Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out of the Milwaukee Bucks' clash with the Chicago Bulls on Thursday in the second quarter after suffering a wrist injury.

The injury occurred as Antetokounmpo raced back and attempted to block a fast-break lay-up, crashing into the stanchion underneath the ring hands-first.

He immediately began feeling for his wrist, and after exiting the game and heading back to the locker room, the Bucks confirmed he would not return.

Antetokounmpo finished with two points, seven rebounds and three assists, and was plus nine in his nine minutes.

The 40-17 Bucks came into the game with the league's second-best record, trailing only the Boston Celtics (42-17).

Joe Mazzulla has been appointed the permanent head coach of the Boston Celtics.

Mazzulla becomes the 19th full-time head coach in the franchise's history and he has also agreed an extension to his contract, though details were not confirmed.

The 34-year-old took over the Celtics on an interim basis in September following the suspension of previous head coach Ime Udoka.

Mazzulla has had an impressive impact on last season's NBA Finals runners-up, leading them to a league-leading record of 42-17.

The announcement from the Celtics came on Thursday following Wednesday's 127-109 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Mazzulla was hired by the Celtics in 2019 as an assistant coach following two years in his first head coach role with division two college Fairmont State.

He spent two of his first three seasons on the Celtics bench under former head coach and current president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, before retaining his role when Stevens was promoted and Udoka was brought in as the new head coach.

Stevens said following the announcement: "As he has shown, Joe is a very talented coach and leader. He has a unique ability to galvanize a room around a mission.

"We are thankful for the work he has done to help get us to this point, and excited that he has agreed to lead us into the future."

It was also announced last month that Mazzulla and the rest of Boston's coaching staff had earned the right to coach Team Giannis at this year's All-Star Game, which takes place in Salt Lake City on Sunday.

LeBron James likes what the new-look Los Angeles Lakers have "brewing" following some shrewd business before last week's trade deadline.

Five players made their home debuts for the Lakers in a 120-102 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt were all in the starting line-up as the rebuilding Lakers moved to 27-32, sitting 13th in the Western Conference.

James made his return from injury after seeing Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, Patrick Beverley and Thomas Bryant move on.

The Lakers superstar, who scored 21 points after recovering from foot soreness, feels there is a nice blend to the roster after so many changes.

He said: "I think we're going to continue to build off tonight," said James. "I think our skill sets all kind of fit each other."

James expressed his gratitude to the contribution the players who departed made but is happy with the new faces that have arrived.

"First of all, I shout out and salute the guys that left," James said. "Russ, Pat, JTA, DJ and Thomas. Those five guys. We all started the season together and tried to work to make some things happen and be the best that we could be out on the floor.

"So I salute those guys and their commitment to us trying to be as good as we could be on the floor. And right now, I mean, I like the guys that we have coming in. It's going to take some time for us to get to know one another, but I know that they play the game at a high level."

James added heading into the All-Star break: "We got a lot of work to do still. And every game is going to be tough for us, especially going down the stretch, knowing the type of push that we need to make.

"I want the guys to enjoy the break but don't get 100 per cent detached because we want to come back and try to keep this thing going.

"I feel really good about what we have brewing, but it's going to take a lot of commitment from us going down the stretch so I'm looking forward to that."
 

Joel Embiid is unsure if he will be fit for the All-Star Game on Sunday after making history in the Philadelphia 76ers' win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Embiid scored 29 points, took 14 rebounds and provided five assists as the 76ers beat the Cavaliers 118-112 at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

The center became the fastest 76ers player to reach the 10,000 points milestone in his 373rd game, beating the record of 378 that was held by Allen Iverson.

Embiid is due to feature in the All-Star showpiece at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Sunday, but is not certain to showcase his talents due to the sore left foot that has been troubling him.

Asked if he will play this weekend, he replied: "I'm not sure. I'm not healthy. I haven't been healthy for the past three weeks, or a month.

"I was just trying to get to the All-Star break without missing games and stuff. But I feel like I've reached the point where I need to follow the doctor's advice. ... Back then he said I should have been sitting for two weeks, so we'll see how the next few days go, and go from there."

Embiid says the prospect of claiming the MVP award on Sunday as an injury replacement for Kevin Durant will not tempt him to take any risks with his fitness.

