Devin Booker is Breaking the Rules…

Devin Booker is Breaking the Rules…

In last year’s playoffs Devon Booker went on one of the craziest shooting runs you’ll ever see he made over 50% of his threes 56% of his mid-range shots had back-to-back games against Denver where he averaged 41 points on 89% true shooting I mean we’re talking about some

Video game numbers the thing is the Run only lasted 11 games and revolved around him knocking down impossibly tough shots at a seemingly unsustainable rate so a lot of people just chocked it up to hot shooting over a small sample but 45 games into this season he’s taking a

Real similar diet of shots yet remains incredibly efficient which makes me wonder if we’re actually just watching one of the best shotmakers in NBA history to understand why he takes so many tough shots we first got to look at why he doesn’t get many easy ones of

Course the easiest shots come at the rim and despite being an aggressive attacker he doesn’t create those opportunities as much as some other primary ball handlers when it comes to slashing I think there are four major traits that the best of the best possess the first is a tight

Handle when defenses sit in your lanes or load up how can you navigate your way to the paint without losing the ball the other three are all physical tools you’ve got burst and I’m not just talking about sheer speed but how good you are at accelerating sometimes a

Simple change of pace can get you right by a Defender then there’s length if there’s a small Gap in the defense or you get just half a step down the lane the ability to take one or two long strides can be the difference between a layup or getting cut off completely and

Finally the last one is strength if you do get cut off and can just go through the defender well all of your problems are solved when you think of the game’s best drivers they usually check most of these boxes and if not are in the top

Tier in one or two of them for example sheay gilis Alexander is Elite at changing speeds has an amazing handle and is incredibly lengthy or how about Giannis he might not have the handle of sheay but best believe his combination of burst strength and length has turned

Him into a literal freight train I think you get the idea and all that’s to say Devin Booker doesn’t have these luxuries it’s not that these categories are weaknesses just that they aren’t strengths he doesn’t have that jarring First Step that can leave defenders in the dust and he’s not very lengthy so

It’s tough for him to capitalize on small advantages when extra help comes he’s not as comfortable handling the ball through tight quarters and doesn’t change directions very quickly so a lot of times you’ll see him pick up his dribble early and go to a pull-up jumper what you’re looking at right here is

Every player in the NBA averaging at least five drives a game and how many times they shoot at The Rim all the way on the right you’ve got the the volume slashers guys who are in Non-Stop attack mode and get to the basket at a high

Rate up top you’ve got the kings of Rim pressure yeah they’ll drive a lot but they’ll get there in other ways as well separating themselves from the pack as interior scorers and as you look towards the bottom you’ll find a conglomeration of guys who drive a lot but don’t always

Take it to the rack that’s where you’ll find Devin Booker only taking three shots at The Rim per game now it’s worth noting that when he does get there his touch around the basket is incredible he’s comfortable scoring through contact has an amazing offhand can go to a bunch

Of different release angles which has helped him to over 75% shooting this season good for the 92nd percentile so although he doesn’t have the volume of some other guys there aren’t many better at converting he pairs that interior finishing with some really nice outside shooting his his pull-up jumper is about

As smooth as it gets he’ll get into shots off the dribble from his left or right hip while stepping back or drifting in either direction through seemingly impossible Windows he especially likes going to these shots out of the high pick and roll biombo comes up near the three-point line to

Take away that space so Booker just pulls from multiple feet behind it he also loves these shots in transition if nobody slows his momentum by the time he crosses half court he’ll set up some absolute bomb over the last three seasons he’s hit 34% of his off the dribble threes Landing

Him in the 62nd percentile and if you look at just this year he’s up to over 35% it’s a pretty good Mark especially when considering the degree of difficulty but it’s not quite good enough to get him to that top tier as a result he’d rather use the threat of his

Three-point shooting as a way to create other avenues this one starts with the high ball screen he hesit Ates at the line to freeze the big before continuing his attack and gets to a mid-range jumper I won’t say the mid-range shot is frowned upon in today’s NBA but it’s

Certainly not what it used to be back in 2001 just 46% of all shot attempts came either at The Rim or from three meaning that more than half were taken in the mid-range you can see how the average shot diet changed over the years in 2005

