The Headband Book deep dive: Is Devin Booker better or worse in a headband?

On March 8, 2018, Devin Booker made a fateful decision that set the world ablaze: He wore a headband.

After such a thrilling, titillating and completely unprecedented move, it was no surprise that Headband Book became an instant sensation among the Phoenix Suns fanbase. That unforgettable look has made stunningly few appearances over the years, but so far this season, Headband Book has dominated the conversation almost as much as Point Book.

We could talk about the double-teams Booker saw in the first half against the LA Clippers, or how his change in aggression and improved spacing around him helped him turn a slow start into a 35-point performance on 11-of-15 shooting, but you don't care about that.

You're here because Devin Booker hasn't looked like an MVP candidate for a few weeks, and after getting used to nice things early in the season, you're wondering if your totally rational anger toward an article of clothing is justified.

Well, fear not, dear readers (and hopefully new subscribers)! More than 2,000 days after Headband Book made his fateful debut, I am here to guide you through the peak of my journalism career with a deep dive into what the numbers say.

Our methodology

Please note that while this may seem silly, we didn't cut corners on this data-mining process. This is serious shit, people.

In order to ascertain the true number of Headband Book appearances, I poured through more than 30 pages of photo results on Imagn, our image provider. Each page holds 30 images per page, so after scrolling through about 900 photos and years' worth of photographic evidence tracing back to Headband Book's origin in 2018, I cross-referenced the dates from any photos where he was spotted with a complex search algorithm (typing "Headband Book" into the search bar on Twitter).

From this highly sophisticated and time-consuming methodology, I was able to confirm that out of 555 career games in the NBA, Devin Booker has worn a headband exactly 36 times. That means Headband Book has made an appearance in just over six percent of Booker's games in a Suns uniform.

Sighting a wild Headband Book is about as rare as a solar eclipse, or an Arizona resident who can drive on the freeway when it rains. It's a memory to be cherished, for better or for worse.

Through our complicated vetting process, we were able to identify the 36 specific games where Headband Book graced us with his presence. Using a spreadsheet, we compiled all the relevant data from those games, calculating his raw averages, shooting percentages, win-loss record and individual point differential in those games.

For the sake of being thorough, we also calculated Booker's averages in the non-Headband Book games from March 8, 2018, onward. This was done in order to figure out whether there's a discernible difference between Headband Book and Normal Book, starting from the moment Headband Book became sentient. Now let's dive into the good stuff.

What the numbers say about Headband Book

There's a drastic difference in sample sizes, but please note the GLARING differences in the two data sets:

Headband Book (36 games): 34.6 MPG, 26.1 PPG, 7.0 APG, 4.8 RPG, 3.1 TOs, 47.0 FG%, 36.0 3P%, 17-19 record (.472 win percentage), -0.6 point differential
Regular Book (314 games): 34.9 MPG, 26.6 PPG, 5.6 APG, 4.4 RPG, 3.2 TOs, 47.9 FG%, 35.3 3P%, 185-131 record (.589 win percentage), +2.8 point differential

I mean...my God. Regular Book is averaging a mind-boggling 0.5 points per game more than Headband Book! While shooting at a 0.9 percent higher clip! And don't even get us started in the chasmic difference in win percentages and point differential*!

*Never mind that most of that damage was done for Headband Book long before Chris Paul arrived, when the Suns were still catastrophically bad.

Headband Book is working Regular Book in the playmaking department, averaging a massive 1.4 more assists per game, but it must be because the headband is too tight, squeezing his brain into thinking more like a point guard than the purebred scorer he was born to be!

We can't go any further, of course, without mentioning the home vs. away splits. Headband Book is clearly more comfortable at home, scoring at a higher and more efficient clip while also yielding much more team success.

Headband Book at home (19 games): 34.3 MPG, 27.0 PPG, 7.0 APG, 4.9 RPG, 2.9 TOs, 47.6 FG%, 38.8 3P%, 11-8 record (.579 win percentage), +1.6 point differential
Headband Book on the road (17 games): 35.0 MPG, 25.0 PPG, 7.1 APG, 4.7 RPG, 3.4 TOs, 46.3 FG%, 32.1 3P%, 6-11 record (.353 win percentage), -2.9 point differential

A player putting up better numbers at home is truly shocking, and once again must be attributed to the headband.

