Once upon a time, Devin Booker was a sharpshooter coming off the bench at Kentucky. Now, he’s an NBA superstar and the face of the Phoenix Suns franchise. A franchise desperate to quickly rebuild around him after trading away Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. Part of that rebuild has been an aggressive approach to the 2025 NBA Draft, and with their third and final pick of the draft, the Suns selected a sharpshooter who came off the bench much of last season at Kentucky.
Koby Brea does not have the same NBA upside as Booker did all those years ago when he left UK after his promising freshman season and became the 13th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. However, he does possess the one skill that may be the most valuable in the league, shooting.
Brea shot 43 percent from three for the Wildcats last season, which matched his mark across his five-year collegiate career, with the previous four at Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Conference, on 730 career three-point attempts. He left Kentucky as one of the most prolific and efficient shooters in college basketball history. In his freshman season for the Wildcats, Booker shot 41 percent from deep on 141 attempts and averaged just over 10 points a game en route to the Final Four on one of the most talented rosters in college basketball history.
Not only is Brea joining a Kentucky legend, one of the many players that John Calipari sent into the first round, but Booker is also one of Brea’s favorite players.
Koby Brea said Devin Booker is his favorite player.
— LEEZUS (@AndrewLeezus) June 27, 2025
Now, they’re teammates. pic.twitter.com/dpzE4QFGpT
When asked by Kentucky Wildcats on SI at Media Day before last season, which former Wildcat Brea models his game after, the veteran guard said Booker. Now, he’ll get the chance to learn and catch passes from him at the NBA level.
The Suns have a glut of shooting guards after dealing Durant for Jalen Green and Dillon Booker. Houston’s former duo joined Booker, Bradley Beal, and Grayson Allen. Now, barring another trade, Brea will have to navigate that logjam to find minutes in his rookie season, but learning from Booker, he may develop his game quickly and work his way onto the floor.