"I haven't been healthy," he said. "I've been having this lingering foot issue. According to the doctors, which needs a lot of rest and staying off my feet."

Embiid expressed his pride at reaching a huge milestone.

He added: "It's great. I'm extremely lucky. But then again, I've put in a lot of work to be able to put myself in those positions, no matter what it is on the floor. To be able to make something happen.

"I'm just proud it contributes to winning. It doesn't matter how much you score. As long as you win, that's what matters."

Philadelphia are third in the Eastern Conference, above the Cavaliers at 38-19 after a fourth successive victory.

Mikal Bridges scored a career-high 45 points in his third game for the Brooklyn Nets since his trade for Kevin Durant as they won 116-105 over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

The Nets had dropped four of their past five games since trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, with the injured Durant following him out the exit door last week.

Bridges shot 17-of-24 from the field, making four-of-six from beyond the arc with eight rebounds and five assists.

The Nets became the first team in NBA history to have four players score 45 points or more in a single game in one season.

Cameron Johnson, who also joined the Nets from the Phoenix Suns alongside Bridges, added 18 points with three assists.

The Nets had trailed 56-52 at the main break, but Bridges broke the game open with 15 straight points.

Bridges finished the game with 17 points in the fourth quarter, comfortably eclipsing his previous career-best return of 34 points.

Bam Adebayo had 24 points with 13 rebounds and six assists for the Heat, while Max Strus scored 18 points as the Heat fell to 32-27.

The win lifted the Nets to 34-24, although Ben Simmons' woes continued with only two points, four rebounds and assists in 20 minutes.

Embiid brings up milestone amid double-double

Joel Embiid brought up his 10,000th career as he recorded a double-double as the Philadelphia 76ers won their fourth straight in a 118-112 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Embiid finished with 29 points with 14 rebounds and five assists, while James Harden also managed a double-double with 19 points and 12 assists. Harden assisted and scored in 27 of 38 first-quarter points.

The 76ers led 63-38 at half-time, although Donovan Mitchell fought hard for the Cavaliers, scoring 25 second-half points, before finishing with 33.

LeBron returns as Lakers win

LeBron James scored 21 points on his return after three games out with a foot injury as the Los Angeles Lakers won 120-102 over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Anthony Davis scored a game-high 28 points with 10 rebounds and five assists as the Lakers improved to 27-32 to boost their playoff hopes, while D'Angelo Russell added 21 points. The Lakers never trailed after a 38-point opening quarter.

Brandon Ingram top scored for the Pelicans, still missing Zion Williamson, with 25 points, while Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points with 11 rebounds.

Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy believes the PGA Tour needs to take a leaf out of the NBA's book and build itself around star athletes.

The 33-year-old Northern Irishman, who has fiercely defended the PGA Tour amid the rise of LIV Golf, said the organisation could look at other professional sports leagues as models to rebuild itself for growth.

The PGA Tour is weighing up format changes like making at least some of the designated events limited-field, no-cut tournaments.

Tiger Woods spoke about the challenges of the PGA Tour's direction on Tuesday ahead of this week's Genesis Invitational in California, with McIlroy weighing in on Wednesday.

"If you look at the NBA's trajectory over the last 20 years, they've built that league around their best players and their stars, not around the 12th guy on the team," McIlroy told reporters.

"But because they've built that league up around the stars, the 12th guy on the team does way better than he used to, so that's sort of the way I've been trying to tell it."

McIlroy insisted that any PGA Tour changes would not "screw" the lower-ranked, bottom-half players who he sensed had concern around format adjustments that could squeeze them out of tournament fields.

"I've had tons of conversations with guys that are worried about what events they're going to play next year and all that," McIlroy said.

"The one thing I said, look, no one's trying to screw the bottom half of the tour here. If anything, we're trying to lift it up.

"The best players should be playing in them because ultimately the PGA Tour needs to be built around the best players because that's what will maximise the value of the product.

"But that doesn't mean that there's not great storylines further down that list, which we're all very cognisant of."

McIlroy can regain his number one ranking at the Genesis Invitational but laughed that status has been passed around "like a hot potato" in recent times, with last week's Phoenix Open winner Scottie Scheffler re-claiming it.

