Some might say this is a reach, but when watching a certain player on the Phoenix Suns, you might get déjà vu or get stuck saying, “Hey, that looks very familiar.” That certain player that I am talking about is Koby Brea.
Brea brings a familiar feeling when watching his game. It almost reminds you of a kid the Suns drafted 11 years ago with the 13th pick in the NBA Draft. That kid was franchise phenomenon Devin Booker.
It just so happens that both guys have a lot of similarities, such as both being drafted out of the University of Kentucky, both being 6’6”, and both gracing the shooting guard position. Watching Brea’s game reminds you of a younger version of a kid who was told he is going to be at best a Klay Thompson-like player. Just a catch-and-shoot player that really didn’t have anything else outside of that game.
Brea has shown in his three summer league games that he is more than a catch-and-shoot player. Brea can attack the basket and create his own shot when needed.
Brea also had the same similarities and comparisons coming out of college.
Brea and Booker both had very similar stats in their first Summer League tenure with the Suns. Booker, in 7 games, averaged 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 40% from the field and three. Brea, in 3 games, averaged 12 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists while shooting 42% from the field and three.
I know there’s a reason Brea was drafted in the second round, so asking him to be Devin Booker is a lot. But it’s fun to look at and draw comparisons to the franchise hero. We’ve only got a sample size of Kobe Brea with only three Summer League games, and with him sitting on the bench in the first preseason game, we really aren’t sure what comes outside of the three-game sample size.
But I believe personally that with Booker being able to be a mentor to Brea and Brea getting to learn under Devin Booker, I believe that we could see something very special out of this kid, and since his summer league debut, I have been sold on what he can bring to an NBA team.
This season, I have invested all my stock in Koby Brea, and hopefully, he gets a decent amount of run with either the Phoenix Suns or the Valley Suns, the G League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns.