Devin Booker has been on fire in the NBA playoffs

No one has been hotter in the NBA playoffs than Devin Booker. Okay, maybe Jimmy Butler. Yeah, Butler has basically been the Human Torch on steroids. But in a close second, Kentucky’s own Devin Booker has taken his game to a different level and shows no signs of slowing down.

The Phoenix Suns, freshly armed with lifetime Nike contract signee, Kevin Durant, won four games in a row over the short-handed LA Clippers in the first round of the NBA playoffs after dropping the first game of the series.

With all eyes on the more household name in Durant, Devin Booker showed why he is still the top dog in the Valley of the Sun.

Devin Booker’s Playoff Superlatives

Everyone loves a good statistical superlative. Thus far, Booker has been hoarding them like a sneakerhead collects Jordans.

In the closeout Game 5 against the Clippers, Book had a near triple-double with 47 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and two steals. More impressively, he reached those 47 points by shooting an incredible 19-27 from the field. For all my math novices out there, that is 70%. No other player who has shot at least 25 times in a playoff game this season has had a better shooting percentage.

This game also made Booker the first player in NBA history with at least 45 points and 10 assists in a series-clinching win. He is one of only two players in NBA history (Damian Lillard is the other one) to have recorded 45+ points and 10+ assists on 70% shooting in a playoff game.

Kevin Durant said of Booker’s 25-point 3rd quarter, “It was spiritual.”

Want more? Of course, you do:

• 37.2 points per game (2nd overall this year in playoffs behind Butler)
• 60.2% field goal percentage is best in the playoffs for players with at least 50 attempts (Booker as 118 field goal attempts)
• Most 30-point games in Suns playoff history
• Most 40-point games in Suns playoff history
• Only Suns player with multiple 40+ points and 10+assists in playoff history
• 18 made midrange jump shots, good for most in the playoffs (no one tell Cal)

And to the naysayers who want to say he is a one-sided player who doesn’t impact the game defensively, Booker is also averaging 2.6 steals per game, which is, you guessed it, the best in the playoffs.

Book has been a walking superlative.

Can Booker keep the hot streak going against the Nuggets?

Booker and the Suns have won the honor of playing the 1-seed in the West, the Denver Nuggets led by reigning two-time MVP, Nikola Jokic and fellow Kentucky alum, Jamal Murray. The Nuggets mostly buzzed through the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round and might be one of the most underappreciated top seeds in NBA history.

The Suns and Nuggets split the season series 2-2, but between injuries and trades, those were very different teams than what will face each other in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

The Suns have been in Denver for the last few days in an effort to get used to the altitude, so both teams will be well-rested and acclimated when they do battle in Game 1 tonight at 8:30 p.m. Will Booker keep up his incredible heater going and upset the Nuggets, or will Jamal Murray outshoot his Kentucky brother and defend home court? What will Kevin Durant and Nikola Jokic do in all this? It is a game you are not going to want to miss.