Phoenix Suns: 9 highlights from Devin Booker’s Instagram Live interview
Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns sat down for an Instagram Live interview with Maria Taylor, and we have the highlights for you.
Maria Taylor has been taking over the NBA’s Instagram account to do live interviews with various players around the league. On Thursday, she spoke with Phoenix Suns All-Star (that still feels good to say out loud), Devin Booker, about what he’s been up to recently.
Here are the top 9 takeaways:
Booker was just named a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics
The Special Olympics has been Booker’s passion charity since he entered the league. His little sister, Mya, is a participant and he’s formed a close bond with a local competitor, Jenna, who he has taken to NBA Draft Lotteries in the past.
On Thursday morning, Booker was officially named Global Ambassador of the Special Olympics, an honor you can tell that he is both excited and humbled to carry.
He joins his teammate, Ricky Rubio, who also shares this ambassadorship, so look for these two to make appearances at Special Olympic events around the world in the coming years.
Booker won MVP of the SLAM Call of Duty Tournament
SLAM Magazine has been putting on Call of Duty tournaments largely comprised of NBA players on their Twitch Channel. The third one they did featured Devin Booker and I’ll give you one guess whose team won.
Yeah. On top of that, he took home MVP honors, something that made him smile in his Instagram Live interview. He said he was either going to be a professional gamer or athlete, but in the end, athlete won out.
His bank account approves of the decision.
His sister can’t visit because of his house crew
During this pandemic, his mom is not allowing his sister to come over to his house, but not because Devin has been out and about. He hasn’t. It is because he has a couple of cleaning ladies and a chef that come over a lot.
That makes sense, especially considering his sister’s baseline compromised health. The problems you never thought a private chef would cause.
He still connects with her and the rest of his family with a lot of FaceTime and 1000 piece puzzles. He’s still working on this first one.
Pretty sure he called Steve Nash, “Point God”
It was hard to tell if he said, “Point God” or just “point guard” with a soft “R,” but Booker raved about getting to chat with Steve Nash, a guy he grew up loving to watch play. He said earning respect from people I respect is a goal of mine. He went on to say how Steve Nash played the game the right way, shooting at a high clip and getting everyone involved.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure he said, “Point God.”
He didn’t bring cold-weather clothes to Chicago for the All-Star game
Evidently, when he found out he was going to be Damian Lillard‘s replacement for the All-Star game, he was just about to leave for his All-Star break vacation at an undisclosed location. Evidently that was a topical location because when he found out he was going to Chicago instead, his quick change of plans did not involve a change of clothes.
He survived and called All-Star weekend one of the best experiences of his career.
He called this season a step forward
He was asked about his Phoenix Suns team and Booker looked somewhat optimistic. He said this year was a big step forward and he feels the right GM is in place to put the pieces together to keep building on this year’s improvement.
I agree, Book. Get it.
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He is still kind of shy by nature
Maria called him out for being shy at Kentucky, saying he was the guy who sat in the corner and didn’t talk. Booker laughed and said, “I’m still do that a little bit.” But, according to him, life has made him change and he’s making the most out of every situation.
Maria nailed it when she said about his shyness, “Maybe that is the gamer in you.”
He recently got a dog
The Phoenix Suns had a five-game homestand, so he decided to get a dog because it would give him a few days to bond. Those five days turned into a few months, and now the dog doesn’t leave his side.
His name is Haven, is 2 years old, and weighs 135 pounds. I don’t know dog breeds, but I’m pretty sure it’s a pit bull. Playing tug of war with him helps keep him in shape.
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He wants to learn piano and Spanish
Learning both piano and Spanish is on his 5-year goal list. He says he’s been told his long fingers would make him good at it, but if I’m reading between the lines, it doesn’t sound like the initial lessons went too well.
Spanish makes sense because of how widely it is used in the Valley, and if he needs someone to converse with, he has fellow Special Olympics Global Ambassador and Phoenix Suns guard, Ricky Rubio to help.
As someone who is incapable of learning music or foreign languages, I find these to be an impressive aspiration.
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If nothing else, this interview is further proof Booker is a lot more talented than me.