The Athletic’s – Law Murray of The Athletic placed several Phoenix Suns players into a tiered ranking of NBA talent for 2026, with Devin Booker falling into Tier 2D. The tiers also reflect shifting national perception, including Dillon Brooks rising into Tier 4C and Jalen Gree
Devin Booker’s place in the league just got a little harder to defend—at least in the cold language of tiers.
In a national NBA player ranking series published by The Athletic. Law Murray built a five-tier system for 2026 that segments players by tier. and then by smaller subcategories like Tier 2D or Tier 4E. The method isn’t trying to be a highlight reel or a social-media argument. It’s meant to organize the league into a hierarchy—Top 10 down to players just outside the top tier of relevance.
Murray’s tiers run like this: Tier 1 caps at 10 players and is reserved for a “Top 10” NBA player who can reasonably be considered an All-NBA First Team caliber talent. Tier 2 runs from 11 to 30 and is for All-Star-level players who can lead an adequate team. Tier 3 spans 31 to 60 for star consideration—players who may not be the best on their team. but can be the third-best on a big three. Tier 4 covers 61 to 100 and is for good starters who aren’t quite stars. and Tier 5 runs from 101 to 125 for players just outside the top 100.
When that structure was applied to the Phoenix Suns roster, the national picture came into focus fast—because Booker landed in Tier 2D.
The Suns players listed in Murray’s series, with their 2026 tiers, were: Devin Booker (Tier 2D), Dillon Brooks (Tier 4C), CJ (listed as “CJ” with tier 4A), Jalen Green (Tier 4E), Collin Gillespie (Tier 5A), and Grayson Allen (Tier 5B).
That tier placement matters because it wasn’t just a reshuffling in isolation. Murray’s write-up also includes comparisons to how certain players were ranked the season before.
Booker’s change is the most striking. In the 2026 tier breakdown. Devin Booker is shown in Tier 2D after appearing as “2A” in the 2025 tier column—an indicator that he fell within the national hierarchy. The bigger point made around these tiers is perception: Booker. once comfortably in the “top 15 conversation. ” now appears to many observers to be sliding further down those lists. Even within the broader discussion of value. the conversation turns on timing—because Booker is being paid in the range of superstar money.
The tension isn’t that Booker isn’t a franchise pillar. The tension is that the national ranking system, with its tight logic, puts pressure on the idea of “efficient offense” and “defense” carrying enough weight to justify superstar expectations.
Booker remains the Suns’ foundation. the discussion stresses. and it’s hard to read this tier placement without remembering the immediate basketball reality behind it. The piece lays out that Booker has won just four playoff games without Chris Paul on the floor. It also notes that all five Phoenix series wins with Booker have come against teams missing a star for all or part of the series—listing Anthony Davis. Jamal Murray. Kawhi Leonard. Zion Williamson. and Paul George.
At the same time, the argument isn’t purely defensive. It points to what Booker would need to look even more like the kind of player national writers place closer to the top of the tier ladder: “a point guard who consistently helps him get easier shots. ” another star teammate at any position. and a head coach who can stick around. Jordan Ott is listed as Booker’s eighth head coach.
Dillon Brooks’ placement tells a different story—one about impact.
Brooks lands in Tier 4C. and the tier comparison shown in the piece puts him at “4E” in the 2025 tier column before moving to 4C in 2026. The discussion frames it as real momentum: Brooks is described as one of the few risers in Murray’s 4C group. and the work places emphasis on a shift in how his seasons are perceived—moving from being seen. at times. as rooted in antics or as more annoying than impactful with earlier stops. toward a clearer picture of what he contributes on the court.
For Jalen Green, the national ledger reads harsher.
Green sits in Tier 4E, and the tier comparison shows him in Tier 4E again in the 2025 tier column, too. The piece adds the kind of detail that makes tiers feel personal rather than academic: Green missed 50 games this season. which affected how he’s perceived locally and nationally. The ranking is presented alongside a salary column for the Tier 4E group—highlighting that Phoenix is set to pay Green $36.3 million next season.
That salary detail is the emotional trigger in this part of the discussion because the tiers are being used to measure value. not just ability. The piece connects Green’s ranking to broader trade talk this offseason. saying fans who want Green traded may ultimately be disappointed. and arguing that—based on this tier system—his national value may not be high enough to return the kind of desirable assets Phoenix would want to move the franchise forward.
Even the “not now” conclusion is driven by the same structure: the piece suggests the ranking makes it hard to justify exploring trades at this time. and it continues to frame Green as the roster’s “wild card. ” with the highest ceiling but also the most uncomfortable price-to-production conversation.
Meanwhile, Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen are depicted as players whose stock is rising—and their tiers reflect that.
Gillespie is listed in Tier 5A in 2026. and the comparison shown in the piece has him changing from “4A” in the 2025 tier column. The piece also ties Gillespie’s tier rise directly to an important deadline looming this offseason: as Gillespie approaches unrestricted free agency. his rising national value could affect the price at which Phoenix brings him back.
Grayson Allen lands in Tier 5B in 2026. The comparison shown has him moving from “5A” in 2025 to “5B” in 2026, and the discussion emphasizes that Allen didn’t crack the top 125 last season either—framing him as a player still seen as valuable around the league despite not being positioned as a star.
The case for Allen is also about how a skill set travels: shooting, secondary scoring, and spacing off the bench. It also underscores the roster math Phoenix would have to confront if Allen were moved—because moving him off the roster “hurts depth and second-unit scoring.”
Put together. Murray’s tiered list—and how Phoenix’s players stack up within it—leads to the same uncomfortable conclusion that fans have been circling for a while. Phoenix has good players. The roster is presented as deeper than expected and competitive in the way a team can be when it doesn’t rely only on top-end hierarchy.
But the national view, as reflected in these tiers, increasingly treats the Suns as a team building functionality, depth, and identity around Devin Booker rather than stacking enough star power to look like an unquestioned championship contender.
The tiers don’t remove emotion. They just strip it down. Booker remains the headliner in this framework. Brooks is gaining respect through quantified impact. Gillespie and Allen are framed as legitimate rotational pieces. Green remains the one most likely to spark debate—not because anyone is denying potential. but because the numbers in the tier system leave less room to avoid the question of whether the price is matching the production yet.
Phoenix Suns Devin Booker Dillon Brooks Jalen Green Collin Gillespie Grayson Allen NBA player tiers Law Murray The Athletic