Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns are synonymous with winning. The rise began when Chris Paul joined the team. During the 2020-21 season, he helped them reach the Finals. The team lost to the Bucks, but it was an incredible playoff run. Then the team nabbed the best Regular Season record in the 2021-22 season. However, the run ended in West Semis. This year too, it ended in the Semis. 

Amidst these runs that fell short of expectations, changes were imminent. 

Devin Booker will have a different core this time around

When Kevin Durant joined the Suns last season, it may have been too late. The last quarter of the Regular Season was in the works. After a dismal two-thirds of the season, Durant helped the Suns to generate winning streaks. However, they fell to Jokic and co. in the Semis. To bring Durant, the team had traded a defensive stopper for Mikal Bridges. They also shipped Cameron Johnson to part ways with two of the players originally drafted by them.

Apart from that, in the offseason, they made a major move by trading away Chris Paul. However, they kept one of their draftees, DeAndre Ayton. The Center has been a part of the core since the beginning of his NBA career. He spent formative seasons in the league with Bridges and Johnson. He developed great Pick N Roll chemistry with both Paul and Booker.

 The Suns’ fans expected him to become a 20+ Points scorer who can impose his will. But his averages of 18 points and 10 rebounds a game are identical to his prior seasons and haven’t seen an increase. That is why he received a lot of backlash for not upping his numbers after signing a four-year $132 million contract after a strong 2020-21 season. A tumultuous 2022-23 season didn’t help the case either, as the Center was growing impatient.

Talking about the bashing by fans, the Center is motivated to elevate his game. In a video posted by News Eyewitness Bahamas, he reveals, “I can feel the whole world hating me in a way, I’m the guy a lot of people point at and I see it and feel it, but mainly what I’ve been working on five to six days a week since we’ve lost is just motivating myself to change the narrative of what people think about me.”

The motivation is a part of the abandonment he is facing.

The lonely world of Ayton

Despite sticking with the Suns through thick and thin, and putting up above-average numbers, the Center feels lonely. Talking about the lack of support, he adds, “No matter how you put it, I feel like I have no fans out there and I can feel it because the whole world is saying it. My goal is over the summer is to change the narrative. Just unlock whatever it is and just completely just focus on me and change the whole thing.”

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The Center feels abandoned by fans. The hatred projected at him has led him to believe that no one cheers for him from the stands. That’s why he wants to transform his game to “change the narrative”.

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Will they cheer for him next season?