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Last season, Devin Booker had to wait for Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight to suffer injuries before he got to regularly start for the Phoenix Suns. This time, he'll do so from day one, next to Bledsoe but ahead of Knight.

This Booker won't be the same one who finished out the 2015-16 season. For one, he won't be piloting Phoenix's offense nearly as much now that Bledsoe and Knight are healthy again. The sharpshooter out of Kentucky also figures to be more aggressive going to the hole after a summer spent building up his body.

"I put on a lot of weight this year, so I'm using my body a lot more," Booker said, per Arizona Sports' Bryan Gibberman. "People know about me, so they're going to be more aggressive with me this year. It's getting involved that way, if my shot's not falling, getting points at the line will get me going."

Booker's already done plenty of that in the preseason. During the Suns' 91-86 opening win against the San Antonio Spurs, he made all eight of his free throws on the way to a 19-point night. Two nights later, he went 6-of-6 from the stripe in a 104-99 loss to the Utah Jazz.

For Booker to go from pleasant rookie-season story to legitimate star at shooting guard, he'll have to continue living at the free-throw line.

"He knows in order to take his game to the next level, it should be seven to 10 times per game, he understands that," head coach Earl Watson told Gibberman. "He drives good enough. He's fearless attacking the basket. And the more that he can do that for us, it's really efficient for us."

And even more important for Booker's meteoric rise through the NBA's ranks.