Toppers

The Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury have been two of the WNBA's most dynamic risers this season, having used the offseason as a springboard to elevate themselves from fringe playoff teams to legitimate postseason threats. With aggressive and calculated roster moves, both franchises took advantage of a star-heavy free agency market and are now reaping the rewards with improved records, on-court cohesion, and a renewed sense of direction.
In a league where parity is rising and every roster spot carries weight, the Dream and Mercury have shown that smart offseason hauls can redefine a franchise&rsquo;s ceiling.
Atlanta Dream: Currently 2nd in the East and 5th in the league overall, 14-10 record
At 14-10, the Atlanta Dream currently sit 4th in the WNBA standings and second in the Eastern Conference as of this writing. This is a significant improvement over their 2024 campaign, when they finished with a sub-.500 record of just 15-25, enough for an 8th seed, and bowed out early in the postseason. But what sets this team apart now isn&rsquo;t just their growth; it&rsquo;s the way behind their acceleration.
Allisha Gray has continued to be a steady force, earning a well-deserved spot as an All-Star starter this season. The veteran guard has grown into her role as both a scorer and leader, thriving in head coach Karl Smesko&rsquo;s aggressive system. However, the biggest shift came with the high-impact signing of Brittney Griner in the offseason.
After a tumultuous past few seasons marked by injury setbacks, Griner&rsquo;s decision to join Atlanta surprised many. But the move has paid off handsomely for both sides. Griner has given the Dream an elite interior presence and a reliable starting center, anchoring a much-improved Atlanta defense after losing their starting frontcourt from last year in Tina Charles and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus. Her chemistry with Gray and point guard Jordin Canada has created a versatile inside-out attack that&rsquo;s difficult to contain.
Griner's arrival has also opened the floor for other contributors to shine. Rhyne Howard, the 2022 Rookie of the Year, has been able to play with more freedom as a perimeter scorer now with Griner providing her with screening capabilities to get more players open. The Dream currently rank among the top five in both defensive rating and second-chance points &ndash; a testament to Griner&rsquo;s influence on both ends of the court.
This season, Atlanta isn't just looking to make the playoffs, but they're aiming to make a mark once they get there.
Phoenix Mercury: Currently 2nd in the West and 3rd in the league overall, 15-8 record
While the Dream made one big splash, the Mercury made several &ndash; and they&rsquo;re paying off even quicker.
Phoenix sits second in the Western Conference with a 15-8 record, trailing only the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. It&rsquo;s a remarkable rise for a franchise that sub.500 last season and looked rudderless in the wake of roster instability after Diana Taurasi&rsquo;s retirement and the absence of Brittney Griner, who departed for Atlanta.
Rather than rebuild, the Mercury doubled down on star power. Their front office landed two of the offseason&rsquo;s biggest names: former Connecticut Sun All-Star Alyssa Thomas and 2023 All-WNBA forward Satou Sabally. Both have been transformational.
Thomas, known for her toughness, versatility, and near triple-double averages, has brought a level of all-around excellence that&rsquo;s elevated the Mercury&rsquo;s ceiling. Thomas has been serving as the team&rsquo;s offensive engine, acting at times as their point guard and main playmaker. Her physicality on defense and elite decision-making have stabilized Phoenix in close games, many of which they&rsquo;ve won due to her crunch-time brilliance.
Sabally, meanwhile, has returned healthy and dominant. She&rsquo;s providing much-needed wing scoring and rebounding while defending multiple positions. Her ability to stretch the floor has complemented Thomas perfectly, creating mismatches across the board.
Phoenix wasn&rsquo;t done after those marquee signings. In what might be one of the savviest moves of the season, the Mercury claimed and signed veteran forward DeWanna Bonner off waivers. The 36-year-old, a former WNBA champion and franchise icon in Phoenix, has provided instant leadership and shot-making, giving the team a battle-tested voice off the bench.
Their offseason signings and together with their homegrown star Kahleah Copper, this revamped Mercury roster has thrived in head coach Nate Tibbetts&rsquo; system. They play with pace, move the ball, and now have the defensive personnel to match up with anyone. Even without Griner, who left a huge void in the frontcourt, Phoenix has compensated with a multi-pronged attack and a deep, star-laden rotation.
Phoenix and Atlanta&rsquo;s smart and bold moves are leading to playoff impact and championship hopes
What the Dream and Mercury have done this season isn&rsquo;t just about bringing in talent, but it&rsquo;s about bringing in the right talent.
Atlanta targeted Griner, knowing she could immediately solve their rim protection issues and elevate their pick-and-roll game. Phoenix bet on two of the best two-way forwards in the league and then added a proven winner in Bonner to glue it all together.
These moves weren&rsquo;t just splashy, they were also strategic. Each franchise assessed its weaknesses, acted decisively in free agency, and built complementary lineups around existing core players. The results have been dramatic and immediate.
With over a month of regular-season basketball left, both the Dream and Mercury are not just aiming to secure playoff spots &ndash; both teams are looking to make deep runs.
Atlanta, with its improved defense and emerging stars, could become a dangerous matchup for any top seed. Phoenix, meanwhile, boasts the kind of star-studded, playoff-hardened roster that could upset the status quo and challenge the Lynx or Liberty for the title.
In a WNBA season defined by aggressive movement and team-wide recalibrations, the Dream and Mercury stand out for how quickly and effectively they&rsquo;ve turned the page. With smart roster building and the boldness to act, both teams have enjoyed good regular seasons thus far and are looking to build on them to bring them to the playoffs.

The Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury have been two of the WNBA's most dynamic risers this season.

WNBA: Dream, Mercury capitalize on offseason hauls to make run for the playoffs

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Texas coach Chris Beard delivered that elusive NCAA Tournament win in his first season with the Longhorns.
That was just one of the expectations that came with hiring Beard away from Big 12 rival Texas Tech. Now come the parts about building a consistent winner and making some deep postseason runs.
He&rsquo;s got the tools to make both happen.
Texas basketball feels like it has momentum after shedding the yoke of postseason flops. The Longhorns hadn&rsquo;t advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 2014 until beating Virginia Tech in the first round last season.
The trip didn&rsquo;t last long as they were bumped out in the second round, but it hardly mattered. Texas had been starved for the smallest taste of success and savored it. Texas&rsquo; 22 wins were the most since 2014.
The Longhorns open the season ranked No. 12 and will play in a shiny new home arena with a lineup full of veteran experience boosted by key newcomers. Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr and Tristan Bishop are all fifth-year players and Beard added transfer guards Tyrese Hunter and Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice.
Hunter was the Big 12 freshman of the year last season at Iowa State and Rice led New Mexico State to the NCAA Tournament.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Tyrese Hunter, state champion in high school, Sweet 16 as a freshman. Jabari Rice has played in championship games everywhere he&rsquo;s ever been,&rdquo; Beard said. &ldquo;You know early on if a guy is talking about winning and championships and NCAA Tournament, that&rsquo;s different than a guy that might be talking about minutes, shots and name, image and likeness.&rdquo;
PICKY PORTAL
Beard had to build most of his first lineup through the transfer portal and it was an impressive bunch that earned the Longhorns a No. 5 ranking to start last season. Fitting all those pieces together took some time and it was occasionally clunky.
This season, Beard could pinpoint specific areas of need to pursue in the portal instead of just casting a wide net. The signings of Hunter and Rice boost ball handling and athleticism in the backcourt, and should unleash Carr as a scorer.
&ldquo;We feel great about our balance between returners, experience and young new talent,&rdquo; Beard said.
SHORT ON SIZE
Texas still lacks size and that could be a problem in the Big 12.
Forward Dylan Disou is the tallest player at 6-foot-9. He led the Southeastern Conference in rebounding two seasons ago at Vanderbilt but was limited by nagging knee problems last season. Texas will need his former levels of production around the basket.
&ldquo;He needs to have his best year playing basketball for us to be the team we want to be,&rdquo; Beard said. &ldquo;I believe he will.&rdquo;
GLUE GUY
Forward Brock Cunningham is the player everyone else around the Big 12 loves to hate &mdash; a constant disrupter, chaser of loose balls and always good for a foul or a few. Cunningham averages only 1.9 points over his career but chose to return this season as a graduate student. Texas can always count on him for boost of energy off the bench by way of sheer hustle and just getting under an opponent&rsquo;s skin.
NEW DIGS
Texas has left the dusty old Frank Erwin Center where the Longhorns played for 45 years. They&rsquo;ve moved just a couple hundred yards down the road to the $300 million Moody Center next to campus.
Texas officials hope to create one of the best home court environments in the Big 12 (and eventually the SEC). Capacity at the Erwin Center was 16,500 and an average crowd of about 8,000 could make the place feel empty. The Moody Center will seat about 10,000.
SCHEDULE
The schedule starts Nov. 7 against UTEP. Top out-of-conference matchups include No. 2 Gonzaga (Nov. 16) and No. 9 Creighton (Dec. 1) at home, and No. 23 Illinois (Dec. 6) at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Longhorns start Big 12 play at Oklahoma on Dec. 31.

