I fell in love with the city. He wanted his son to join him to not only grow as a basketball player, but as a young man in Mississippi and learn a better work ethic. A Draft lottery pick in 2015, Devin Booker has elevated himself from No. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. Those weekend visits growing up came flashing back to Booker two years ago, when his grandfather passed away. They never married but dated for many years and had Devin, Melvins only child, in 1996. Were going to see him do and be more involved in our community.. He always helped my mom out when she was in need, which was really important for me. FantasyPros considers the best player values for DraftKings and FanDuel NBA DFS. Whenever Melvin traveled to other countries for his games, the fatherson duo would communicate through e-mails. This is exactly what Lugo was hoping to do when he commissioned the flag: He wanted to represent, and to let other Suns fans know about Bookers heritage. By submitting your email, you agree to our, Suns Fans Find Meaningand Connectionin Devin Booker and His Mexican Heritage, 2021 NBA Finals Reset: Five Questions That Will Decide Bucks-Suns. Imagine the pride of having your team have a guy score 40 points in a playoff game, and he has Latino blood? I dont think any kid can just make that move that I made but I understood the goal that was at hand and I just embraced the Mississippi culture, you know, the inner city and it was good for me, Booker said. CartographerBlind. When I was a kid, I was always on the go, either outside playing basketball or something, so when it was time when my mom wanted to go to the other side of Michigan to hang with my Mexican side of the family, it wasnt really a priority for me. Imagine how I have to paint that picture over the airwaves so that those who listen to us who are Mexican, so that they can feel proud of a guy who shares their blood being an NBA star and who might be the most important player in the city since Larry Fitzgerald.. When the team was at its low point, winning 21 and 19 games during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, Ochoa remembers friends from Sonora asking for tickets to see the visiting Kevin Durant or LeBron James. His stunning performance in his rookie season earned praises from basketball legends such as Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. Join. Los Suns, said Richard Valdes from Phoenix. A post shared by Devin Booker (@dbook) on Jun 19, 2017 at 5:27pm PDT. Booker has said that before he was drafted by Phoenix in 2015, he hadnt really been able to connect with his Mexican roots. In 2010, Arizona passed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, which allowed police officers to detain people based on profiling their appearance. Devin averaged 30.9 points per game as a senior despite being double- and triple-teamed during the 2013-14 season at Moss Point. Also, being the support for your family and being the backbone of your family and how important that is.. After having Devin in 1996, she was often the one to spend time with him when Melvin traveled in different countries for his professional basketball career. Its very surreal. But Devin didnt want to leave his mom and his friends. Moreover, Devin has always appreciated this fact since being drafted by Phoenix . The couple did not marry but remained on good terms. I think for those of us that are Hispanic, there is even another layer to that. In a match against the New Orleans Pelicans in November 2016, Devin scored a career-high of 38 points, and a few days later, he bettered it by scoring 39 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the first Phoenix Suns player in 28 years to touch the 38-point mark consecutively in two matches. Devin was born to Melvin Booker and Veronica Gutierrez on 30th October 1996 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Maybe its my Mexican roots, Booker said with a smile when he was asked how he was able to put up 39 points in back-to-back games there. His grandfather was born in Los Nogales, Mexico, right near the Texas border. Who the f is this guy lmao. His grandfather was an immigrant from Nogales, Mexico where he and his family stayed for decades. Booker also won a gold medal on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo. The elder Booker was the 1994 Big Eight Player of the Year at the University of Missouri and a former professional basketball player. At the end of the day, hes my thoughtful, caring, giving, lovable, funny, charming son., The NBA has only had four players come directly from Mexico Horacio Llamos, Eduardo Najera, Jorge Gutierrez and Gustavo Ayon. Melvin Booker worried that his son might want to go back to Michigan after a bad first day of high school in Mississippi. Gerardo was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport two weeks ago when the team returned from Los Angeles after clinching a Finals berth, and he recalls fans chanting Si se puede (Yes, we can) as the players walked through. It's Hispanic Heritage Month. Doctor said it wouldnt be his best work, but hed do it. Melvin Booker of the Missouri Tigers dribbles the court during a game against the Kansas Jayhawks. Music booms through two speakers as a DJ and a hype man practice their lines, but the area is virtually deserted. "She wanted to meet Book," Suns coach Monty Williams said. Devin Booker hasnt disappointed. That's something that's been with me in my blood since birth.. Let these kids know that, especially with the NBA today, it's not one race. