During the 2024-25 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns were a mess. Although they had three talented scorers in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, they couldn’t make things work. It was their second season together, and they were expected to perform better than the previous year. Unfortunately for the Suns, it got worse, and the team finished with a 36-46 record, missing the playoffs.
This summer, there were significant changes to the Suns’ roster. The front office orchestrated trading away Durant to the Houston Rockets in a record, seven-team deal. In return, Phoenix received Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, three first-round picks in the 2025 NBA draft and two future picks. They also had Beal agree to a contract buyout.
This left Booker as the lone star on the team. The Phoenix Suns star discussed what went wrong with the squad the previous season during their Media Day on Wednesday. According to the four-time All-Star, there was a bit of “disconnect” among the players since they didn’t have the same goals.
“There was a disconnect. I don’t think there was any hatred in our last group amongst the guys. I just think when you are all on a different plan and don’t have the same common goal or same objective than that’s what it turns into,” Booker said during his interview at “The Burns & Gambo Show”.
"Definitely the toughest two years of my career."
Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker discusses why the last couple of seasons were more difficult to navigate than even the lean years when winning didn't come easy.@BurnsAndGambo pic.twitter.com/AgcUrJubYK
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) September 25, 2025
According to Booker, the last two years were even harder than his first two in the league.
“Oh yea, way harder… We had started a rebuild then. And this last couple of years, it was a win a championship or bust. And we didn’t even make the Play-In. Definitely the toughest two years of my career.”
A former NBA player has demands for the Phoenix Suns star
It’s a new challenge for Booker and the Phoenix Suns next season. There have been predictions and polls, expecting them to be one of the worst teams in the league. The pressure is on the team, and more importantly, on the former Kentucky guard, according to former NBA player Kendrick Perkins.
Perkins demands that Booker step up and prove that he’s capable of leading the team during the recent episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today.”
“I’m looking at Devin Booker right now and saying, he’s on the clock,” Perkins said. “When I say on the clock, it’s time for Devin Booker to show the world that he belongs…”
“Can he be that guy, that number one option of this Phoenix Suns franchise? Yes, he went to the finals three or four years ago, but he had CP3, he had DeAndre Ayton…”
For Booker’s 11th year in the league, there’s a lot at stake and pressure.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