Texas basketball feels like it has momentum after shedding the yoke of postseason flops.

No. 12 Texas looking to build on Beard’s early success

Klay Thompson savored the moment by spending a few minutes on the court after a roller coaster of emotions during the final minute.
He hit the game-winning 3-pointer &mdash; only to miss two free throws before getting back on defense to force Ja Morant to miss a layup, giving Golden State a 117-116 win. It wasn't for a championship but was nevertheless a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-stephen-curry-16816fd53866b2a3035410e7ca958d86">huge win for the Warriors</a> and more so for Thompson because of the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-cleveland-cavaliers-golden-state-warriors-bfe97f2a39a2ee684e16f5a4e876ff04">injuries he's </a> dealt with the past two years.
&ldquo;Having to watch the last couple of years, just soaking everything in and internalizing the whole atmosphere and just appreciating where I&rsquo;m at,&rdquo; Thompson said.
Game 1 showed that the results of the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-stephen-curry-14b992b9481c811bbf2b0594159b624e">1-on-1 scoring competition between Memphis' Morant (34) and Stephen Curry (24) of the Warriors</a> doesn't mean their team will win the game or the Western Conference semifinal series. Supporting casts are crucial at this stage of the postseason.
Thompson was just 3 of 10 from outside the arc and finished with 15 points. But Jordan Poole helped Golden State's bench outscore Memphis' reserves 47-30. Poole had playoff career highs with <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1521108501946380288?s=20&amp;t=Nk4nrsduC3oz16o2hJMtYA">31 points</a> and eight rebounds, and he also matched his playoff best of nine assists.
&ldquo;He was brilliant,&rdquo; Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had a playoff career-high 33 points in his second straight double-double. He also matched his season high with six 3-pointers.
When the fourth overall draft pick in 2018 plays like that, Grizzlies' teammate Kyle Anderson said, there's not a lot of teams that can beat them.
&ldquo;We need him on the floor,&rdquo; Anderson said of Jackson on Monday. "That's tough. We need those type of performances out of him.&rdquo;
Andrew Wiggins added 17 points for Golden State. Brandon Clarke has scored in double figures each of the first seven games coming off the bench for Memphis, and Grizzlies reserve De'Anthony Melton added 14 against the Warriors after not playing the final two games of the first round.
In the Eastern Conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo got more help from his Bucks&rsquo; teammates than Jayson Tatum did from the rest of the Celtics.
Antetokounmpo had a triple-double, leading the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-boston-celtics-nba-sports-5e6bf7a261b1ae3afe0b6db6848520f0">Milwaukee Bucks to a road win to open their Eastern Conference semifinal</a> with Boston. With <a href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-chicago-bulls-nba-sports-khris-middleton-05a2ee1cdd14be2b01dfb2fb88731408">Khris Middleton still out with an injured knee,</a> Bobby Portis came through with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with Jrue Holiday&rsquo;s double-double.
Tatum got little help from his teammates, with Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart going a combined 7 of 24.
&ldquo;I have all the faith in the world in JB,&rdquo; Tatum said. "No one should hang their heads. Just get ready for the next one.&rdquo;
BUCKS AT CELTICS
Milwaukee leads 1-0. Game 2, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT.