"Yeah, of course I care about it," McIlroy said. "I think it's a really cool thing to be ranked number one in whatever you do, but I think it just goes to show the level of depth and the level of talent that's out here.

"I literally have one average week, it wasn't even a bad week, just an average week, and there's always someone waiting to overtake you or to come and try to take that mantle from you. I think it's a great thing for the game.

"I've got a chance to get it back this week. You know, hopefully it's a bit of a sort of hot potato thing where me, Scottie and Jon [Rahm] sort of pass it around a little bit because it means we're all playing great golf."

Michael Jordan has made a $10million donation to Make-A-Wish America.

The legendary basketball star turns 60 on Friday and to celebrate he has pledged the largest individual donation in Make-A-Wish history.

Jordan, who is the chief wish ambassador for the charity, has supported the foundation since 1989.

The foundation was founded in 1980 and helps fulfil the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of two-and-a-half and 18 years old.

A tweet from Make-A-Wish America's official Twitter account said Jordan's "birthday wish is to inspire others to help grant more wishes".

Draymond Green has questioned the Golden State Warriors' "will to defend" after they slipped to 29-29 for the season in their last game before the All-Star break.

The reigning NBA champions were beaten 134-124 by the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, conceding 44 points in the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena.

The Warriors have conceded on average 118.5 points per game this season, with only the Charlotte Hornets (119.1), Detroit Pistons (119.7) and San Antonio Spurs (122.7) faring worse.

That is a significant rise on their average of 105.5 points against per game in the regular season last year, which was the third-best in the league.

"It has to come from within," Green said. "Defense is all about will, a want to defend.

"Defense isn't fun. You've just got to do it if you want to win, and we haven't.

"It's the will to defend, stop and guard your man, and sink, and drop the box and rotate. Defense is just one or two steps extra... that's all will, and we don't have that as a team."

Kawhi Leonard top-scored for the Clippers with 33 points, while Norman Powell recorded 24, getting away 17 field-goal attempts despite only being on court for just over 25 minutes.

"Every guy has to decide to take on that challenge himself," Green added. "That challenge isn't just guarding the ball. The challenge is I'm supposed to be there to help, and that guy has to be able to trust that I'm going to get there. 

"If he doesn't trust that I'm going to get there, then what do you do? You foul. We all know that's been a problem for us.

"I can be better. I'm as much of a culprit as anyone else. I'm not going to point the finger at anyone or point blame. If you're a leader at something and you are failing at it, it's your fault."

Green also acknowledged Golden State's need to improve quickly or risk missing out on the playoffs, as they sit ninth in the Western Conference.

"It's now or never," Green said. "We are .500 at the break. Middle-of-the-pack team with those middle-of-the-pack stats.

"You've got to come out of the break and win and do it at a high level, or you go home at the beginning of April. I wouldn't be happy with that. But that will be the result if we don't get there."

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is looking more like a two-time NBA Finals MVP every day and his shooting renaissance continued in Tuesday's 134-124 home victory against the Golden State Warriors.

Leonard, who missed the entire 2021-22 season after tearing his ACL in the 2021 playoffs, tied his career-high with seven threes as he led the Clippers with 33 points on 12-of-27 shooting (seven-of-nine from deep).

There were fears the former Finals MVP with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors would be robbed of the remainder of his prime by the injury, averaging just 17.5 points on 47/27/79 shooting splits in his first 15 games this campaign.

But since the new year Leonard has gone up a gear, averaging 27.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals in 17 games since January 2, while shooting 52.4 per cent from the field, 48.2 per cent from deep and 91.9 per cent at the free throw line.

When asked by the media after the game about how he has managed to get back on track, Leonard said he is never worried about his percentages.

"[My jump shot] felt good," he said. "Like I've said before, it didn't matter what percentage I was at, I was going to keep shooting the basketball.

"That's what I did, kept shooting with confidence. Percentages can't save you, just because I'm shooting 40 (per cent) doesn't mean I'm going to shoot 40 the next game.

"You've just got to keep playing the game and shoot the shots that you practice."

Against the Warriors specifically, Leonard said he just rode a hot start.

"I just made shots early," he said. "Team-mates found me, I got in a rhythm, and just kept going from there.

"I like that [our new additions] stayed aggressive tonight, they didn't defer, and they just played their game.

