Its not one culture.. 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. Join. Devin grew up in Grandville, Michigan, a predominantly white town of about 15,000 people that is a suburb of Grand Rapids. In the next game, Devin scored 19 points against TexasArlington to set a new season-high score. Latino fans, in particular, lit up when they saw it. Beginning his career as a sportswriter, Benner then served with the Pacers for 28 years, retiring last season. You have people from all over with extreme talent. A grandfather and two granddaughters died in a DUI crash . Being able to touch those types of communities in this area makes all this that much better, said Booker. The Latino community says they will stand behind him. And Booker is no longer a youngster trying to prove he belongs in the league; he has the nine-figure contract befitting a franchise cornerstone and is playing at a level that could find him making his first All-Star team. In August 2011, Devin scored 17 points in the fifth game of the season, against Gulfport High School. His score was higher than the rest of his team combined. Vigil said he didnt think that the uniforms felt like pandering; rather, it was finally merchandise that represented the largest demographic in Phoenix. Devin Booker 2015-16 Panini Complete Rookie RC #296 Phoenix Suns Pre-Owned $20.00 Seller: matts_cardz (12,281) 100% Buy It Now +$4.95 shipping Sponsored 2015-16 Panini Gold Standard DEVIN BOOKER RC Jersey /149 BGS 9 w/ 10 AUTO RPA $349.95 Seller: meets2 (955) 99.6% or Best Offer +$3.95 shipping Authenticity Guarantee 13 watchers Sponsored That made me want to learn about myself much more honestly because I just hadn't been around. With his mom and dad sitting next to him in the 2015 NBA draft green room, Devin was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Suns last year. When I saw that, I said he looks like one of my own uncles growing up, Vigil said. Ever since he was 8 months old he was coming with me in the summertime. That was the same night former Suns great and Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash saw his name and likeness enshrined in the franchises Ring of Honor at halftime. He did eventually make it to the NBA, first playing 11 games for the Houston Rockets during the 1995-96 season. There was a family legacy at Moss Point as Devins father and grandfather also attended the high school. Devin played basketball with his dad and his friends. By Vrushali Padia Published Mar 19, 2022. It has paid off: Booker shot 52.5% and averaged 1.08 points per post-up possessions this season, making him the 10th most efficient player in the league with at least 50 such possessions. A Draft lottery pick in 2015, Devin Booker has elevated himself from No. 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. Thanks, Pops: Bookers father, Melvin Booker, played professionally from 1994-2008, including for two seasons and three different NBA teams (Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors). The love was always there. Hikaru has been surpassed for the number one spot on Chess.com's Blitz global leaderboard. Devin once ran into controversy when he asked a fans girlfriend to sit on his lap. 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. Playoff ready: Any questions about how Bookers scoring would translate to the postseason were answered swiftly. Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. A couple of things that I learned from my grandfather were about the hard work and dedication to a craft. He always shot with the perfect form, Melvin Booker said. RotoWire considers the best player values in Yahoo fantasy leagues for Wednesday night's slate. Phoenix didnt do well in his honor, losing to Dallas 111-95, but Booker provided an intriguing silver lining. At first, just being out of your comfort zone was a thing for me. Read Kevin OConnors grades of every first-round pick. Devin Booker spends his sprawling $26.6 million fortune to live a lavish life. Symbolic start: After being drafted 13th overall, Bookers NBA debut took place in Phoenix on Oct. 28, 2015. 1.4K. The athletes parents, Melvin Booker and Veronica Gutierrez, led successful careers of their own as they raised him, and have been a huge part of his life. Heres a look at 10 things to know about Phoenixs standout guard, his life and his NBA career. With Booker's help, his younger half-sister, who has microdeletion syndrome, will be a Special Olympics worldwide ambassador in 2020. And hes been loyal. Booker has said that before he was drafted by Phoenix in 2015, he hadnt really been able to connect with his Mexican roots. 