It is hard to imagine the NBA without Devin Booker, who is a four-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA player, and one of the best scorers in the game. But while he seems confident on the floor nowadays, there was a time when he didn’t think he would make it to the league. Yet, thanks to his friendship with Karl-Anthony Towns, Book made it there. Speaking on a podcast recently, KAT shared an emotional and supportive story of how the two were friends for a while.
Karl-Anthony Towns Shares an Emotional Devin Booker Story
Karl-Anthony Towns was a guest on Carmelo Anthony’s podcast, and the two talked about a couple of topics, including culture in New York, but also his friendship with Devin Booker. KAT said:
“You know, it’s crazy. We’ve been friends since high school, and we have been talking about Kentucky since high school. I remember Book was in college, and we used to be sitting there, and Book would be like, ‘Man, you’re about to go to the NBA, you’re going to get drafted Number one, and I’m gonna be here in Kentucky for another year or two’. I was like, bro, if we handle business on the court, we win and stuff, all our draft stocks go up. It makes no sense to stay if we handle business the way we’re supposed to.”
That 2014-15 Kentucky team finished the season with a perfect 31-0 record, the best start in school history. They lost in the Final Four semifinals to Wisconsin, finishing the season 38-1, the best record by a team that did not finish undefeated.
Book Didn’t Get a Chance to Show His Skills in College
The interesting part is that KAT was not even the highest scorer on that team. The Wildcats played a deep rotation, with Aaron Harrison leading the way with 11 points per game. He went undrafted in the 2015 Draft and then signed with the Charlotte Hornets. But he never found a role. Even KAT spoke about the system they ran, saying:
“He never started. We were on a platoon system. So it was like I only played 17 minutes a game. Book played like 14. We had a deep bench that was even playing. They were getting like eight minutes a game. Book never really got that chance to show what he could do. But we were winning. And when you win in college, everyone’s value goes up.”
Towns might not remember it well, but he was averaging 21 minutes per game in college, the same as Booker. However, Booker didn’t start a single game during his college days. The Phoenix Suns sure are happy for that; otherwise, someone else might have grabbed him.
The Suns Found the Right Kentucky Guy
The 2015 NBA Draft featured six Kentucky players, four of whom were drafted in the lottery. You can say that the Suns picked the best Wildcat. Book was the fourth guy from Kentucky to hear his name called, with players like Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles drafted before him. Cauley-Stein is out of the league, and Lyles is a role player who never averaged more than 10.5 points per game for a season. Yes, KAT was the obvious No. 1 pick, but the Suns chose a great guy as well.
Looking at the 2015 NBA Draft, there is no better player drafted after Booker. And out of the players drafted before him, many are out of the league. In fact, seven of the players taken before him no longer play in the NBA, including names like Stanley Johnson, Jahlil Okafor, and Justice Winslow.
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