By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker wasn’t looking to hide his feelings following the defeat of his team to the Milwaukee Bucks in the decisive Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
After the match, Booker flat out admitted that the loss hurt more than anything else he has ever experienced.
“This isn’t something you want to feel. I haven’t felt a hurt like this in my life,” Booker said. “So, that’s what I say when I know we have a base and a foundation, just championship basketball at all times.”
Booker had been asked about how the Suns are now shaped after such a season and considering the team’s young roster.
“Championship basketball and nothing less than that,” Booker answered. “So, going into next season on a Tuesday night playing against Cleveland if we don’t have it, we will be quickly reminded about the details and if you don’t want to give it your all right now, what can happen and this feeling right now that we’re feeling can happen.”
Over the Finals, Booker averaged 28.2 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds. He had 19 points on 8-22 shooting in the Game 6.
The Suns began the series with two wins at home to get the upper hand. It was all Bucks in the next games since Giannis Antetokounmpo and company went on to win four straight matches to turn the Finals around completely.
“Just keep working,” Booker said when asked how he and his teammates can turn it around next season to put themselves in a better position to win. “We stressed the details the whole season. We said that the whole season, we were trying to win big and we fell short of that. But like I said, we have a foundation, we have a base for us to learn from, an experience for us to learn from. There’s no moral winners in our locker room, you know what I’m saying? We won the Western Conference Finals or whatever it is, we’ll look back 50 years from now and be able to make those calls. We wanted to win a championship.
There won’t be any rest for Booker now since he has to fly to Tokyo and join Team USA for the Olympic Games. It will be his debut in an international competition and a great opportunity to finish the summer in a winning fashion
“I got to get on a flight in a couple hours, I think out to Tokyo. So, I’ll be on the court soon.”