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. It means a lot to me. Even then, he still dedicated portions of his post-practice routine to footwork and shot-making on the block. Bookers rise from 18-year-old rookie to two-time All-Star has ushered in a new era for the Suns. After Devins birth, they decided that they would both take care of Devin, but he mostly stayed with his mother, as his father remained busy with his international basketball career. My favorite part about being Mexican is the culture and being a part of the heritage, Booker said. Down to just people saying Kobe when they shoot a piece of trash in the garbage. Being here in Phoenix has made me aware of living in the culture.. Letting Devin leave Michigan was by far the hardest decision of my life. Kevin Durant shows no signs of rust in his 1st game with Phoenix, meshing quickly with his new teammates. Melvin Booker also believed that his son would be much taller than him. Veronica is Puerto-Rican and Mexican American, and Melvin is African-American. The relationship foundered after Devin's birth, and Veronica raised their son as a single mom while Melvin played international basketball in Europe. Melvin Booker also believed that his son would grow as a person from being at a school where most students didnt have his blessings. Macias has seen Mexican-influenced murals of Booker and the Suns pop up around the city, including one the Suns commissioned with Los Suns jerseys and players painted as Dia de los Muertosstyle skeletons. Jesus Gutierrez who went by Jesse, to most was originally from Mexico, growing up in a large family of 15 brothers and sisters in Nuevo Len before later settling in Michigan. That Hispanic culture is seen both in the stands and throughout the fan base, but what many might not know, is that the Suns also represent Hispanic heritage on the court. Post player first:Being tall for his age, Booker actually played significant minutes in the post as a kid before ultimately becoming a shooting guard. Devin soon started attending Grandville High School, and Melvin retired from professional basketball to stay closer to his son. Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that Bookers grandfather was born in Nogales, Mexico; he was born in Los Nogales. Hence, he became first player in the history of NBA to debut at 18 years of age, with at least one year of college basketball experience. Everyone wants to see a little bit of themselves in the athletes that theyre watching on TV, Vigil said. Devin Booker remembers hopping in the car with his mother, Veronica Gutierrez, as she took a more than two-hour drive from their home in the suburbs of Grand Rapids, Mich., to Detroit to spend time with his Papa. 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. Booker is a two-time NBA All-Star and has been selected to play for Team USA in the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which starts July 25, just three days after a possible Game 7 in the NBA Finals . With Booker being Hispanic, I think it just opens the eyes to our culture around our Hispanic heritage, Lugo said. Melvin Booker says he turned down an additional contract year with Italys Armani Jeans Milano and retired in 2008, primarily with his son in mind. 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. She reportedly worked as a cosmetologist and already had a son named Davon Wade when she met Devins father in her hometown of Grand Rapids. It wasnt long ago that the radio broadcaster was calling games in Spanish for a 19-win team in a nearly empty building. Im finally to the age where I realize I can ask questions and shes breaking it all down to me, Booker, 23, said. Like Devin, Melvin spent many years as a professional basketball player. But now, Ochoa is almost levitating as he calls an NBA Finals game surrounded by a deafening crowd. Jarred Vanderbilt is Devin Booker's grandfather. Like father, like son, Melvin was also a basketball player at the University of Missouri. Its something thats not too late to learn because, at the end of the day, this is what makes up me, said Booker. He became an assistant basketball coach at his alma mater, Moss Point High School, after retiring from playing professionally. The city I grew up in and the high school was predominantly black. 9. That was what made me. Just around the corner from the Latino Arts and Cultural Center mural in downtown Phoenix stands the actual center, which is a hub of paintings, models, and sculptures displaying different aspects of Latino culture. That was simple enough: Lugo knew he wanted Bookers face on a prayer candle, and a Suns logo with the traditional green, red, and white tricolor design. Gary Trent Jr is Kawhi Leonard Wife. He died aged 67. Melvin Booker, however, believed that Moss Point High would benefit from his sons presence on and off the court. The couple did not marry but remained on good terms. Originally from Mississippi, he became a great player in high school before getting signed to play for the University of Missouri. 1 / 3. After the passing of his grandfather, Booker made it an emphasis to get intact. Booker was too young to fully understand the significance of the visits, since communications with his grandfather, Jesus Gutierrez, were stunted by a language barrier Devin spoke no Spanish, Papa got by with some broken English. Something went wrong. . Devin had the kind of relationship with him that was distant but you always knew he was there, Bookers mother wrote in an email. However, the matter did not do much damage to his career. They worked out on the court together. 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.. 