The 2026 postseason is over, at least for the Phoenix Suns. After their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, they became the first team eliminated and the only team without a postseason win. And honestly, it did not come as a surprise.
Oklahoma City is a machine. We saw it up close. Once the playoffs begin, they lock in with a level of focus that feels different. Possession after possession, they send wave after wave of defenders. Each one capable, each one connected. In a league shaped by cap constraints and competing priorities, that kind of depth stands out. The Thunder are built different.
Just ask Devin Booker.
“You got to give them credit,” Booker said after Game 4. “There’s three All-Defensive guys over there that they keep in rotation, and it seems like the game plan is don’t let me get any touches at any time. So, still trying to be aggressive and find spots, but you know, if somebody’s locked onto me and it’s opening up another opportunity for a teammate, the quicker we can exploit that and get that advantage, I think they can sag off a little bit and open up more opportunities for me.”
I think it’s safe to say that from a production standpoint, this easily was Devin Booker‘s worst postseason series. Sure, he was also swept the last time he was in the postseason in the first round, but statistically, he put up a fight. He averaged 27.5 points against the Wimberwolves two seasons ago. In this series? Those statistics are not so friendly.
The tale of the tape? Booker averaged 21.3 points, doing so with 46/25/79 splits. He had 4.8 assists and 4.0 turnovers over the course of the series.
There is context here. He was facing an elite defense, the best in the league, and one that belongs in the conversation with the best we have seen in the modern era. The spacing today stretches everything, and Oklahoma City still closes it off. They move as one, shrink the floor, and contest everywhere, not only at the rim, but across all zones. I can safely say I am thankful we don’t have to play against them. Seeing them 9 times this season was enough.
Devin Booker felt it. The doubles came early and often, and the Thunder controlled the terms of engagement. They were comfortable letting Jalen Green or Dillon Brooks carry the burden. That approach worked. Booker averaged 15.7 attempts, third on the team this postseason. Dillon Brooks led the way at 22.0, with Jalen Green at 19.3.
But then there’s that other side of the coin, the one that allows you to be critical of Booker, even given the circumstances. Because, quite honestly? Superstar players rise to the occasion, and even if they’re playing potentially historic defenses, they have the ability to make an impact beyond 21.3 points a game. There was no variance game in this series for Booker. He didn’t score more than 24 points in a game. And that’s where the critical mind simply wonders what went wrong.
How does Sam Quinn of CBS Sports view this series for Booker?
His Thunder series was… fine? He generated reasonably efficient offense. He also did little to create advantages his teammates could consistently capitalize on. Nobody expected him to win the series or even a game, but this was far from the overwhelming postseason force we saw a few years ago. This version of Booker isn’t an All-NBA player. He’s more like a low-end All-Star.
Booker was forced into more of a playmaking role, that part is fair. Against that defense, the results were not where you need them. His assist-to-turnover ratio sat at 1.2 to 1. That is not elite. Guards in that range this season include Gradey Dick, Jordan Hawkins, and Rayan Rupert. That is not the company you expect when the number next to your name is $53.1 million.
That is where the frustration comes from. You do not only want Devin Booker to be better in the postseason, you need him to be better. The team exceeded expectations, the season delivered more than most thought it would, and the one place it felt stagnant was at the very top. But even that statement has fluidity and context to it. Players around him had career years. What Booker is, how he operates, and the attention he draws created opportunity. Others stepped into that space and produced. So while it was a down year statistically, it was a positive year relative to leadership.
The question still lingers. Star or superstar? A superstar finds a way to bend even a defense like Oklahoma City. It is not easy. It is not always fair. It is still the expectation.
Still, I know there is frustration with the postseason performance. I see the fan base expressing its disdain for the lack of perceived aggression, the inability to be efficient, and the continual poor decision-making. In a year in which Booker was handed a pricey contract (that we must remember is a fluid number, as it is a percentage of the projected cap, not a hard number yet), the numbers weren’t there. The impact wasn’t as profound. The deliverables weren’t as clean.
So, how do you view this Booker postseason in the grand scheme? From my perspective, I brush it off. The criticism is fair, the results are what they are, but the context matters. OKC is Thanos. They are inevitable. It is not hard to imagine Devin Booker struggling against a defense like that. And guess what? Stars have rough series. Tragic Johnson, anyone? How about Larry Bird in ’83? It happens.
I would caution against being a prisoner of the moment. Step back and look at the full picture. Mark Williams did not play. Jordan Goodwin logged five minutes. Grayson Allen did not truly arrive until Game 4. This was an eighth seed facing the defending champions without a full deck. That shapes everything. What did you expect? 30 a night? It was always going to be difficult. Oklahoma City loaded up on Booker, forced the ball out of his hands, lived with the turnovers, and trusted the math. That is how it played out.
This is not a free pass. There are real conversations ahead about who Booker is for this team moving forward and what that means at his salary number. Those discussions belong in the offseason. They deserve a full lens, not a single series. But it is now the offseason.
Now the work begins. The evaluation, the decisions, the paths forward. And we will dig into all of it, with a holistic view of what comes next, right here at Bright Side of the Sun.
