Devin Booker finished fifth in voting for West All-Star starters among guards

Despite missing four games and putting together a season a bit below his typical standard, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker finished fifth among Western Conference guards in the voting for All-Star starters.

Booker finished fifth in fan voting, fourth in player voting, and fifth in media voting to earn a weighted score of 4.75, dropping him just below Donovan Mitchell and just out of reach of a starting spot. The starters in two weeks in Atlanta will instead be Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic, with Doncic finishing tied with Damian Lillard but earning the tie-breaking advantage in fan vote.

Here is the full final vote:

Asked about the All-Star game on Thursday, Booker didn’t say much. As with every accolade he’s been given in his career, he said that it’s just what comes with winning.

“It would be exciting, but we’ll see,” Booker said.

Last year around this time, head coach Monty Williams was very publicly caping for Booker, but this time around, the focus is on winning, and admittedly, the All-Star game itself has come under fire because of the potential risk of sickness among those involved.

Booker said after practice in New Orleans on Thursday that he understands why the game is being played and has spoken with union leader and teammate Chris Paul directly about the negotiations, but sees how some would want it to not be played.

Either way, it doesn’t seem to be looming to large over the Suns’ locker room.

Paul has probably been an All-Star so many times (and will probably travel to Atlanta to oversee the festivities either way), that it may not even be on his mind. He finished seventh in final starter voting.

The reserves are selected by coaches, and will be announced next Tuesday. Among most voters’ publicly released lists, both Booker and Paul have been either in the final two wildcard slots or on the short list of snubs.