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]. Going through it and playing at that level, I just told him all the pros and cons of all the schools that were recruiting him It was a decision that he was going to have to make and live with. After retiring from professional basketball in 2008, Melvin used his time to help Devin prepare for his own career and was hired as an assistant coach to his old high school, Moss Point High School, in 2011. The player has confronted that culture's strong family ties are the ones he had always embraced and inherited in his life. We talked about maybe getting a tutor that can be on the planes with us or something like that. Booker's grandfather immigrated from Nogales, Mexico, to Michigan where the 2020 All-Star ultimately grew up. If you have a dream and you have the work ethic to match that dream, anything is possible.. Theyve been Suns fans since they were little and growing up in South Phoenix, and they have faint memories of the Steve Nashled teams of the mid-2000s, as well as fresher memories of the Suns drafting and building a team around Devin Booker. 25. Those three years with his father helped Devin land at a national powerhouse in Kentucky but also exposed him to an environment much different than hed been accustomed to Michigan. I have a five-year goal thats definitely on there, Booker said. When Booker was initially left off the 2020 All-Star roster, Damian Lillard voiced his hopes that Booker would take his spot when the Blazers star suffered an injury that would keep him out of the game. Sometimes I would go up to [Michigan] to watch him. After splitting from Melvin, Veronica went on to have her third child, daughter Mya Powell, who reportedly has chromosome 22 deletion syndrome. She made it happen. 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. The 6-foot-1 point guard was a consensus 1994 Associated Press second-team All-America selection at Mizzou. This is a good life here in the NBA. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. It was special. Devin Booker may be known as a professional basketball player, but it turns out his parents, Melvin Booker and Veronica Gutierrez, also have impressive careers. 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 Booker collected the 2018 Three-Point Contest title. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Interest-Based Ads. Bryant noticed the young Booker as well, especially when he tried to use one of his own patented post moves against him in Bryants last career game at Phoenix in 2016. It was special. But once I got there, they embraced me, they took me in and I ended up getting more intact with that side of my family also, my dads side, it was a really important time., Looking back, Booker believes the diversity of his upbringing has made him more relatable to people and teammates of different backgrounds. So, just trying to inspire in that type of way and keep representing the heritage. But we did the best that we could.. 14. r/AnarchyChess. The cheering can be heard throughout the Valley in English and Spanish. 15 days ago. Even so, he did have some lasting memories. Stuntin like his daddy: How Devin Bookers father paved his path to the NBA. On multiple occasions he has referenced the cultures strong family ties, something he has inherited and embraced in his own life. In January 2017, he scored 39 points against both the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs. With that, he became the youngest player in NBA history to score 39 points in two consecutive games. The more Booker researched his Hispanic background, the more he saw the similarities between his own ideals and the Mexican heritage within his bloodline. It was all his decision, Melvin Booker said. If youre lucky, you might see one of the artists working on a piece when you visit. I didnt like it all, Devin Booker said. Some of my favorite times as a child was my mom whipping up, you know, original Mexican dishes that she learned from her father or when we got the chance to visit my grandpa on the weekend.. Who are Devin Booker's parents? "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. Melvin Booker got to break a sweat on a few NBA teams but mostly played overseas in Turkey, Russia and Italy. A shooting guard, Booker received a star status after being the 13th overall draft and being selected by Phoenix Suns. He was just a really caring guy, Booker said of his grandfather in a recent telephone conversation with The Athletic. Now, shes his biggest fan. CartographerBlind. But now that Im a professional and Ive been around this lifestyle, I understand how hard it is. These fans might have not been at the game, but that didnt mean they couldnt keep the party going after. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Latin-American ambassador: Bookers maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Nogales, Mexico, a fact Booker has grown to appreciate even more since being drafted by Phoenix. He became the fourth-youngest NBA player to score 1,000 points in the first season. Its hard to explain. But Booker says it was here in Phoenix where he first experienced the Mexican culture. 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. Devin Bookers Dating History: All About His 2-Year Romance With Kendall Jenner & Past Loves. That's something that's been with me in my blood since birth.. From 1997-2008, Melvin Booker made a living playing most notably in Italy with stints in Turkey and Russia. Broadway_Baller 6 days ago. My Mexican culture has taught me a lot about myself. This proved to be a significant culture shock for young Devin, but he handled it quite well. Booker's traces his Latino roots back to his maternal grandfather, who was born in a border town named Nogales in Mexico. She reportedly worked as a cosmetologist and already had a son named Davon Wade when she met Devin's father in her hometown of Grand Rapids. 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