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Mexican blood like you? Ochoa said in Spanish. The Suns are back in Mexico City this weekend to take on the Spurs again but the team and Booker are in different places. The avid Suns fan attended the game at Footprint Center and met Suns All-Star Devin Booker 30 minutes before tip. Davon Wade works as a realtor at Linehan Real Estate. After the passing of his grandfather, Booker made it an emphasis to get intact with his heritage and the surrounding Valley community gave him the perfect environment to do so. Ive talked to my teammate Tyler Johnson about it. My draft night was one of the worst nights ever, Melvin Booker said. Did you get extra shots up? The Lakers legend laughed about that sequence in postgame comments to the media, but he shared a private moment with Booker himself. He is the only child of former professional basketball star Melvin Booker, who is Devin's father. His maternal grandfather hails from Mexico. I had to convince them that he had to move to Mississippi if he wanted to move to that next level, Melvin Booker said. Thats changed after his years in the cityas has the place he holds in many Latino Suns fans hearts. They mostly talked about and bonded through basketball. He went on to play in the NBA for the Houston Rockets during the 1995-1996 season and the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors during the 1996-1997 season. A native of Cananea, Sonora, a city four and a half hours south of Phoenix in Mexico, Ochoa has been calling Suns games since 2004. With his fathers influence, Devin naturally fell in love with the game of basketball as a child. I think this is a beautiful time to embrace our culture and love it with a passion, Devin Booker said. Im ready for you. But I stayed because of the mindset I had my whole life was just never giving up. Valdes says hes a diehard Suns fan, so finding out about Devin Bookers Mexican roots made him hopeful. The only real time with communication I had with him were the two to three months out of the year when I would go down to Mississippi [in the summer]. Devins mother is Victoria Gutirrez, a Mexican-American who has two other children. He began his standout basketball career at Moss Point High School . They worked out on the court together. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. Hes from a suburban, predominantly white town, Melvin Booker told The Undefeated. Media reports claim that while in college, he had had many affairs. But now, Ochoa is almost levitating as he calls an NBA Finals game surrounded by a deafening crowd. I am a very proud father and I know my son is living his dream. He met Veronica while mining a minor-league route to the league with the Grand Rapids Mackers of the Continental Basketball Association. 14. r/AnarchyChess. He is not living through me. Get to know them better here. He was the 1994 Big Eight Player of the Year and after impressing on the court, he was elected to the intercollegiate athletics Hall of Fame at theUniversity of Missouri. His maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Nogales, Mexico, and he has referenced his strong ties to his family and Mexican culture on multiple occasions. He averaged 13.8 points per game. 1 / 3. Of course, a lot of this wouldnt have happened had Booker not shown a willingness to embrace his Latino roots. Mac McClung checking his new followers. I owe her all the credit for allowing that to happen. In February 2017, he scored 31 points against the Milwaukee Bucks and became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 20 points in 16 consecutive games. The love was always there. Kendall Jenner and Devin Booker appear to be taking their relationship to the next level after a recent video showed the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star meeting Devin's grandmother. Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. Some of my favorite times as a child was my mom whipping up her original Mexican dishes that she learned from her father, or when we got the chance to visit my grandpa on the weekends in his city and having him cook for us, Booker told Suns.com. The former Kentucky Wildcat didnt start a single game and averaged just 21.5 minutes in his lone collegiate season. I remember him as a little kid and all he talked about is that he wanted to be a professional basketball player, Melvin Booker said. PHOENIX Phoenix Suns' number one player Devin Booker is an inspiration to many people, but here in the Valley of the Sun, Booker has added a special moment of pride to the Latino community. After his freshman year, he joined six Kentucky teammates by entering the 2015 NBA draft. Devin Booker, 25, has made quite the impression on the basketball court as part of the Phoenix Suns, and it seems his skill and hard work runs in the family. It was hard for me to understand then why we couldnt communicate so much. Its hard to explain. Now, Booker routinely quizzes his mother on their family history, hoping that she shares some knowledge on his past that can inspire his future. Its 11 p.m. on the night before Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals, and the space in front of Phoenix Suns Arena is brightly lit. It increases the fandom, just because its someone you can relate to, said Jason Macias, a lifelong Suns fan who is a third-generation Mexican American. Vigil remembers Booker showing up to an All-Star Week event in 2019 in a pair of baggy chinos, a black flannel buttoned up all the way to the top, Chicano style, and an old-school camcorder in his hand. A shooting guard, Booker received a star status after being the 13th overall draft and being selected by Phoenix Suns. Melvin Booker played in the American minor leagues for the Hartford Hellcats and Pittsburgh Piranhas and had two stints with Grand Rapids. Seeing it, I would never let him shoot another way but the correct way regardless to whether he was shooting on a big basket or a small basket, big ball, small ball, whatever. For those who arent fans, Bookers heritage may be what finally draws them in. I think its a combination of growing older and being exposed to more culture, Gutierrez wrote. Even then, he still dedicated portions of his post-practice routine to footwork and shot-making on the block. You could walk the same hallways, be a good kid and fulfill your dreams. Thats part of the reason I grind so much, Devin Booker said. Theres so much to learn about the Mexican culture, but Devin Booker says its never too late. Let these kids know that, especially with the NBA today, its not one race. Grandville was a town that was dominated by its white population. Its definitely something that I want to do. Ochoa believes that Earl Watson, the Suns coach for parts of three recent seasons, is a big part of the reason Booker began embracing the culture. Devin Booker Personal Life. In a. I also wanted him to be more of a role model to the kids to show that they could make it out of there. I still have mixed feelings about it, Gutierrez wrote. When I was drafted by Phoenix, I finally got to see the Hispanic culture around me for the first time in my life, Booker said. He believed that his relationship with his son would grow, too, if