Devin Armani Booker (born October 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, winning SEC Sixth Man of the Year before being drafted 13th overall by the Suns in the first round of the 2015 NBA draft. Booker is a five-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA member, and is the Suns' all-time leading scorer. He has also won gold medals with the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Olympic teams.
The son of former basketball player Melvin Booker, Devin debuted with Phoenix at 18 years old and quickly became one of the league’s top scorers. At 20, he became the youngest player to score over 60 points in a game, finishing with a Suns franchise record 70 against the Boston Celtics. At 22 years old, he became the youngest player in NBA history with consecutive 50-point games. Booker helped lead the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021 and earned All-NBA First Team honors in 2022 after a franchise-best 64-win season. In 2025, at 28, he became the Suns’ all-time leading scorer.
Contents
Early life
Booker is the son of Veronica Gutiérrez, a cosmetologist, and Melvin Booker, who was named the 1994 Big Eight Player of the Year while a point guard at Missouri. His parents met while his father was playing basketball for the Continental Basketball Association's Grand Rapids Hoops in Gutiérrez's hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Booker was born and raised in Grand Rapids, living with his mother, who is of Mexican descent while his African-American father pursued a professional basketball career internationally. He visited his father regularly during the summer. At age 12 while visiting him in Milan, he played one-on-one with Danilo Gallinari, then teammate of his father's at Olimpia Milano. Booker was taught by his father that having basketball IQ was just as important as natural athleticism. During his time in middle school, Booker became friends with future fellow NBA players D'Angelo Russell and Tyler Ulis.
High school career
Sophomore year
After playing for the freshman, junior varsity and varsity basketball teams during his freshman year at Grandville High School in Michigan, Booker moved to Mississippi to live with his father after the latter's retirement from professional basketball. He enrolled at Moss Point High School, where his father was hired as an assistant coach, in August 2011.
In his team's fifth game of the season—a 52–32 loss to Gulfport High School—Booker scored more points (17) than the rest of his teammates combined (15). In December, he hit a buzzer beater from just beyond half court to beat Harrison Central High School, improving Moss Point's record to 4–6 on the year. By early January, Press-Register sportswriter Creg Stephenson opined, "Sophomore guard Devin Booker has developed into one of the top players on the coast in his first season with the [Moss Point] Tigers' varsity, averaging 22.7 points per game."
In the Laurel MLK Shootout, Booker scored 54 points against Northeast Jones High School, falling nine shy of Litterial Green's Moss Point record for most points in a game, set in 1988. He followed up that performance with 32 points, including a game-winning three-pointer, against Murrah High School and was named ESPNHS.com's Southeast Player of the Week. At that time, his father told reporters that Booker was drawing interest from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Florida, Alabama, Georgetown, Michigan and Missouri.
Booker was limited to just 14 points, with no field goals made in the second half, in a 57–55 win over Gautier High School in the opening round of the Division 7-5A tournament. In the championship game against Pascagoula High School, Booker was held to single-digit scoring (8) for only the second time in the season as Moss Point lost 48–32, setting up an away game with defending state champion Wayne County High School in the first round of the South State playoffs. Wayne County focused their defense on Booker, holding him to a single, first-quarter free throw, en route to a 57–37 victory that ended Moss Point's season. For the year, Booker averaged 22.8 points per game and was named the South Mississippi Player of the Year by the Sun Herald, becoming just the second sophomore to be awarded the honor. In the announcement, the paper reported that Booker held scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgetown, Michigan and South Alabama.
In the summer following his sophomore year, Booker played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and participated in the Elite 100 Camp, the LeBron James King's Academy Camp, and the Kevin Durant Nike Skills Camp. These commitments caused him to miss the inaugural South Mississippi All-Star Basketball Showcase in May.
Junior year
With most of Moss Point's experienced players graduating, Booker switched to point guard for his junior year. In an early December game, Booker outscored the entire Ocean Springs High School team 40–39 through three quarters en route to a 48-point finish as Moss Point won 100–55. He followed up this performance with a 30-point outing, including 7 three-pointers, in a win over 54–37 win over Laurel High School in the second annual Melvin Booker Shootout, named in honor of his father. The following week, Booker left a game against Harrison Central High School in the third quarter with a sprained MCL; he had scored just 9 points, but grabbed 7 rebounds.
