The Phoenix Suns had an extremely disappointing 2023-24 season, with an early exit from the playoffs their reward for an up-and-down regular season. On a personal level however, Devin Booker had one of his better seasons in The Valley.

Tasked with being the Suns’ de facto point guard, Booker averaged a career high 6.9 assists, and was named an All-Star for the fourth time. Even better, his 27.1 points each night was the second highest mark of his career, as he balanced creating for others and knowing when to take over himself really well for this team.

Not that NBA personality Nick Wright is impressed, going so far as to say Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks has now surpassed Booker for top players in the league.

Wright was speaking on First Things First on Fox Sports in the aftermath of the Knicks taking a 2-0 series lead over the Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference semi-finals matchup, and in making the case that Brunson is now a true superstar, Booker caught some strays.

Make no mistake, Brunson’s performances this season – and in the playoffs especially – have made him a legitimate superstar in the NBA today. But better than Booker? There was some baseless speculation in the immediate aftermath of the Suns exiting the playoffs that Booker wanted to make his way to The Big Apple.

Obviously in that scenario the Knicks would be keeping Brunson out of a trade in order to pair them to make one of the best back court duos in the league, but wouldn’t they trade Brunson straight up for Booker if they could? Yes Brunson means more to New York – but Booker also means more to Phoenix and may go down as the best Sun ever – which is another reason this would never actually happen.

Booker also managed to average more assists than Brunson (6.7) this season, although the Knicks’ floor general did put up an impressive 28.7 points per game. That bit more than one of the best scorers in the league in Booker. Brunson also came out on top in Player Efficiency Rating during the regular season, finishing eighth (23.6) to Booker’s 22nd (22.1).

Both are also the same age at 27, meaning you could make the argument that Brunson’s best individual season has had a greater impact for his team than Booker’s ever did. Then again, Booker got to the NBA Finals three years ago, although he had Chris Paul then and has Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to call upon now.

On a more general note, players smaller in stature tend to decline more quickly than the more physically imposing Booker, although to Brunson’s credit his offensive package looks tailor-made to see him exploit opponents for years to come.

All of which is to say – Wright might actually have a point here. Devin Booker has had the better career to this point, and he’s probably who you’d want to build around long-term if given the choice between himself and Jalen Brunson. But in the here and now of these playoffs? Few players in the league are performing on a nightly basis the way Brunson has.