"The West records are so close together, so every win matters, but we just have to keep getting better ourselves."

The win improves the Clippers' record to 32-28, placing them fifth in the Western Conference, although they are just 1.5 games out of the three seed, and three games ahead of the 12th seed.

The resurgent Phoenix Suns made it 11 wins from their past 14 games with a 120-109 home victory against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

Phoenix, who earlier this season endured a 2-12 run across a 14-game stretch, are now right back in the mix in the Western Conference, buoyed by the impending debut of trade deadline acquisition Kevin Durant.

Against the Kings, the Suns' main three players all performed at an exceptionally high level.

Point guard Chris Paul dished a season-high 19 assists – the second most by any player this season, trailing only James Harden's 21 against the Los Angeles Clippers in December – to go with 17 points on seven-of-15 shooting.

Offensive focal point Devin Booker led the Suns with 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting, and center Deandre Ayton dominated with 29 points (13-of-17 shooting), 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Both Kings All-Stars delivered, as De'Aaron Fox led the visitors in scoring with a game-high 35 points on 12-of-22 shooting, while Domantas Sabonis had 24 points (seven-of-12), 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

With the win, the Suns improved their record to 32-27 and moved up to the fourth seed in the Western Conference, one game behind the third-placed Kings (32-25).

Bucks extend winning streak to 11 against undermanned Celtics

The Milwaukee Bucks were pushed all the way by a Boston Celtics team missing four starters, ultimately coming away with a 131-125 overtime win at home.

With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford all out, Derrick White had 27 points (10-of-24), 12 assists and three steals, while Malcolm Brogdon added 26 points (eight-of-17) off the bench in a valiant effort.

But the heroics from the Bucks' All-Star duo pulled them across the line, with 40 points (13-of-21), seven assists and three steals for Jrue Holiday, while Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 36 points (12-of-26), 13 rebounds and nine assists.

The Bucks (40-17) are now just a half-game behind the Celtics (41-17) in the race for the league's best record.

Blazers waste another explosive Lillard performance

Nobody is averaging more points than Damian Lillard over their past 10 games, and he had another 39 in a 126-101 home loss to the Washington Wizards.

Lillard, who came into the contest averaging 38.2 in his past 10, shot 14-of-30 from the field while adding 10 rebounds and six assists.

But the Wizards were too good, led by their leading scorer this season, Kristaps Porzingis, with 28 points (10-of-15), 12 rebounds and five assists, while Kyle Kuzma bombed away for 33 points (11-of-20) and nine rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo sent an injury scare through the Milwaukee Bucks camp late in Tuesday's 131-125 overtime win over the Boston Celtics, but the initial report was positive according to head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Antetokounmpo went down awkwardly on landing following an unsuccessful drive to the basket in the fourth quarter and remained on the floor, before slowly getting to his feet and walking to the bench.

The Greek forward never left the game and played out the OT win, finishing with 36 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks as the Bucks claimed their 11th straight victory.

"They gave me a quick update just saying that they think he just banged knees with somebody," Budenholzer said.

"We'll check him in the morning, but I'd say the initial kind of report was positive."

Antetokounmpo's return was his 24th 30/10 game of the season, which is the most in the NBA. He was well supported by Jrue Holiday with a joint career-high 40 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field with eight-of-12 from beyond the arc.

Holiday's eight three-pointers was also a new career high, coming after his selection in the upcoming All-Star Game for the first time since 2013, marking the longest gap between All-Star appearances in NBA history.

"I don't really care for how I'm playing as long as we're winning," Holiday said. "For me, as long as we get the win, I'm OK.

"The only stat I look at is turnovers. That's kind of how I determine if I had a good or bad game. Tonight, what did I have, five turnovers? To me, that hurts my soul."

The win was not only the Bucks' 11th straight, but also saw them down their main Eastern Conference rivals for the top seed. The Bucks improved to a 40-17 record, narrowing the gap to the Celtics (41-17).

However, Boston were missing several key players, including Jayson Tatum (rest) and Jaylen Brown (facial fracture).

Celtics forward Sam Hauser had sent the clash to overtime with a game-tying three-pointer with 3.0 seconds remaining when Khris Middleton opted not to foul.