Booker's injury proved minor, and did not hamper him in Moss Point's next game, where he scored 26 points in a 52–48 loss to Davidson High School in the Jackie Laird Christmas Classic at Biloxi High School. On the second day of the Classic, Booker scored a season-high 49 points in an 80–65 win over Brewbaker Technology Magnet High School, a performance that added Duke to the list of schools recruiting him. In early January, Moss Point went 1–2 in the Poplar Bluff showdown in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, defeating Memphis' Kirby High School but losing to Maplewood Richmond Heights High School and host Poplar Bluff High School. University of Missouri fans attended en masse to cheer for Booker, who averaged 30.2 points over Moss Point's three games, hoping to entice him to play for the Tigers.
Booker scored a game-high 32 points in a 58–56 loss to Gulfport High School, the top-ranked team in Mississippi, in Moss Point's final game before divisional play, dropping the team's record to 6–11. Moss Point went 3–3 in Division 7-5A, finishing the divisional season with a 51–40 victory over Gautier High School. Booker, who struggled with his outside shot due to a wrap on his injured right wrist, hit all 17 of his free throws en route to a game-high 30 points in the win. Moss Point closed out the regular season with a 67–65 loss to Division 5-6A champion Hattiesburg High School, despite 43 points from Booker.
The following week, Moss Point faced a rematch with Gautier in the first round of the Division 7-5A tournament with a spot in the state tournament on the line. Moss Point fell 54–51 in double overtime, ending the team's season at 12–16. Booker scored 35 points in the loss, including 17 free throws. For the year, he averaged 29.7 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game while carrying a 3.81 grade point average. He was named to the Division 7-5A All-Division team and was the division's MVP. In March, he was named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year for 2013, and in April, he became the second player ever to win the Sun Herald Player of the Year Award in consecutive seasons.
Senior year
During the summer of 2013, Booker participated in the Kevin Durant Skills Academy, the LeBron James Skills Academy, the CP3 Elite Guard Camp, and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 camp. His fellow participants in the NBPA camp voted him to the camp's 10-man all-star team. Booker also participated against international competition at the Nike Global Challenge. At the Under Armour Elite 24 showcase, he won the three-point shooting contest. In August 2013, Booker narrowed his list of potential college choices to Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Michigan State, and Kentucky. He took an official visit to the University of Kentucky on the weekend of September 9 to watch an alumni exhibition game; fellow 2014 prospects Jahlil Okafor and Tyler Ulis also attended.
Near the beginning of October, his high school coach said Booker would announce his college choice on October 31 after taking official visits to Michigan and Missouri; he also stated that Booker was no longer considering Florida. Booker stated that ESPN had offered him the chance to make his announcement on live television, but he declined, saying he didn't want the pressure of such an event and that he wanted to keep the date flexible to allow his family from Michigan to attend. At an October 31 ceremony at his high school gymnasium, Booker announced he had chosen Kentucky, citing the program's history and his affinity for coach John Calipari as primary factors in his decision. He, Tyler Ulis, Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles all signed National Letters of Intent to play for Kentucky on November 13, the first day of the official signing period.
In December, Booker's Moss Point team traveled to the Marshall County Hoop Fest in Marshall County, Kentucky, to play Louisville's Ballard High School, the top-rated high school team in the state. Booker led his team in points (40), rebounds (9), and assists (2) while shooting 50% from the field and 20-for-24 from the free throw line, but his team lost the game. Two games later, he scored a season-high 45 points in a 78–67 loss to Alabama's McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in the Melvin Booker Shootout. Although Moss Point lost all three games they played in the late-December HighSchoolOT.com Invitational, Booker's 111 total points over those three games fell just four short of Donald Williams' 1991 record for the event.
Booker's 38-point performance in a January 31 win against Pass Christian High School made him Moss Point's all-time career scoring leader with 2,263 points, surpassing the 2006 mark of 2,251 set by David Booker (no relation). Moss Point won Mississippi's Region 8-4A regular season and tournament championships before ending their season with a 61–56 loss to McComb High School in the Class 4A South State Finals. Booker scored 42 points in the loss, including 26 in the fourth quarter. He averaged 30.9 points per game in his senior season and finished his three-year career at Moss Point with 2,518 points. After the season, he was named to the USA Today All-USA third team.
College career
In Kentucky's first exhibition game against the University of Pikeville on November 2, 2014, Booker was the team's second leading scorer with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including two three-pointers; he also had three assists.