NEED TO KNOW: The defending NBA champion Bucks started slowly but imposed their will on the Celtics in the second half of their 101-89 Game 1 win. Antetokounmpo shot 9 for 25 from the field but still posted his second career playoff triple-double (24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists). The Celtics shot a playoff-low 33% (28 of 84) with just 21 assists and a playoff-high 18 turnovers.
KEEP AN EYE ON: How the Celtics adjust to the Bucks&rsquo; pressure. Milwaukee picked Boston&rsquo;s ball handlers up full court at different times, forcing the Celtics to speed up in some shaky half-court possessions. Boston coach Ime Udoka said changing the approach is a must to free up the offensive flow: &ldquo;You want to mix it up and at times and attack out of that when they&rsquo;re pressing."
INJURY WATCH: Udoka said Smart is questionable for Game 2, dealing with a fair amount of soreness from a bruised thigh hurt in the opener. He got hit twice in the same spot and also left just before halftime with a right shoulder stinger. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a tough guy that&rsquo;s going to try to play through things,&rdquo; Udoka said. &hellip; Milwaukee guard George Hill was on the court for Monday&rsquo;s practice doing individual work, but coach Mike Budenholzer said he will remain out with the abdominal strain that kept Hill out of the Chicago series.
PRESSURE IS ON: Tatum and Brown. Boston&rsquo;s star duo combined to go 10 of 31 from the field. Tatum managed 21 points, but Brown finished with only 12, going 3 of 9 from the 3-point line with seven turnovers. The Celtics&rsquo; offense goes how they go, and another lackluster performance by the tandem would almost certainly lead to a 0-2 deficit.
WARRIORS AT GRIZZLIES
Golden State leads 1-0. Game 2, 9:30 p.m. EDT, TNT.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Warriors outrebounded the NBA's top rebounding team 52-47, with an NBA statistic correction giving them another rebound well after the game. They also matched the Grizzlies on the offensive glass with 16 &mdash; far above Golden State's average of 9.8 during the regular season and 8.5 in the playoffs. That helped the Warriors outscore Memphis 26-24 on second-chance points.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Draymond Green. He was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-5b217bca404e848b636e9a23c7e95627">ejected from Game 1 late in the first half</a> for swiping Brandon Clarke's face with right hand, grabbing the Grizzlies forward's jersey with his left and pulling Clarke down to the court. Green said on his podcast he thought the NBA might reduce the flagrant foul but didn't. That leaves Green two points from a one-game suspension.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m never going to change the way I play basketball,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s gotten me this far. It&rsquo;s gotten me three championships, four All-Stars, Defensive Player of the Year. I&rsquo;m not going to change now.&rdquo;
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Desmond Bane got treatment during the second half on the bench for what Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins called &ldquo;general soreness." Jenkins said Bane is doing all right, just sore like most of the Grizzlies. Grizzlies center Steven Adams has not been cleared from the health and safety protocols and remains day to day. ... Thompson is probable for Golden State with right knee soreness.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Memphis. The Grizzlies already have lost home-court advantage. Dropping Game 2 means going to San Francisco with a sweep by the Warriors a much bigger possibility for one of the NBA's youngest teams playing on its biggest stage yet.
___
AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower in Boston contributed to this report.