"We do different things at the end of the game," Budenholzer said. "The catch-and-shoot coming out of that is probably what they're looking for. We defended everything well, defended all the screens prior.

"He gets it out at half-court and hits a 30-footer. There's different things that we'll do. Credit to Hauser for making the shot. Khris did exactly what we asked him to do. Just fortunate to find a way to win it in overtime."

Jakob Poeltl looks right at home back with the Toronto Raptors after producing stats in Tuesday's win not seen in a single game since Shaquille O'Neal.

In the Raptors' 123-113 home win against the Orlando Magic, Poeltl finished with 30 points on 15-of-17 shooting, nine rebounds and six blocks. It was the first time since O'Neal in 2004 that a player has had 30 points, six blocks and shot at least 85 per cent from the field.

Poeltl, who was drafted by the Raptors back in 2016, had spent the past four-and-a-half seasons with the San Antonio Spurs after being part of the trade package to acquire Kawhi Leonard, ultimately resulting in Toronto's only ever championship.

The big Austrian became one of the league's best rim protectors in San Antonio, and with a gaping hole at center, the Raptors made a move at the deadline to bring him back in return for a one first-round pick, two second-rounders and bench big Khem Birch.

Speaking after the game, Poeltl highlighted his familiarity with point guard Fred VanVleet, who racked up a season-high 15 assists thanks in large part to the duo's pick-and-roll partnership.

"It's been going well," he said. "I feel like I've made improvement from game-to-game, I'm getting more and more comfortable out there.

"Tonight Freddy found me about 10 times in the pick-and-roll, so my team-mates made it really easy on me.

"[The connection with VanVleet] has been going great, I feel like we're getting back to our chemistry, obviously we played together for two years already. Tonight we just kind of clicked, and I'm happy it worked out that way."

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse called that pick-and-roll combination "huge" and said "every time we hit [Poeltl], it seemed like something good happened".

Nurse went on to discuss the value of finally having an imposing presence on the interior that can dissuade opposing defenses from switching all screens.

"It's really valuable, it really is," he said. 

"There's two ways you're going to beat teams that switch – the big guy is going to go bury somebody inside, or the big defender is going to have to guard someone on the perimeter that can get by him or shoot a three.

"Having both of those makes it – it means you're probably not going to switch as much – especially if we're getting those inside buckets. Nobody likes the feel of a switch, throw it inside, get overpowered for a lay-up.

"It looks easy – I don't think it's that easy – but he made it look easy tonight."

The Raptors were expected to be sellers at the deadline as rumours swirled about trade offers for VanVleet, All-Star Pascal Siakam and wing O.G. Anunoby, but they have now won five of their past six to claw their way to 28-31, sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference and trending in the right direction.

LeBron James' achievement has been hailed as "absolutely incredible" by Tiger Woods, who also praised Tom Brady's legendary playing career.

James last week became the all-time points leader in NBA history, with the Los Angeles Lakers star overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record.

The 38-year-old is a four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA Finals MVP and four-time league MVP.

Ahead of his return to the PGA Tour at the Genesis Invitational, Woods was asked for his thoughts on James' feat, and suggested Sam Snead and himself would be golf's equivalent to the 19-time NBA All-Star.

"What he accomplished is absolutely incredible," Woods told reporters.

"Just the durability, the consistency and the longevity. I grew up watching Kareem, he was the Cap [Captain], that's all I remember – the showtime Lakers, watching Cap.

"That record, nobody ever thought it would be broken, but also the amount of minutes he's playing, nobody's ever done it at that age and the way he's done it, being able to play all five positions. That's never been done at this level for this long.

"As far as our equivalent to that... I don't know, maybe you look at me and Sam, at 82 [PGA Tour wins each, a joint-record]. It takes a career to get to those numbers, that's probably best how you look at it."

While James is set to play on, a star of another sport – Brady – has retired.

NFL great Brady, who had a short-lived retirement in 2022, called time on his playing days "for good" earlier in February, ending a 23-year career at the highest level.

The quarterback is one of the most successful players of all time, with seven Super Bowl rings to his name, and has the most career wins of any QB.

Aaron Rodgers might also be considering retirement, and Woods is astounded at the pair's longevity, especially when it comes to 45-year-old Brady.

