona, and donating to various back-to-school clothing drives for families in need.

He was also named a Special Olympics Global Ambassador in April 2020, promoting inclusion through sports and developing meaningful connections with people facing intellectual disabilities.

You also can’t undersell the significance of Booker’s relationship to the Latino community. Through his Mexican heritage and roots that reflect the backgrounds of many local fans, Booker’s identity allows him to resonate with the city in a deeper manner than most superstars. It’s an extra layer that carries weight for fans and it can’t be separated from his on-court impact.

As much as analysts try to ditch the human element when evaluating contracts, that mentality can make you to lose sight of the bigger picture.

Franchise stars are more than just players. They are individuals who share a mutual love with the community. They are people the fans want to root for. Trading or disrespecting them is a sure-fire way to lose support, especially when they’ve done everything right from day one.

Booker’s career with the Suns – and the commitment both have made to each other – is all-encompassing.

The production on the court matters. The off-court relationships matter. The community involvement matters.

Booker planted his flag in Phoenix more than 10 years ago, and the Suns will do everything in their power to keep revamping the team around him.