Devin Booker Phoenix Suns We gave this award to Book last year, too. Back then, inside the NBA bubble (re- member that?), the Suns shooting guard’s superstar status was still incubating. His performance in the 2020-21 season was on a whole other level, though — it would feel wrong to call anybody else the Best Male Athlete, given the majestic basketball Booker played on the way to leading the Suns to their first NBA Finals in 28 years. Yes, the addition of Chris Paul was essen- tial to the Suns’ playoff run, and players like Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, and Mi- kal Bridges made huge contributions. But Booker was who you came to watch night after night after night. He put up 47 points in the game that knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs. He dropped 34 to complete the sweep of the Nuggets. In Game Four against the Bucks, he scored 42 points, including 18 in the third quarter alone. (He didn’t miss a single shot from the floor during that quarter, either.) Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win that game, or the series. But Booker’s only 24 years old, and his contract has him in Phoenix a few more years. He’ll be back, and we can’t wait. EEEEE Skylar Diggins-Smith Phoenix Mercury She’s best known to some as the beauti- ful basketball player that snubbed rapper Drake for a kiss at the 2014 ESPY Awards, but there’s a lot more to Phoenix Mercury point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith than just her good looks. Since being chosen by the Tulsa Shock as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, the former Notre Dame standout has averaged 16 points per game over the course of her career. In her first season with Phoenix in 2020, she averaged 17 points, four assists, and three rebounds per game. She’s setting records here in 2021, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 3,000 career points, 1,000 assists, and 200 steals. Diggins-Smith also engages in community service in the Valley, promoting benefits for the Arizona Humane Society and par- ticipating in racial equality campaigns. EEEEE Sports Betting Legalization Much like marijuana, legalized sports gambling in this country seems inevi- table; there’s simply too much money to be made. Arizona wised up this year and passed, through the legislature, a bill that opens the state up to sportsbooks, taxing retail bets at 8 percent and online bets at 10 percent. (And for those looking to ac- quire a license, the cost is nearly $1 million for initial licensing fees.) Governor Doug Ducey signed it into law in April, and bet- ting got underway in August, just in time for football season. Who knows? Maybe some of the projected $15 million in ad- ditional annual tax revenue might actually find its way to Arizonans who need it, in the form of social services or education funding. We’re not betting on it, though. EEEEE Barstool Takes Over the Arizona Bowl 84 In July, sports-media supervillain Dave Portnoy posted a video online in which he sat atop a unicorn statue on the campus of the University of Arizona and announced that the company he founded, Barstool Sports, had not only secured the nam- ing rights for the Arizona Bowl but also would be broadcasting the 2021 college bowl game through its app, website, and social media channels. Given Barstool’s profile — the site is often criticized for its misogynistic worldview — it was only a matter of time before controversy BEST OF PHOENIX 2021 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2021.C0M | SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 fu n & g a me s B E S T F EM A L E A THL ET E N O N-C B BI A A NEW L E NN STS-R A E W L A T ED B E S T M A L E A THL ET E B E D S RA T SP OR M T A S
