Sawt Falasteen - Booker agrees to record $145 mn extension with Suns: reports

In an article posted on Wednesday night, ESPN said the 28-year-old Booker, who was drafted 13th overall by the Suns in 2015, finalized the deal with owner Mat Ishbia in Las Vegas.

The deal will keep Booker in Phoenix through the 2029-30 season, and eclipses the four-year, $285 million extension agreed by Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this week as the richest per-year extension in league history.

Booker, a four-time NBA All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medallist with the United States, averaged more than 25 points per game in each of the past seven seasons and last season became the Suns' all-time leader in total points scored.

He helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021, when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, and his continued presence will provide stability for a Phoenix franchise now in transition after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

The Suns had the highest payroll in NBA history after investing in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. But they missed the playoffs and fired coach Mike Budenholzer in April.

Two-time NBA champion Durant has since been traded to the Houston Rockets as part of an unprecedented seven-team deal in which players obtained by Phoenix included 18-year-old South Sudanese rookie Khaman Maluach -- the 10th overall draft pick in June -- along with forward Dillon Brooks and guard Jalen Green from Houston.

In June, the Suns named 40-year-old Jordan Ott head coach, Ishbia pointing to Ott's "track record of developing players (and) fostering team chemistry" in naming Ott to his first head coaching position.

Y.Zaher--SF-PST