But wait, there's more! Headband Book has spawned his own variants over the last few years, occasionally switching it up from the traditional white headband to a black headband, or even a purple headband(!) this year.

As you can see, the accomplishments of White Headband Book are quickly being overshadowed by his peers.

White Headband Book (27 games): 34.6 MPG, 25.6 PPG, 7.2 APG, 4.6 RPG, 3.3 TOs, 47.4 FG%, 34.6 3P%, 10-17 record (.370 win percentage), -1.9 point differential
Black Headband Book (6 games): 32.8 MPG, 25.0 PPG, 6.2 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.7 TOs, 42.1 FG%, 31.7 3P%, 5-1 record (.833 win percentage), +4.8 point differential
Purple Headband Book (3 games): 38.3 MPG, 32.3 PPG, 7.0 APG, 3.3 RPG, 4.3 TOs, 54.4 FG%, 50 3P%, 2-1 record (.667 win percentage), +0.3 point differential

White Headband Book is the best facilitator, but despite being less efficient, Black Headband Book is dominating in the team success category. Purple Headband Book, meanwhile, is a scoring machine, representing the best of both Books in spite of the high volume of turnovers.

The differences based on these results are glaring. For example, just looking at the raw data, Suns fans can reasonably expect a drastic difference between Normal Book and Headband Book. And if Devin Booker puts on a white headband on the road, you might as well just chalk it up as a loss.

Headband Book this season

The question is, how do those splits look this season? In his 25 appearances this year, Headband Book has burst onto the scene 24 times. The only time he hasn't adorned his nylon crown was a middling 20-point performance against the Houston Rockets.

When asked whether Bradley Beal -- a pioneer of the modern NBA's headband scene -- had influenced his new look, Booker laughed.

"Just trying to find myself....yeah."

His laughter couldn't hide the pain behind those eyes. But in his defense, Headband Book has risen to new heights here in 2023-24.

Headband Book this season (24 games): 35.8 MPG, 27.0 PPG, 7.9 APG, 5.3 RPG, 2.9 TOs, 47.5 FG%, 39.8 3P%, 14-10 record (.583 win percentage), +3.2 point differential
Headband Book before this season (12 games): 32.2 MPG, 24.2 PPG, 5.3 APG, 4.0 RPG, 3.7 TOs, 45.9 FG%, 29.2 3P%, 3-9 record (.250 win percentage), -8.0 point differential

Before this season, Headband Book was a harbinger of doom. The second time he ever appeared was the start of the Suns' franchise-record 17-game losing streak back in 2019. During that stretch alone, Headband Book witnessed a Pascal Siakam buzzer-beater, a Derrick Rose game-winner with 0.6 seconds left, and the infamous Gorgui Dieng tunnel fight game, where Book was ejected in the third quarter.

That's not to say there haven't been lows for Headband Book this season though. He appeared during a double-digit loss to the San Antonio Spurs, a sprained ankle against the Toronto Raptors, a game where Draymond Green straight up smacked Jusuf Nurkic, and a 7-turnover outing in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers that eliminated Phoenix from the In-Season Tournament. He wore it when Jalen Brunson dropped 50 on the Suns' heads, when Luka Doncic did the same thing on Christmas, and when Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson returned to Phoenix to steal a W.

Then again, perhaps it's not all bad. After all, it was Headband Book who won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

It was also Headband Book who shredded the Golden State Warriors down the stretch on opening night; helped beat the No. 1 team in the West without Beal; set a new career-high with 15 assists; stole a double-OT win in Utah; dropped a 40-ball on the Memphis Grizzlies; hit a game-winning 3 at Madison Square Garden; carried Phoenix in the fourth quarter to avoid an ugly loss to the Washington Wizards; and came to life in the second half against the Clippers to remind people he's not actually washed at age 27. And that's all from this season!

Looking back at the splits again, maybe the differences between Normal Book and Headband Book aren't so vast. Maybe the emotions of the past few weeks obscured the numbers, which are actually sorta kinda pretty close to identical.

It's almost like...he's the same player who's just wearing a fucking article of clothing.