Devin Booker has established himself as one of the game’s great shooters and confirmation came Saturday during a record run at the Long Distance Shootout.
The Suns guard hit 28 points in the final round. This year the contest included a set of money balls, and Booker drained four out of five. He also hit all the money balls in the remaining racks. Overall, he hit 20 of his 30 balls to beat former champ Klay Thompson, who was the runner up with 25 points.
“Our season hasn’t been too bright so this is kind of a big deal back home,” Booker said. “Hopefully I can come back and win again. When I came out of college I was just considered a shooter but mow I consider myself an elite shooter. I have a lot of respect for what guys like Larry Bird and Craig Hodges did in this contest. I’m just glad my name can be mentioned with those guys.
The defending champ, Eric Gordon of the Rockets, didn’t escape the first round.
“Devin caught fire and that’s a tough number to beat,” Gordon said. “I guess I’ll step up in the second half of the year and make my three-pointers then.”