In a pair of Game 2s on Tuesday night, stars' teammates could prove to be critical once again for their teams.

Supporting cast key in semis matchup between Morant, Curry

Indiana Pacers rookie Isaiah Jackson celebrated his best game of the season with an unexpected bath.
He savored every precious second of the ice cold water.
Jackson scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and posted his first double-double in his first career start, leading the Pacers past the Los Angeles Clippers 122-116 on Monday night.
&ldquo;It surprised me because I didn&rsquo;t know the guys were going to do that and I'm not going to lie, it was very cold," he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the first time it's happened to me and it&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m going to remember forever."
The first-round draft pick out of Kentucky spent most of Indiana&rsquo;s first 51 games scrapping for minutes and avoiding fouls. But with Indiana&rsquo;s top three centers out of action, the Pacers challenged Jackson and he impressed everyone.
Jackson was 12 of 19 from the field, posted season highs in points and rebounds, blocked two shots and even made a 3-pointer all without being called for a single foul. Duane Washington Jr. added 16 points, including four 3s in the fourth quarter, to help the short-handed Pacers earn their second win in six games.
Rick Carlisle became the second coach in the franchise&rsquo;s NBA history to win 200 career games. Frank Vogel had 250 wins in five seasons with the team and this one looked awfully good to Carlisle.
&ldquo;He did such a great job in every area tonight,&rdquo; Carlisle said, referring to Jackson. &ldquo;When we talked about him in the draft, this is what we were talking about and this is a dimension this team hasn&rsquo;t had.&rdquo;
The worn-out Clippers also were caught off guard. Amir Coffey finished with 27 points and Reggie Jackson had 21 as their five-game winning streak against Indiana came to an end.
&ldquo;To go 4-4 on this tough trip was pretty good for us. It is what it is and now we have to go back and try to regroup," coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;They played well and Isaiah Jackson did a hell of a job."
Neither team was near full strength.
Injured All-Stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were out again for the Clippers, and the Pacers played without two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who entered the COVID-19 health and safety protocols earlier Monday.
Not surprisingly, it turned this game into a grind-it-out contest.
Indiana took a 30-27 lead after one quarter and a 60-55 halftime advantage. Even when it appeared the Clippers had taken control with a 14-5 run late in the third period, they couldn't put it away. Instead, the Pacers answered with 10 straight points to retake an 84-82 lead &mdash; only to give it back on Nicolas Batum's 3 to end the third.
Batum opened the fourth with another 3 to make it 88-84 and this time Indiana answered with 12 points in a row, including three consecutive 3s by Washington, to make it 99-89. Los Angeles never led again.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Lost at Indiana for the first time since 2018. ... Batum scored 13 points despite playing with a sore lower back. ... Serge Ibaka had 14 points and 11 rebounds. ... Jackson added five assists. ... Eric Bledsoe also scored 13 points. ... Jason Preston (right foot) and Ivica Zubac (sore right calf) sat out with injuries.
Pacers: Caris LeVert had 17 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. ... Terry Taylor had 15 points and eight rebounds. ... Justin Holiday finished with 13 points, including a 3 to seal the win in the waning minutes. He also had five rebounds and six assists. ... Lance Stephenson had 10 points, three rebounds and four assists.
INJURY UPDATE
Carlisle provided a lengthy pregame medical report. Sabonis is expected to miss at least six additional days. Oshae Brissett (right ankle) was a late scratch and Goga Bitadze will return from his sore right foot when he feels comfortable.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Brogdon (right Achilles tendon) and T.J. Warren (left foot) squared off Monday in a 1-on-1 competition, T.J. McConnell had a pin removed from his surgically repaired right wrist and center Myles Turner (left foot) is shooting again. But Carlisle provided no timetable for the return of any players.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Play their first home game since Jan. 17 on Thursday against the crosstown Lakers.
Pacers: Host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in the second game of a three-game homestand.
___
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Isaiah Jackson scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and posted his first double-double in his first career start