You had Mike Danton Suns put an emphasis on Pace and space which sparked some change around the league for years to come steadily increasing until you arrive in 2015 when Steph Curry and the Warriors won their first chip from there the growth became exponential and before

It had a chance to slow down Along Came Dan Tony’s Rockets shooting threes at a neverbe seen rate that takes us to 20120 where the league hid an alltime Peak More than 70% of all shot attempts from from Insider out since then it’s steadied and in 2024 we’re looking at just under

69% what was once a majority has now turned into a scarcity with the mid-range you want to know where Booker lands all the way down here 45.8% of his shots come either at The Rim or from three which would be below the League’s average when Shaq and Kobe

Were winning their second title before Jordan ever played for the Wizards while LeBron was was just in high school you get the picture so with the shot diet of Latrell Sprewell how in the world does he have the efficiency of peak James Harden well a lot of it comes down to

How good he is at operating in the mid-range this season he’s attempting just under 11 mid-range shots every 75 possessions seventh in the NBA and hitting almost 50% of them that’s some Elite production a lot of guys who specialize in the in between game have preferences in how they get into their

Jumpers that could be which hip they want to pull from which direction they like to be moving in while setting their feet but when it comes to Booker there’s no real limitation this one starts with a drive left and the speed at which he gets the ball up off the floor into the

Apex of his release makes contesting it nearly impossible and here’s another one except this time driving right the entire motion is just so quick when working with a live dribble on his left side he can throw a hanging hesitation straight into a pull-up or he can cross

Back to his right and pull up from that hip with the same sort of speed and just as quickly as he goes from left to right he’ll go right to left there’s no taking this guy out of his comfort zone because he can get into his shot in so many ways

That also means any method for creating space is on the table his go-to is contact he’s really good at getting Defenders either on his hip or leaning in a specific Direction and from there he’ll use his shoulder to create space this one starts with a drive left and as

Soon as his man starts backpedaling he attacks the lower body while stepping back which gives him a few feet of room to knock it down and this time it’s going to be a drive right once again as soon as his Defender backpedals he’s using his off arm as a weapon while

Pulling back just look at how much separation he creates that might as well be a warm-up jumper another thing you’ll see Booker do out of drives is throw the shoulder bump while jump stopping he’s got a pretty high release point so he’s able to just rise right over most

Defenders a few possessions after that last one he went back to the exact same move against Dean chenzo except this time it’s an up fake to create even more space and that’s just masterful stuff so you’ve got bumps step backs jump stops up fakes he can also spin into these

Jumpers I know I sound like a broken record but look at how much separation he created all of these tools work together as a series of counters this one starts with an up fake then a quick spin as he hunts for a bigger opening which leaves him with another wideopen

Look it’s worth noting though that he doesn’t actually need all of that space to pose a big threat on this one he goes to the spin move but it gets played perfectly no sort of Separation whatsoever yet he still rises up in his defender’s grill with some nice touch

Off the rim he’s one of those rare players that makes you feel like a contest just doesn’t matter once again it’s the spin that gets defended well and he leans back so that he can still find an angle those midair body adjustments are possible because you can

Still make shots while off balance look at the footwork on this one he creates a lot of space but that’s still a really difficult shot due to the fact that he’s almost almost falling out of bounds well difficult for most people because the turnaround fade over his left shoulder

Is actually a go-to when playing out of the post this back to the basket game is often used as a way for him to punish smaller matchups and boy does that tough shot making really stand out steps all over him on this one and actually fouls

Him while not giving him any space to land he remains unfazed the level of comfort he has taking jumpers while heavily contesting or completely off balance means he kind of has unlimited access whenever he wants if he finds himself in a bad position he’ll use his pivot to hunt for

Any sort of angle he picks up his dribble in the paint with nowhere to go and with some crafty footwork he finds himself spinning into one of those Baseline Fades a lot of these are rightfully considered bad shots but he’s so good at them that sometimes you have

To ask yourself if it even matters and that ability to just go over over the top of anyone allows Booker to counter more aggressive defenses on this one the Hawks are in his zone so when he goes to a quick move off the catch there’s no

