If you're not familiar with Devin Booker by now, you should start taking notice.
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Following his 59-point performance versus the Utah Jazz, Booker guaranteed prior to Wednesday's matchup versus the Washington Wizards that he would score 50 points. And unlike many NBA stars who make bold claims before games, Booker actually lived up to his own prediction.
The 22-year-old became the youngest player in NBA history to score 50 points in back-to-back games with his 50-point performance versus the Wizards.
Making matters even more impressive is that seven of the NBA's top 10 all-time leading scorers never even scored 50 points in back-to-back games during their careers. According to ESPN Stats and Info, that list would include the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O'Neal, Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes. Booker has already done it at the age of 22.
And it's not like Booker did this in chucking fashion during a blowout loss. The Suns were deadlocked with the Wizards until Washington's Thomas Bryant hit the game-winning shot and free throw with 2.8 seconds left to seal the 124-121 win for the Wizards. The young shooting guard also did it once again on efficient shooting, going 19-of-29 from the field (65.5 percent) and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.
However, the result remained the same for Booker despite his historic performance -- the Suns lost again. Phoenix was blown out in his 59-point performance versus the Jazz on Monday, they were also easily defeated back in 2017 by the Boston Celtics when Booker had his career-high 70-point performance.
Considering Booker just signed a new contract with the Suns in 2018, one has to assume he'll be there for the near future. Phoenix hasn't contended or made the playoffs since 2010, the second-longest streak in the NBA behind the Sacramento Kings. Outside of the fact that the Suns clearly need to surround Booker with the proper pieces to contend, Booker also needs to learn how to win while scoring all of these points -- it's unheard of for players to score like he does and still lose their games while doing so.
Unless the Suns start changing things up soon in the desert, they're going to be wasting these historic performances by a guard who just turned 22 years old a few months prior.
