The youngest Phoenix Suns players keep setting new standards.
This time it was 19 year old Devin Booker putting up the first 27 points, 9 assist game by a Suns rookie since Michael Finley in 1996. That's two decades ago folks.
The last time a teenager put up 27 and 9 for the Suns?
How about never.
Let's look across the league now. Surely, a lot of teenagers have put up a 27 and 9 line for points and assists, right?
Teenagers in NBA history with 27p, 9 assists: @DevinBook, King James, Kyrie Irving, Marbury, Melo, KD. That's it.
— Dave King (@DaveKingNBA) March 6, 2016
(per @bball_ref)
So yeah, Devin Booker is pretty good.
He's even a little surprised with himself.
First time I've ever turned around while the ball was still in flight. Thank lord it went in lol https://t.co/1EsMh7w3Q0
— Devin Booker (@DevinBook) March 7, 2016
Personally, I'm more impressed with his chase-down block on that guy Matt Barnes than anything else. Watch the video above to see all the Booker highlights from Sunday against the Grizzlies.
But Booker wasn't the only young star out there on Sunday.
When Alex Len posted his 19 and 16 line, he entered rare air in Suns history himself.
.@Suns history of 22-or-younger getting 5 str dbl-dbls: @alexlen, @matrix31. That's it. Going back to 1983... per @bball_ref
— Dave King (@DaveKingNBA) March 7, 2016
Even taking the age-22 part out of the equation, it's still just Len and Marion in recent Suns lore.
Per @bball_ref, the last @Suns player to have 5 cons. games of at least 12pts & 12rbs (Len's current streak) was Shawn Marion in 2006.
— Matt Petersen (@TheMattPetersen) March 7, 2016
But that's not far enough.
Len also had a career-high 6 assists in Sunday's game. Putting the package together, only 21 NBA players age 22 or younger have ever posted a line of 19/16/6. None of them have been Phoenix Suns.
Alex Len is the first Suns player age 22 or younger to post a line of 19 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists.
And he's one of only five Suns who have ever posted that line at any age: Charles Barkley did it a whopping 17 times, while Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire and Larry Nance only did it the one time.
I'd say that's pretty good. Let's watch...