he finally had him by his side. That made me want to learn about myself much more honestly because I just hadn't been around. He also taught his son some tricks of the trade he developed on the pro level. His maternal grandfather was born in Mexico but migrated to Michigan. With family being the most important thing to me, its also very embraced in the Mexican culture. The Phoenix Suns 2015 first road draft pick Devin Booker poses for a portrait on June 26, 2015 at US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. He spent the summers with his father in the latters hometown of Moss Point, Mississippi, a predominantly black town with around 13,000 people that also had its share of crime and poverty issues. Devin Booker #1 of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots the ball during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Rupp Arena on February 28, 2015 in Lexington, Kentucky. His voice rings into his microphone as Booker hits a tough shot, which Ochoa describes in detail before punctuating the play with his go-to description for the Suns star: El hombre con herencia hispana! The man with Hispanic heritage. "I'm not going to say it's easy, there's going to be a lot of ups and downs, but just knowing it's possible. He became the fourth-youngest NBA player to score 1,000 points in the first season. Ever since [Devin] was 8 months old, he was coming with me in the summertime. Everywhere we went, everyone knew him. Even after having a really long playoff run, Devin Booker wasn't . Devin played basketball with his dad and his friends. It felt like a neutral game, but by the time we left after the second game, it definitely felt like home, Booker said of the breakout performances that merely set the stage for a 70-point effort the most scored in an NBA game since Kobe Bryants 81 in 2006 in Boston two months later. The ones in downtown Phoenix, those are a little different.. In October 2017, he scored 34 points against the Portland Trail Blazers to finish his 21st career game with 30+ points. 3. The couple never married and cooperatively co-parented their son who was predominantly with his mother due to his dads professional basketball career. It was better for my life.. I meet a lot of people around the basketball business that talk about him like, People may not know who your father is, but he could hoop, Devin Booker said. You know the stories about the light-skinned, biracial kid, are they tough enough? Devin Booker said he owes his mom the world for allowing him to depart to Mississippi and primarily raising him beforehand. If you're Mexican and you made it to the NBA, I can too, Booker said. Gerardo can rattle off facts about Booker like hes a walking Wikipedia page: Bookers mom is Mexican American, and his grandfather was born in Los Nogales, Mexico, a town near the Texas border. The city I grew up in and the high school was predominantly black. Melvin Booker got to break a sweat on a few NBA teams but mostly played overseas in Turkey, Russia and Italy. And it turned around. I think thats why he is eager to learn more now.. I dont look back on that. It takes a powerful woman to do that. As Ochoa puts it, if nine out of 10 Latinos are at least casual Suns fans, then seven out of those nine know that Booker has Mexican background. After splitting from Melvin, Veronica went on to have her third child, daughter Mya Powell, who reportedly has chromosome 22 deletion syndrome. 2K 38 Waru_ 1 day ago Melvin Booker also thought the fast-paced, trash-talking and tough style of basketball would make his . Ive been here, putting my head down, grinding, you know, these past five years, trying to get to this point, to at least give them competitive basketball. Davon is the eldest brother of an American basketball player Devin Booker who plays for Phoenix Suns. Devin Booker was born on October 30, 1996, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Someone taking pride in their culture and background is always something that we try to teach kids as well, so thats a learning experience for them and it definitely increases fandom for Latinos in general just because its someone representing their culture and our people.. Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, you don't get as much of it, besides the time that I spent with my grandpa and my mother, what she's passed down to us. In the 1990s, Latinos made up just 20 percent of Phoenixs population. Being able to touch those types of communities in this area makes all this that much better, said Booker. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, 5 takeaways from Durant's debut with Suns, Durant expected to make Suns debut tonight, David Benner, Pacers longtime PR director, dies, NBA DFS Picks: Yahoo plays & strategy for March 1, Kia Rookie Ladder: State of chase after All-Star, NBA DraftKings & FanDuel DFS Primer Wednesday 3/1. Devin and his father were around each other daily for the first time. So I came to pick him up after school and the first thing he said was, I dont know about this, dad., This was a social setting he needed to be around to know how blessed he had it because he was around a lot of kids with the typical urban story with no father in their lives Those were the things he needed to see and didnt see before.. It wasnt an easy move for a teenager who only knew suburban life to switch to an urban environment at a high school where his dad was a star. Melvin Booker also believed that his son would grow as a person from being at a school where most students didnt have his blessings. While going back to Michigan did get strong consideration, Devin Bookers perseverance not only led to an NBA career but also a close bond with father. She made it happen. The two hit it off, and a year later, Devin was born. Melvin Booker was the epitome of cool when his son was selected, but inside the emotions were high. Vigil said he didnt think that the uniforms felt like pandering; rather, it was finally merchandise that represented the largest demographic in Phoenix. It was special. Booker had never visited his grandfathers country until his job with the Phoenix Suns took him to Mexico City for two games in January 2017, where the then-unheralded second-year shooting guard torched the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs for back-to-back 39-point games. 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