Angle to the basket that’s where a quick hitting pull up midi can make all the difference this time he Spott it up in the corner and beats a hard close out only for a second Defender to come flying in front of him so he just shoots over him the most important thing is

That he doesn’t always need good spacing when he starts this drive the paint is completely packed with jiren Jackson essentially playing middle linebacker being able to still get a good shot off from about 15 ft out is what separates a lot of players come playoff time a large majority of these mid-range

Opportunities actually start in the high pick and roll I talked about how quickly he can pull up so when a big is back in drop he’ll get to an automatic jumper here’s another example he turns the corner on a drive and hunts for that pull-up midi only to throw one of those

Up fakes with nobody left to contest when there isn’t an angle for him to quickly attack you’ll see him pause and read the situation before finding something else he’s one of the game’s most patient pick and roll operators whenever he can’t find a shot he likes

He’ll keep his drib alive and hunt for any sort of space to get into one of those jumpers something you’ll see him do quite a bit is put defenders in jail either on his backside or one of his hips before stepping into open space here it is again except this time when

He s side steps the big bites so he hesitates before starting a drive and takes it all the way that sort of brings us full circle because while Devin Booker is as good as anyone in the league at making tough shots that’s not to say he doesn’t still get some easy

Opportunities with this current son’s roster he’s been asked to take on a lot more on ball responsibility essentially playing point guard but he still spends a decent amount of time away from the ball where he’s super effective they’ll run him off of screens for mid-range jumpers or threes and he can of course

Hit on the Move he’s also a really smart decision maker in these spots so he can counter aggressive coverages with sharp cutting for some free points down low it isn’t just set action though he’s one of the best spot-up shooters in the NBA over the last three seasons he’s hit

About 44% of his threes off the catch we’re talking about someone who you cannot leave open and as soon as he draws a hard close out he’s great at making reads so he’ll attack and create easy offense that way in addition to the halfcourt game he’s one of the best

Transition scorers in the League this season he’s seventh at 6.4 points a game while doing so on an incredible 1.35 points per possession good for the 88th percentile and when you step back and look at his game in its entirety it’s easy easy to see why he puts up some

Absurd scoring numbers with the ball in his hands he doesn’t get to the rim too much but capitalizes when he’s there he’s got a pretty good off the dribble three-point game but isn’t quite launching them at the volume of the best of the best and he’s one of the greatest

Mid-range scorers in the NBA capable of creating opportunities for himself in seemingly every way imaginable then he’s got a lethal off ball Arsenal movement and spot up shooting sharp cutting and quick reads off the catch you also sprinkle in the fact that he’s Elite in transition and gets to the free throw

Line at a high rate that’s where you start to see some nice efficiency right now he’s just under 62% true shooting more than 3% ahead of the League’s average in the second highest Mark of his career then you start to think about how he leverages that scoring into

Opportunities for others with how much his passing has developed and now we’re talking about one of the most valuable offensive players in the NBA this season with him on the floor the Suns have scored over 123 points every 100 possessions amazing and with him on the

Bench not quite as good just a measly 11.8 if you throw Durant next to him the Suns have been at an offensive rating of 125 scorching hot but what I think is most impressive is that they’re still over 120 when Booker out there without KD as for KD without book it falls a

Little bit to about 118 and with neither on well it’s probably not even worth talking about all that’s to say don’t take Devin Booker for granted just because he’s Breaking All the Rules with the way the league shaped up stars are expected to either be elite slashers or top tier pull-up three-point Shooters

Yet he’s one of the few guys keeping that older game alive surgically picking apart defenses in a way that not many can replicate if you enjoyed this breakdown make sure to drop a like subscribe and turn my post notifications on to be first on more content if you’re

Interested in my more in-depth research make sure to check out my website and social media profiles you can find those links in the description feel free to let me know down in the comments what you think of Booker as always I hope you all have a great day and I’ll catch you

Guys in the next one

Devin Booker doesn’t fit the mold of what a superstar “should be” in the modern NBA, yet he picks apart defenses in ways not many can replicate.

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