While waiting for his number #1 to perhaps float on the ceiling of the Footprint Center one day, Devin Bookerinitially, was able to take advantage this weekend of the withdrawal of his former number #2 at Moss Point High School.
A native of Michigan where he spent his younger years with his mother, “Book”, as a teenager, then moved to Moss Point, a small town of barely 15,000 inhabitants in his father’s native Mississippi. , when the latter, a former pro player in various European championships, retired in the early 2010s.
There, he played for the local high school team, like his father before him, where he easily imposed himself on the radar of Kentucky and then the NBA, becoming a “lottery pick” on the night of the 2015 Draft. .
Almost eight years after his departure from high school, the man who is now a triple All-Star and one of the best scorers in the world was therefore back in Moss Point, taking advantage of the proximity of Mississippi to Louisiana to make the trip, an hour and a half by car, Saturday afternoon.
Accompanied by his entire team, of course. ” I brought a few guests, as you can see he thus declared in front of the thousand of friends, former teammates and teachers present in the room.
” [Le retrait du maillot] has huge meaning to me. These people believed in me from the beginning, they saw me grow, go through different trials and gain confidence in myself. reacted the All-Star fullback. “All the values I learned here, I kept and took with me everywhere else afterwards. […] The confidence, the aggressiveness. It’s a blue-collar town, where everyone is proud to represent the town. I am one of them. »
His teammates happy to share this moment with him
Drowned in a crowd, where locals of all ages did not fail to take photos with the man who became one of the faces of the NBA, Devin Booker took advantage of every moment, on the land of his youth.
But his teammates, in their own way, have also soaked up the warm atmosphere of this small, discreet but united town in the South of the United States. Because if they were not directly concerned by the event, the other Suns players were nonetheless affected by the authenticity of the moment.
” The love that this whole town has for Book, it’s superb “appreciated in particular his coach Monty Williams. ” It is enormous. A jersey retired for Book, it should be a movie honestly! exclaimed meanwhile Deandre Ayton. ” I know it means a lot to him. And I’m really glad we took the time to come, because it’s his day. »
On his side, Damion Lee saw the birth of a potential icon there, for the basketball players of Moss Point. ” He is like a beacon of hope for all these kids. Maybe in five or ten years, a player who came out of Moss Point will be in the NBA, and Devin will have been his inspiration. launched the brother-in-law of Stephen Curry.
” That was my goal, when I got here “confirmed the main interested party, who will finance with his father the renovation of the ground and the locker rooms. ” Inspire youth. Show them that it’s possible to be from here and achieve great things. »
Photo credit: Duane Rankin – Arizona Republic
| Devin Booker | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | PHX | 76 | 28 | 42.3 | 34.3 | 84.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 13.8 |
| 2016-17 | PHX | 78 | 35 | 42.3 | 36.3 | 83.2 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 22.1 |
| 2017-18 | PHX | 54 | 35 | 43.2 | 38.3 | 87.8 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 24.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHX | 64 | 35 | 46.7 | 32.6 | 86.6 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 6.8 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 0.2 | 26.6 |
| 2019-20 | PHX | 70 | 36 | 48.9 | 35.4 | 91.9 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 26.6 |
| 2020-21 | PHX | 67 | 34 | 48.4 | 34.0 | 86.7 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 25.6 |
| 2021-22 | PHX | 68 | 35 | 46.6 | 38.3 | 86.8 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 26.8 |
| 2022-23 | PHX | 26 | 35 | 47.8 | 37.5 | 86.6 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 27.4 |
| Total | 503 | 34 | 45.8 | 35.8 | 87.0 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 23.7 | |