"There was a touch and go whether I'd be back after my back fusion," said Woods when asked about the mindset of the duo when it comes to retirement. 

"I didn't know if I was going to be able to walk again, I came back and had a nice little run. The same again with this leg. I didn't know if I was going to be able to play again and I played three majors last year.

"When you get a little bit older and a little more banged up, you’re not as invincible as you once were – that's just the reality of all of us ageing. Those are contact sports, I don't know how they've played [so long].

"Tom, playing as long as he did and the level he played at, it was phenomenal. We just have to look at him as an outlier, as how great that was.

"I remember as a kid growing up watching John Elway speak and just crying as he said 'I can do it but my body won't allow me to anymore'. He won the last two Super Bowls but he just could not physically do it anymore.

"I've got to that point a few times where you think of [retirement]. My sport, there's no contact, I don't have 300lb guys falling on me. It's just a matter of shooting a low score. We have the ability to pick and choose, play a little bit longer.

"We've seen my hero – Arnold Palmer – play in 50 straight Masters. Fifty straight. I'm not even 50 years old yet! You look at Gary Player, who played in 51 Masters. We're different sports."

The Boston Celtics will head into Tuesday's road game against the Milwaukee Bucks without four starters after Jayson Tatum and Al Horford were ruled out in the hours before tip-off.

Tatum and Horford are the latest additions to a star-studded injury list for the Celtics, who were already without All-Star Jaylen Brown due to a facial fracture, while reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart is recovering from an ankle injury.

Horford is officially listed out due to right knee swelling, while Tatum has also been given the game off for Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons as the Celtics give their leader in starts and minutes this season some extended rest leading into the All-Star Weekend.

The Bucks will be close to full strength after it was confirmed Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton – who were initially marked down as questionable – were cleared to play. They will only be missing sixth man Bobby Portis and new trade acquisition Jae Crowder.

With a win, the Bucks can trim Boston's lead as the best record in the Eastern Conference, and in the league, to a half-game.

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker expects "exciting times" after Kevin Durant's trade made the rest of the NBA stand up and take notice.

Durant's move to Phoenix represents a big acquisition for new Suns owner Mat Ishbia, who completed his takeover last week and acted swiftly to bring in the 13-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP.

The 34-year-old, joining from the Brooklyn Nets with T.J. Warren, has averaged 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season.

After hitting the courts with Durant – who has been out of action over a month due to a knee injury – Booker hailed the small forward's quality as he lauded the Suns for attracting such talent.

"You can't put it into words, man," Booker said on Tuesday. "It's just all feeling. Looking forward to the post-All-Star break when we actually get the chance to compete with each other.

"I've never got to do that besides the Olympics with Kev, so it's exciting times around here.

"We built something that the league has picked up on. We were probably the laughingstock of the NBA about four or five years ago, and just turning that around to something serious to championship contenders is a quick turnaround for us, so we take a lot of pride in what we've built here.

"People reach out and they're like 'Oh, that's what y'all are on?' Just trying to get it done, man. Just trying to get it done.

"For us to be a destination that Kev wanted to come to is a big sign of that, to show respect for what we've done so far. We still have more to do, but we're moving in the right direction."

Phoenix fell narrowly short in the 2021 Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, losing 4-2, and Booker believes the Suns will soon achieve glory as they assemble their squad.

"One-hundred per cent. We kind of had the same approach with the team before the trade. Once you get a taste of Finals experience and having that under your belt, that's all that you want," he said.

"We have one goal; we know it's not going to be easy to get there, but we feel we have the talent, we have the mindset and everything it takes right here in this gym."

While Durant arrives with a major reputation and experience at the top of the game, Booker does not expect the Suns to have to adjust much to another star player.

"We don't have a hierarchy," he continued. "That's the thing about it. You have Chris Paul, one of the greatest leaders of all time. You have coach Monty [Williams], you have [general manager] James Jones, we have guys that are all on the same plan.

"I think we all have different types of leading styles, which is the great thing about leadership it comes in many different forms. And I think all of our games, and our mindsets, complement each other very well."

Booker sees Durant as "one of the best to ever do it", as he added: "It's just something that you got to be around. To feel when you're around greatness.

"It's just a different look, a different feel – but I'm excited to be a part of it."

The 31-27 Suns sit fourth in the Western Conference and host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.