Devin Booker shows respect to Stephon Castle ahead of Spurs matchup
Phoenix Suns star combo guard Devin Booker explains why he respects Stephon Castle and the level of competition during the 2026 All-Star Game.
AUSTIN – Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker just saw Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant last weekend in Los Angeles.
The former teammates played against each other in the new U.S. vs. World NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome.
Booker’s USA Stars defeated Durant’s USA Stripes in the championship, 47-21. Feb. 15.
Since then, several people on X (formerly Twitter) are accusing Durant of having a burner account @gethigher77 on which he criticized former teammates in Kyrie Irving and Booker, along with current teammates Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr.
Booker addressed the situation prior to the Suns (32-23) facing the San Antonio Spurs (38-16) on Feb. 19 at Moody Center on the campus of the University of Texas.
“I don’t know,” Booker said. “I was just with him All-Star weekend. Nothing was said about it. You don’t know what’s true and what’s not nowadays.”
The @gethigher77 account says “The Suns are my team when we lost and books team when we win,” and compared Booker to a dictator. (warning: Some language NSFW).
“I don’t pay too much (attention) to it,” Booker said. “Even if it is true, I understand there’s trolls nowadays. That’s what a lot of social media is. It’s trolling and it’s a good time. It’s a fun time. I don’t take any of it too personal.”
Durant was asked during NBA All-Star media day on Feb. 14 whether he would give up video games or X if he had to let one of the two go.
“I’m going to go Twitter,” a smiling Durant said. “I’m going to go Twitter because they don’t deserve to hear this God-level like talk I’m giving to them. They take it for granted.”
Durant admitted back in 2019 that he had a burner account to quietly communicate with friends.
“I wasn’t used to that amount of attention, you know, from playing basketball,” he told ESPN’s ‘The Boardroom’ back then. “I wanted a place where I can talk to my friends without anybody just butting in my conversations or mixing my words or taking everything out of context because I enjoyed that place.”
Years later, Durant found himself taking questions on this alleged account.
“I know you’ve got to ask these questions, but I’m not here to get into Twitter (X) nonsense,” Durant said after a Rockets practice Feb. 18. “I’m just here to focus on the season and keep it pushing, but I get that you have to ask those questions.”
The Rockets resume play after the NBA All-Star break Feb. 19 at Charlotte.
“My teammates know what it is, we’ve been locked in the whole season,” Durant said. “Enjoyed our break and we had a great practice. We’re looking forward to the road trip.”
Durant is in his first season with the Rockets after playing three seasons with Booker in Phoenix. He played with Irving on the Nets before that.
The Suns traded Durant to the Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, 7-footer Khaman Maluach out of Duke.
Booker and Durant also won Olympic gold together in Tokyo and Paris.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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