“I’m back.”
You may know the famous proclamation to be the words of the great Michael Jordan when he declared his brief, 17-month retirement from professional basketball to be over. But today, the two words are linked to Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, who walked past the New Orleans Pelicans’ bench following Phoenix’s Game 5 victory on Tuesday night and simply shouted, “I’m back.”
The self-declaration wasn’t immediately followed by any team statements, so not too much was made of it. Until ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed (per his sources) that Booker is expected to play in Game 6 on Thursday night after missing the previous three with a hamstring injury.
ESPN Sources: Phoenix Suns All-Star G Devin Booker (strained hamstring) is expected to play vs. New Orleans in Game 6 tonight. Booker is expected to test the ligament in pregame warmups, and assuming all goes well, he’ll be back on the floor after missing the past three games.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 28, 2022
Bookers’ return is as significant as his aforementioned absence for this Suns-Pelicans first-round series. Tied a two games apiece, New Orleans had a legitimate case for upsetting the No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns. But a Game 5 loss and a Devin Booker return later, that case is all the more unlikely.
Devin Booker was reportedly yelling at the Pelicans bench “I’m back” as he walked off the court.
Game 6 return incoming for the Suns’ superstar?pic.twitter.com/hUwmokX1FW
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) April 27, 2022
The sportsbooks would agree. Phoenix’s line ahead of Game 6 has moved from -1.5 to -3.5 (at Tipico Sportsbook) after the injury news, and its +500 championship odds (April 22nd) have shortened to +380.
The last time we saw Booker on the court was when he scored 31 points in the first half of Game 2. What will his numbers look like in his return?