The then-18-year-old finished the game with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes. 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. Booker had never visited his grandfather's 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. I guess he has 2 dads. As Booker has embraced his Latino side, those whove long followed his career have seen incremental changes to everything from the way he dresses to what he drivesmuch of which seems to be a hat tip to this culture. Who Is Melvin Booker? Id do anything for them. FantasyPros considers the best player values for DraftKings and FanDuel NBA DFS. Theres so much to learn about the Mexican culture, but Devin Booker says its never too late. A post shared by Devin (@dbook) Booker's collection features a first-generation Chevy Blazer with a lowered stance, top removed and a blue patina exterior. I was trying to make up for the times I missed when I was gone.. To see it turn out the way it turned, the process is quicker than he expected and now to see him having the success hes having on this level is amazing. Thats how she ended up at a Suns game a few years ago on Latino Night and found out about Bookers heritage. Devin certainly considered it, but didnt give up and it eventually worked out very well. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Grandville was a town that was dominated by its white population. It was hard for me to understand then why we couldnt communicate so much. Thats part of the reason I grind so much, Devin Booker said. Kevin Durant shows no signs of rust in his 1st game with Phoenix, meshing quickly with his new teammates. Noticing his immense talent, Melvin tried hard to bring his son back to Mississippi permanently. He played for the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams during his freshman year at Grandville High School in Michigan instead of joining his dad. Devin Booker is rumored to be dating Kendell Jenner. Dad was also an assistant coach on his sons high school and AAU team. 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. Like Devin, Melvin spent many years as a professional basketball player. Whenever Melvin traveled to other countries for his games, the fatherson duo would communicate through e-mails. 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. Latin-American ambassador: Booker's maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Nogales, Mexico, a fact Booker has grown to. We feel like we have to go even more above and beyond to get him the proper respect that we believe he deserves.. Music booms through two speakers as a DJ and a hype man practice their lines, but the area is virtually deserted. Me knowing Devin, hes going to continue to work hard and continue to try to get better.. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Devin once ran into controversy when he asked a fans girlfriend to sit on his lap. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. But it was also quite challenging to build a relationship with his son from afar despite a couple of visits overseas. The Suns just in general, the whole Valley is behind the Suns, said Beltran. Devins performance got better over the years, and his father soon announced that he was contacted by a few NBA teams that were interested to acquire Devin. Related: Everywhere we went, everyone knew him. I was with the Rockets for the minute. Media reports claim that while in college, he had had many affairs. Gutierrez and her son said yes before his sophomore season. 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. US former first children today He's. The relationship foundered after Devin's birth, and Veronica raised their son as a single mom while Melvin played international basketball in Europe. 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. Isael Lugo didnt get 20 feet inside Phoenix Suns Arena before he was stopped last week. I had to convince them that he had to move to Mississippi if he wanted to move to that next level, Melvin Booker said. While in high school, Devin exhibited his remarkable sporting talent. 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. Even then, he still dedicated portions of his post-practice routine to footwork and shot-making on the block. When Booker was 20, Kevin Durant said on The Bill Simmons Podcast that he wanted the Thunder to draft Booker in 2015. 2K 38 Waru_ 1 day ago That was the only reason I put Devin there. I didnt like it all, Devin Booker said. Like father, like son, Melvin was also a basketball player at the University of Missouri. Those weekend visits growing up came flashing back to Booker two years ago, when his grandfather passed away. Melvin Booker gave strong credit to Gutierrez for doing a great job of keeping me connected while he was playing professional basketball and allowing him to get off-season time with his only child. Im around [Latino culture] every day, Booker said the day after winning Game 1 of the Finals. His maternal grandfather was born in Mexico but migrated to Michigan. While Devin grew up, his fathers lifestyle influenced him greatly. 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. Phoenix didnt do well in his honor, losing to Dallas 111-95, but Booker provided an intriguing silver lining. One of them shows the elder Booker then playing for the Golden State Warriors driving against, you guessed it, the Phoenix Suns. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. RELATED: Devin Booker wins season-long NBA Community Assist Award for local outreach, I knew that he was going to take us far.. Melvin Booker of the Missouri Tigers dribbles the court during a game against the Kansas Jayhawks. Symbolic start: After being drafted 13th overall, Bookers NBA debut took place in Phoenix on Oct. 28, 2015. His grandfather was born in Los Nogales, Mexico, right near the Texas border. 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. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. 