"Second-round champs" - Devin Booker fires shot at Minnesota's NBA and WNBA teams for mocking Phoenix
Phoenix Suns superstar shooting guard Devin Booker recently fired back at Minnesota's NBA and WNBA franchises on social media. He did so after the teams seemingly gloated about their respective 2024 playoff series victories over the leagues' Phoenix-based squads.
Booker and the star-heavy Suns suffered an unexpected 4-0 first-round NBA playoff sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in late April. Minnesota's series victory marked the first of two for the upstart Anthony Edwards-led organization, which made its first conference finals appearance since 2004.
Nearly five months later, Napheesa Collier's Minnesota Lynx made light work of the Phoenix Mercury, completing a 2-0 Round 1 WNBA postseason sweep on Wednesday.
Shortly after the Lynx's series-clinching victory, the franchise collaborated with the Timberwolves for a joint Instagram post, appearing to rub in their respective wins.
"Tough year for Phoenix," the teams captioned photos of their players celebrating.
Afterward, Booker seemingly took exception to the post, calling out the organizations for celebrating too soon.
"Second-round champs," Booker commented.
While the Timberwolves ultimately fell 4-1 to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals, they finished with a 9-7 playoff record. Meanwhile, the Suns went 0-4 despite entering the 2023-24 season with championship aspirations.
Thus, Booker's apparent bitterness is arguably a tough look for a Phoenix squad that fell well short of expectations.
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Minnesota legend Kevin Garnett says Devin Booker could bounce back and win MVP in 2024-25 NBA season
While Devin Booker may not be popular in Minnesota, Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett is seemingly a fan of his game.
On "KG Certified" late last month, the Hall of Famer predicted Booker to bounce back from Phoenix's early playoff exit and become a 2025 MVP candidate. He highlighted Booker's gold medal-winning experience with Team USA at this summer's Paris Olympics as a likely benefit to him.
"[Phoenix] has two superstars that played this summer, that means something. That means they're in rhythm," Garnett said. "I'm telling you, bro, Phoenix is gonna be better than what most [people think]. ... Devin Booker can be an MVP, you know what I'm saying?"
Booker featured prominently in the 2021-22 campaign's MVP discussion, finishing fourth in MVP voting a year after his first NBA Finals appearance. Since then, the four-time All-Star has been a relative afterthought in the last two seasons' MVP races.
However, turning 28 next month, Booker appears to be in the early stages of his prime and could be poised for a career year.
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