When a friend offered to take Devin Booker to Roden Crater for the first time in 2020, he couldn’t miss out on the chance to meet James Turrell himself and see his work on the grandest scale. It just so happened that Turrell is a Suns fan, especially of Booker, and he respects Booker’s work in the local community and his style of play. They have since formed a bond, as Booker has now ventured out to the crater three times.
By the time COVID-19 hit, Booker had emerged as one of the league’s rising stars. After his first visit to the crater, he helped lead the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals alongside Chris Paul, going up 2-0 in the series before eventually falling to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The following season, he led the Suns to the league’s best record and made first-team All-NBA. However, Phoenix was upset in the second round of the playoffs and then lost its way as new owner Mat Ishbia chased stars like Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. That experiment failed miserably.
The Suns finally moved on from Durant and Beal before this season, rebuilding around the 29-year-old Booker once again. The result was a surprising 45-37 record, dramatically exceeding preseason expectations as a young team fit perfectly around Booker. Now they prepare to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday, with a return to the playoffs on the line.
All the while, Booker carved out an identity as a creative, on and off the court.