Devin Booker has spent his entire NBA career with the Phoenix Suns, and now he’s shared his reasoning behind that decision.

© Harry How/Getty ImagesDevin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during a 125-119 Suns win over the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome on October 31, 2024 in Inglewood, California.

The Phoenix Suns selected Devin Booker with the 13th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and since then, the shooting guard has remained with the organization, even during tough times, like this season. Now, the four-time NBA All-Star has explained why he’s chosen to stay.

“It’s not always greener on the other side,” Booker said in a recent interview with Logan Murdock for The Ringer.

“People always want to leave their situation and end up in a worse situation, and then they go missing. You’ll never have the love like you have from the team that drafted you.”

Speaking about what it means for him to continue playing with the Suns 10 years after entering the league, the guard also mentioned the affection he constantly receives from fans.

“It’s great people,” he said. “And there’s an untapped fan base that’s never been done here before, and that’s what everybody’s been waiting on.”

Indeed, fans in Phoenix are eager for the moment when they can celebrate the team’s first NBA title. They’ve come close three times: in 1976, 1993, and 2021. Booker, of course, was part of that last run, when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals.

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.

Booker’s expectations for this season with the Suns

Since those 2021 NBA Finals, the Suns have been striving to repeat that success. While they haven’t reached that level yet, they’ve remained in playoff contention for the last four seasons. This year, however, things have been more challenging.

“It’s been tough, it’s been a grind. We’re in a tough situation right now, but I think this is what we’ve been waiting on the whole time,” Devin Booker said about the Suns’ fight to crack the top 10 in the Western Conference and make it into the play-in tournament. “We put ourselves in this situation, so it feels like the playoffs already. We’ve got to have every game.”

Despite the team’s struggles, the guard remains confident in their chances. “We know we have the talent in the locker room to do it,” Booker said. “It’s going to be tough, but we’re here for it.”

Booker talks about Durant

In addition to the team’s push for the playoffs this year, the focus for the Suns right now is whether Kevin Durant will stay in Phoenix once the season ends. When asked if he’d like Durant to remain his teammate, Booker didn’t hesitate: “Hell yeah, I want to play alongside him.”

However, Devin also acknowledged that the team’s struggles might lead players to consider other destinations. “The team’s been in a tough situation. So, that’s the NBA today.

I think KD understands the business too, that when things aren’t going the right way, people are going to explore options,” he said. But ultimately, Booker expressed confidence based on how Durant is feeling in Phoenix: “You see his morale, you see how he feels about the city.”