A three-time NBA All Star, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker is considered one of the game’s brightest young stars. Booker, a 19-year-old NBA rookie, established a record with 70 points against the Celtics in March 2017. He was NBA’s youngest player.

At 22, Booker scored 50 points in three straight games in March 2019, setting an NBA record. The Miami Heat’s experienced forward PJ Tucker, a Phoenix Suns product, has benefited the 25-year-old Michigan native. The two players addressed the rook-vet relationship, dressing for success, and how basketball was in their blood for CR MEN over the phone. 

The same goes for me—it started in the womb. I have images of myself as a newborn cradling a ball, and my father, a professional player, was my role model. I barely saw him due to his international missions. Seeing my father play professionally and provide for his family drove me to follow suit.

To blend in with my older brother’s crowd, I had to pick up my game since I was four years younger. I always looked up to him as a role model as one of the oldest kids in class, but I eclipsed him in early adolescence.