Surpassing scoring milestones and chasing All-NBA honors, the Phoenix Suns superstar defies analytical models to cement a legacy that mirrors the greats already enshrined in Springfield.
Just how close is five-time All-Star Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns to securing a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame?
This comes in the wake of former Phoenix Suns greats Amar'e Stoudemire and Mike D'Antoni finally being immortalized in Springfield, Massachusetts. While Booker is seen as a prime candidate to be one of the next active players to be inducted himself.
The path isn't all that clear according to Basketball Reference, who gives Booker just over a 17% chance to earn the honor in their model. Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey extrapolated the 25 active players with the highest chance to reach Springfield, while also adding some of his own parameters.
"Among NBA players who've already been inducted into the Hall, the average career produced at least 14,560 points, 5,952 rebounds, 3,138 assists, 87 win shares, five All-Star appearances and three All-NBA nods."
Booker is already ahead of schedule as a scorer and distributor, as he has already cleared 18,000 points and is approaching 4,000 assists on the dawn of his 12th season in the league. He has also already reached five All-Star games and is just shy of the three All-NBA nods that is customary for a Hall of Fame career.
He has much room to grow in the win shares department, as he sits at just 58.0 through 11 seasons. The average of just over five win shares a year would need to remain constant through the next six seasons to reach that mark.
Independent of this, Booker is on pace to finish in the top 30 on the NBA's all-time scoring leaderboard. There's very few scenarios where a player climbs that high on any leaderboard without fanfare, and it certainly wouldn't wind up that way for Booker.
Statistical model or not, a 17.3% chance to be remembered for his basketball career is extraordinarily low for number 15. Booker's contribution to all three major levels of basketball (high school, college, NBA), the value he has provided for the city of Phoenix, the teammates he has elevated (Collin Gillespie, Deandre Ayton, etc.) and the iconic moments he has generated for the league are too much to ignore.
At the end of the day, Booker is in complete control of how the proverbial second half of his career goes. He is in a position to elevate even more teammates (Khaman Maluach, Koa Peat, etc.), while also setting the stage for another high-stakes pursuit of a co-star down the line.