291. In April 2015, Devin decided to let go of the remaining years of college and signed up for the NBA draft. There was a family legacy at Moss Point as Devins father and grandfather also attended the high school. Four seasons later, Booker became the Suns first All-Star since Nash. father: Melvin Booker mother: Veronica Gutierrez Basketball Players American Men Height: 6'5" (196 cm ), 6'5" Males Ancestry: Mexican American City: Grand Rapids, Michigan U.S. State: Michigan Notable Alumni: University Of Kentucky More Facts Recommended Lists: American People Tall Celebrities Tall Male Celebrities Male Sportspersons So hes won the people of Phoenix over, especially the Latino community.. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The respect I received from my family and everyone in the city made me want to stay. But there was always a connection, a warmth, pleasantries, between the two. 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. 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. Finding a place that was willing to make the flag, however, proved more difficult. When I dropped my son off at school, it was the first time, and he was 15 years old, Melvin Booker said. Me taking my visits from Missouri from eighth grade on, just the love that he got there is something that Ive never seen before. And I think for Latino kids, its probably a little bit easier to envision themselves as Devin Booker.. Devin initially refused to go to Mississippi. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. The Suns wear Noches neBA Nike City Edition uniforms with Los Suns across the chest and Somos PHX near the size tag at the bottom of the jersey. 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. But living around it and the culture and getting to see it day to day is a lot better. 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. Telephone conversations between father and son werent the norm during the elders playing days since international calls were very expensive. Booker is introduced last among the starters during Suns games; he gets the loudest cheers, and his jerseys are ubiquitous. They needed the painting in five hours for a Fathers Day gift. This city deserves it, Booker said. 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. One even stopped behind it and crossed himself. It takes a powerful woman to do that. It instilled more trust in him. The supermodel enjoyed a trip to Mississippi with the NBA player where she was introduced to some of his hometown roots. 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. But we did the best that we could.. Booker has said in the past that this has been much easier for him to do in Phoenix, a city with a population. In a March 2018 game against Oklahoma City Thunder, he scored 39 points. The Suns, including owner Robert Sarver, spoke out against the bill and wore their Los Suns jerseys in solidarity with the community. He's a former NBA player himself, born on August 20, 1972, and is the reason Devin is the star he is today. Melvin Booker, however, believed that Moss Point High would benefit from his sons presence on and off the court. 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. But now that Im a professional and Ive been around this lifestyle, I understand how hard it is. His father played professional basketball in the NBA and overseas, and Booker spent his summers in Italy when his father was playing for Olimpia Milano. "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. 18. The Lakers legend laughed about that sequence in postgame comments to the media, but he shared a private moment with Booker himself. They played video games together. Doesn't booker have more wins against luka overall? Devin visited his father during his summer holidays, in Moss Point, Mississippi, a place that had a significant black population. I still have mixed feelings about it, Gutierrez wrote. I can only imagine how it is across the water. My Mexican culture has taught me a lot about myself. On November 2, 2014, Devin scored 16 points, playing for his college team, against the University of Pikeville. With that, he began a great college basketball career, which paved the way for his future career in the sport. The 19-year-old rookie acquitted himself well, reaching the final round before ultimately losing to Klay Thompson. Devin averaged 30.9 points per game as a senior despite being double- and triple-teamed during the 2013-14 season at Moss Point. Davon lives a single life. Everything we did was competitive, Devin Booker said. A mural, commissioned by the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center and painted by 17 artists, spans a city block and features everything from portraits of Selena, Cesar Chavez, and Carlos Santana to mariachi-playing skeletons and bright red lowriders. 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.. 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. The shooting ability was already there. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Hes from a suburban, predominantly white town, Melvin Booker told The Undefeated. Im in a position where Im coming into now, where I understand how important it is. Hikaru has been surpassed for the number one spot on Chess.com's Blitz global leaderboard. With family being the most important thing to me, its also very embraced in the Mexican culture. 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. After his freshman year, he joined six Kentucky teammates by entering the 2015 NBA draft. He joined Wilt Chamberlain, David Robinson, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor and Kobe Bryant as the only ones to score that many points in a single game. 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. Hollywood Life The avid Suns fan attended the game at Footprint Center and met Suns All-Star Devin Booker 30 minutes before tip. 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