Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker ranked among biggest trash talkers in NBA by players
Devin Booker let his play speak for itself during the Phoenix Suns' 123-109 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday night in Phoenix, impressing with 38 points on 14-for-22 shooting.
But the Suns star can also let his mouth do the talking when needed.
A survey of 108 NBA players released by The Athletic before Phoenix's Game 2 win Tuesday ranked Booker fourth among NBA players for trash talking.
Yes, Booker is one of the biggest trash talkers in the league, according to his peers, who gave the guard 7.1% of the vote.
To no one's surprise, the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green was first in the voting with 26.3% of the vote.
Patrick Beverley of the Chicago Bulls was second at 25.2% and Dillon Brooks of the Memphis Grizzlies was third at 14.1%.
More: Devin Booker 'mesmerizing' in Phoenix Suns' NBA Playoffs win over Los Angeles Clippers
Last season, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers discussed Booker's trash talking, which had become a hot topic after Booker and Warriors guard Klay Thompson exchanged words to the point Thompson received his first career ejection in 651 games.
“I just like his makeup,” Rivers told The Republic's Duane Rankin. “He gets a lot of flak sometimes for the trash talk stuff, but I don’t think he does it for any other reason that when the game starts, he’s mean. And he means it. He’s not a trash talker for show. He just talks because he wants to destroy you. I don’t know if that’s ‘it’ or whatever, but I love ‘it.’ So I’ll just say that.”
While he wasn't voted the top trash talker in the league, being fourth on the list does indicate that Booker is getting some attention for his ability to talk trash on the court.
Booker shed some light on his "competitive" mindset last year when commenting after Thompson's ejection.
“Just two competitors,” Booker said. “I love Klay Thompson. I have for a really long time, but it doesn’t excuse us from being competitive and talking to each other. I’ve always admired his game, how he plays on both sides of the ball and obviously the rings speak for themselves, but I like I said, I’m going to bring it every time."
He added: “They have the four rings so they’re going to use that in all their trash talk, and rightfully so, respectfully, but that don’t have anything to do with competing."
And as NBA fans have seen, Devin Booker loves to compete.
More: Can Phoenix Suns keep momentum going in Los Angeles after Game 2 win over Clippers?
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker ranked among biggest trash talkers in NBA
