Rise of Devin Booker Featured in NY Times, Washington Post

Devin Booker has become a household name in the Valley of the Sun.

Now national writers are flocking to Phoenix to see for themselves what all the fuss is about.

A week after Booker became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 38 points in consecutive games, three different publications penned profile pieces on the second-year Suns guard.

Below are links to and highlights from each:

The story delves into how Booker developed his game growing up as a teenager in Mississippi with his dad, Melvin, who played professionally in the NBA and across Europe.

"Devin Booker can remember his alarm going off at 4:30 a.m. The idea was to beat the summer heat when he and his father arrived at the beach for their morning workout. So Booker would rub the sleep from his eyes and then go about the unpleasant business of becoming a better basketball player."

After Booker's breakout rookie campaign, the article follows how the 20-year-old has handled the expectations of a franchise building its future around him.

"He hasn’t stopped running, either. If there was any doubt Booker wasn’t ready to accept the mantle of being The Guy in Phoenix, he’s quickly dispelled that notion with his play through the opening few weeks of the regular season."

This post focuses on Booker's versatile skill set and how he modeled his game after many legends in the NBA.

"Booker credits aspects of his offensive repertoire to simply being a student of the game. Growing up in Michigan when the Pistons were in their heyday during the mid-2000s, Booker became a big fan of Rip Hamilton and has since developed a small relationship with the former All-Star guard. Hamilton texted Booker before the start of the season and told him to be aggressive right from the opening tip, advice that the Suns guard has embraced."