When it comes to duos, there’s nobody better than the combined talents of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
When it comes to superstars, look no further than the Phoenix Suns.
Thanks to new owner Mat Ishbia, the team has acquired massive names such as Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal within the last six months to pair alongside Devin Booker in the Valley.
The Suns now have what many consider to be a championship worthy roster, and though they were able to round their roster out with key veterans in free agency, their ability to collect stars should be the ultimate driver to a franchise first NBA Finals title.
Specifically, the duo of Durant-Booker was incredible to watch in the later part of the season for Phoenix. There’s hope they can piece together even more incredible outings in the future.
Where exactly does that duo rank in the NBA?
Bleacher Report pegged Booker and Durant as the top superstar duo in the league:
“While Durant and Booker played just 19 games together in the regular season and playoffs following a midseason trade, there’s enough evidence to suggest this will be the best duo in basketball in 2023-24,” wrote Greg Swartz.
“The net rating jumps off the page immediately, as the Suns went a perfect 8-0 during the regular season with Durant and Booker. Both the team’s offense (124.7 rating, 98th percentile) and defense (106.4 rating, 98th percentile) were elite with the two superstars on the floor.
“Booker led all players in playoff scoring (33.7 points per game), knocking down 58.5 percent of his shots from the field in part due to defenses being forced to pay so much attention to Durant. The two-time Finals MVP averaged 29.0 points in the playoffs himself, as he and Booker became the first teammates in history to put up at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists each in consecutive playoffs games. They did so against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets, with the Suns being the only team to push Denver to six games in any of their four series while combining for 86(!!!) points in a Game 3 win.
“Phoenix has done an excellent job of putting complementary talent around them this summer, from adding Bradley Beal as a third scoring threat to signing plenty of floor-spacers to keep things open (Eric Gordon, Yuta Watanabe, Keita Bates-Diop, Bol Bol, etc.).
“Durant seems more than willing to take a back seat to Booker, the best shooting guard in basketball—and he’s only 26. Give these two a full training camp together to really work on chemistry and this will be the best star duo in the NBA.”
The pairing finished ahead of:
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday
3. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray
4. LeBron James and Anthony Davis
5. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving
