Gone, No. 1 Booker is gone! Officially starting a new chapter in his career.

Gone, No. 1 Booker is gone. Next season he will wear No. 15., He wore the No. 15 jersey during the 2024 Paris Olympics to help the US men's basketball team win gold, with stats as follows:

Averages of 11.7 points and 3.3 assists;

Field goal percentage of 56.8%;

Three-point percentage of 56.5%;

Plus-minus of +78.

The reason Booker is switching to No. 15 in the NBA is mainly to honor his father, and possibly also inspired by his idol Kobe Bryant changing jersey numbers mid-career.

US media noted that both Booker and Kobe chose to change their jersey numbers in their tenth season in the NBA.

Booker, born on October 30, 1996, is a 1.96m tall combo guard with a 2.04m wingspan, selected as the 13th pick in the first round of the 2015 draft.

Last season, as the Suns' clear core, he averaged 26.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3.1 turnovers in the regular season, with shooting splits of 45.6%, 33%, and 87.3%; this postseason he averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 4 turnovers, with splits of 46%, 25%, and 78.6%.

Obviously, Booker's playoff performance this year fell short of expectations, even worse than Dillon Brooks (averaging 26 points) and Jalen Green (averaging 21.8 points), who were traded to the Suns by the Rockets last summer, thus drawing criticism.

Notably, according to statistics, Booker will earn $263.5 million from the Suns over the next four years, as follows:

2026-27 season: $57.1 million;

2027-28 season: $61 million;

2028-29 season: $69.9 million;

2029-30 season: $75.5 million.

A single-season salary of $75.5 million makes him an absolute winner in life. Even if he never wins a championship, so what? Money in hand, why worry?

The high salary is a great recognition from the Suns management of Booker's commitment to staying with one team. There have seemingly never been rumors of him demanding a trade; he has always stuck with the team through highs and lows. Such a mutually devoted partnership is a rarity in today's league, where star players change teams frequently.

Best wishes to Yang Kun—oops, I mean Booker.