After a standout 15-point, 6-rebound, 7-assist game against Boston University, Booker posted a then-season-high 18 points in a November 23 win against Montana State. He led the team in scoring, shooting 6-of-8 from the field with 3 three-pointers. In Kentucky's next game against Texas-Arlington, Booker set a new season high with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including five made three-pointers, in a 92–44 win.
In 38 games for Kentucky in 2014–15, Booker averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 21.5 minutes per game. He subsequently earned SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and the All-SEC Second Team.
On April 9, 2015, Booker declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. He was joined by fellow Kentucky teammates Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Professional career
Phoenix Suns (2015–present)
On June 25, 2015, Booker was selected as the thirteenth overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 2015 NBA draft.
On July 13, Booker signed his rookie-scale contract with the Suns, and in seven subsequent Summer League games, he averaged 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. He went on to make his NBA debut two days before his 19th birthday, in the Suns' season opener against the Dallas Mavericks. In 21 minutes of action against the Mavericks, he scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in a 111–95 loss.
On January 2, 2016, Booker scored a then season-high 21 points in a 142–119 loss to the Sacramento Kings. On January 19, he scored 32 points in a 97–94 loss to the Indiana Pacers, setting a Suns' rookie record with six three-pointers. Booker became the third-youngest player in NBA history at 19 years, 81 days old to record a 30-point game, behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant, as well as the youngest Suns player to score 30 or more points in a game. Booker participated for Team USA in the 2016 Rising Stars Challenge. He also competed in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, becoming the youngest contestant ever to participate in the event and only the fourth rookie to compete in the 30-year-old contest, joining Stephen Curry (2010), Kyle Korver (2004) and Dennis Scott (1991). He made it to the final round of the event, where he finished third behind the "Splash Brothers" – Curry and Klay Thompson (winner).
On March 3, Booker scored a then-career-high 34 points in a loss to the Miami Heat, On March 10, Booker recorded a career-high 35 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. Throughout the month of March, Booker led all rookies in points (22.4) and assists (4.9) per game. On April 9, with 16 points scored in a 121–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Booker reached 1,014 for the season, making him the fourth-youngest player to reach 1,000 career points, following only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant, as well as the third-youngest during their rookie season. Booker finished fourth in the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting and earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors. He became the first Suns player to be named as a member of the All-Rookie Team since Amar'e Stoudemire in 2003.
During the offseason, Booker trained with head coach Earl Watson and former NBA player Baron Davis at UCLA, was invited to be on the select team that practices against Team USA in preparation for the Summer Olympics, and played two games for the Suns during the Las Vegas Summer League. With teammate Eric Bledsoe returning from injury in 2016–17, Booker was retained as the starting shooting guard while Brandon Knight was moved to the bench. Booker scored career highs of 38 points and 39 points on November 4 and 6.
National team career
Due to his mother's ethnic background, Booker drew interest from the Mexican and U.S. national teams. He played on the 2016 USA Select Team that trained against the 2016 U.S. Olympic team. In February 2020, he was named a finalist to play on the 2020 Olympic team. However, the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Booker and Team USA won the Olympic gold medal in men's basketball. He was named to the 2024 Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He played a crucial role on Team USA leading up to their gold medal win on August 10, with head coach Steve Kerr calling Booker their "unsung MVP" throughout their run.
Career statistics
Personal life
Booker's maternal grandfather is from Mexico. Devin is the only child of his father, Melvin Booker, a former professional basketball player. In 2020, Booker was named a global ambassador to the Special Olympics for his support for his younger half-sister who has microdeletion syndrome, a genetic chromosomal disorder.
From June 2020 to October 2022, Booker was in a relationship with Kendall Jenner, a member of the Kardashian family.
A Michigan native, Booker is a Detroit sports fan, frequently sporting attire from the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Lions.
Booker has his own charitable foundation called the Starting Five, which grants five nonprofit organizations $100,000 each, and planned to donate $500,000 to Phoenix charities per year for 5 years as of 2020.
In 2019, Booker bought a 5,590 sq ft (519 m2) house in Paradise Valley, Arizona, for $3.5 million.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III added Booker as a playable operator for Warzone. The pack was released on May 3, 2024, and is titled "Tracer Pack: D Book Was Here bundle".