Jackson's breakout game sends Pacers past Clippers 122-116

It's a shame that these NBA playoffs aren't in glitzy cities.
It's a shame that LeBron James isn't fighting for a chance at his fifth career title.
It's a shame that this league is so predictable.
Actually, it's a shame that you're not witnessing the birth of young, rising stars before your very eyes.
There may not be a soul left to question what Trae Young is bringing to the table in his debut playoff run, nor one to tear down Devin Booker with the all-so-familiar-and-overused label of "just a scorer."
Instead, these two now-household names are not only demanding your attention, they're seizing it.
Young played in his in first Eastern Conference Finals game on Wednesday night on the road, and took hold of the game when it mattered most. He had multi-time All-Defensive Team member Jrue Holiday on his heels, as well as anybody who dared guard him on the perimeter.
If the Milwaukee Bucks switched on him, it didn't matter. He'd blow right past his man for a floater, or a lob, or an alley-oop off the backboard. Hell, he's even taking pull-up mid-rangers now. If they had to defend him off a high screen, he'd make one dribble move and fire, or he'd have enough time to do a shimmy and can a triple as the Bucks helplessly stared, too late to contest. And if Milwaukee elected to trap him toward mid-court, he'd pinpoint a teammate on the perimeter and get it to him with a behind-the-back pass.
Since the semifinal round started, in pick-and-roll situations as a ball-handler, Young has scored 1.31 points per possession on floaters and 1.28 points per possession on jumpers. In a more traditional sense, Young has averaged 30.5 points and 10.5 assists on 42.2% from the field. He's getting to the free-throw line over nine times per contest, and is making 87.3% of his attempts. He has not been afraid to shoot, either, taking the fifth-most shots on average (23.3) in the NBA this postseason.
If you're looking for a fun little storyline to follow, try this one on for size. In series openers, Young is averaging 38.3 points per game on 48.5% shooting, to go along with 10.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds. He is 28-for-30 on free throws in total. That is what you call setting the tone, with all three of those matchups coming on the road. We may as well call Trae "Mr. Game 1" at this point. His career's just getting started and he's getting F-bombs hurled his way from opposing audiences left and right. When was the last time that the underdog was also the villain?
In the Western Conference, there's Booker, who has willed the Phoenix Suns to a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers without Chris Paul. Another player who's not afraid of the moment, yet is seeing his first postseason action in the sixth season of his career, Booker is turning the corner and making defenders pay probably more than anybody else in the NBA.
Seriously, once he's gotten a pick above the break or a handoff, that man has gotten to his spot every single time. Guys are staying in front of him pretty well, but it has not mattered. The minute that Booker has put the ball on the floor, he's found either corner of the key or the nail; at that point, there's nothing more teams can do besides contest. And even when defenders do get a hand up, he has so much elevation on his jumper to the point where it hasn't fazed him.
From the start of the second round and on, here's Booker's contested jump shot chart, <a href="https://basketball.instatscout.com/players/5278/fieldgoals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">courtesy of InStat</a>:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/field-goals-devin-booker-1_lg.png" alt="" width="499" height="316" />
And here's an illustration of how effective Booker's jumpers have been in any playtype.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 99.4658%; height: 236px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">Playtype (Total No. of Poss)</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">Jumper Possessions</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; height: 23px; text-align: center;">Points Per Possession</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">Pick-and-Roll Handler (42)</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">33</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">1.36</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">Isolation (27)</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">19</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">1.05</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">Catch-and-Drive (13)</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">11</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">1.82</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">Transition (21)</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">9</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">1.11</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23px;">
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">Off Screens (14)</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">9</td>
<td style="width: 31.473%; text-align: center; height: 23px;">1.11</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Get the picture?
As he's dragging his assignments with him, Booker is opening things up for others to thrive, as well. Maybe the savviest development in his game is his passing; however, it's his patience that has the Suns humming. When he's found himself in a double team or in a crowd, there's no sense of panic whatsoever. Booker is wisely waiting for his teammates to cut, go for a lob or locate themselves for a look on the perimeter. None of this would be possible if he couldn't make the reads as sharply as he has. The thing is, though, he's processing all of this so quickly, while maintaining a solid pace and timely decision-making simultaneously.
Booker's efficiency is at an all-time high, unafraid to take the big shots, yet possessing the balance necessary to be the well-rounded player he has become over the course of his development. His averages in the postseason speak for themselves: 28.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 47.9% shooting. Not to mention that bouncing the defending NBA champions and the league's MVP in the first two rounds of your playoff career is a pretty loud way to say, "I'm here."
But that's how Young and Booker operate. They've got their own styles and ways to dissect and frustrate their opponents, all while putting on a show for the neutral audiences at home to enjoy, and both find themselves in position to make something really special happen for their respective teams.
Forget about the market they play in.
Forget about The King sitting at home.
Forget about a predetermined winner.
We're witnessing the next generation of superstardom blossom in the postseason, and judging by the latest returns on television ratings and social engagement, people are noticing.
As they should.

Spencer Davies raves over the rise of Trae Young and Devin Booker in the postseason as two blossoming superstars in the NBA.

Tate

WNBA: Dream, Mercury capitalize on offseason hauls to make run for the playoffs

No. 12 Texas looking to build on Beard’s early success

Supporting cast key in semis matchup between Morant, Curry

Jackson's breakout game sends Pacers past Clippers 122-116

The fearlessness of Trae Young and Devin Booker is on display