PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were both instrumental in the dramatic 17-point comeback for the U.S. over Serbia yesterday in a 95-91 victory.
Booker used the comeback to send a jab back at Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The former first-round draft pick by the Suns in 2014 is now a key contributor with the Atlanta Hawks – and is likely the second best player out of the country behind Nikola Jokic.
He led Serbia with 20 points yesterday, but sent some shockwaves throughout the U.S. by doing Carmelo Anthony’s signature three-point celebration (with the player himself in attendance) after knocking down a shot mid-game, along with presumably sharing some choice words with LeBron James.
Booker took to Instagram after the game to post a picture of him doing the very same Anthony celebration, while captioning it with “respect the legends” and tagging the future hall of fame forward on the story.
Booker’s longstanding respect for the history of the game and those that came before has been a large part of what has endeared him to the NBA community.
He has shown noted and consistent respect for legends from Ray Allen, to the late Kobe Bryant, to Anthony – much of that can be attributed to how far he has come in his career in Phoenix as well.
Booker only chipped in six points in this contest, but played the entire fourth quarter, played admirable defense on nearly every possession, and hit a huge three-point shot about midway through the final frame to continue the momentum towards victory.
The potential two-time gold medalist has taken what those before him have left and will look to carry the momentum into bringing the first ever NBA title to Phoenix in 2025 – which would cement the legend status that he is very much heading towards.