Devin Booker and his Phoenix Suns are having a terrific NBA season. After going unbeaten in the 2020 Orlando bubble, the Suns are having a great season this one, led by Booker and Chris Paul, ranking 4th in the Western Conference, with high chances to make it to the playoffs this campaign.
Book was recently interviewed by legendary reporter Michael Wilbon and he talked a lot about his relationship with Kobe Bryant and how the Black Mamba inspired him to become the great player he is right now. Recalling the last time he faced Kobe in the NBA, Booker revealed he didn’t miss his chance and talked with Kobe for as long as he could.
Via ESPN:
In March 2016, Kobe Bryant was in the final weeks of a storied 20-season career. Devin Booker was just coming through his first year in the NBA. So what did the 19-year-old Suns rookie do when he found himself with the ball and matched up with his basketball idol in what would be Bryant’s final game in Phoenix?
“I went right to his move. I went right to the Kobe fadeaway,” Booker says.
His shot fell short. But after the game, Kobe came up to him and said, “‘You know what? I did the same thing when I matched up with MJ the first time.”
Kobe asked Booker to continue the conversation off the floor. “No ice that day,” Booker remembers. “Straight to the shower, straight to the visitors’ locker room… and I thought it was going to be a two-, three-minute convo, and it ended up being 15, 20 minutes postgame.”
They exchanged numbers, and Kobe signed shoes for Booker. “One shoe said, ‘To the young one,’ and the next one was, ‘To Book, be legendary,'” Booker says, smiling at the memory. “He didn’t only just write ‘be legendary,’ he told me what it was going to take to get there. … He told me I have the footwork, I have intangibles to be legendary. It’s finding more and wanting more and going to get more.”
The young player always was a big admirer of Kobe and he told Wilbon that the Black Mamba, just like his mentor, were his idols growing up.
“Not having a favorite superhero growing up. It wasn’t Batman or Superman for me, it was Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan,” he said.
What's better than a real life superhero? 🔥
Check out the full @ESPN Cover Story on @DevinBook from @RealMikeWilbon: https://t.co/uOhzA8NLAP pic.twitter.com/saSHt4pkqz
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 10, 2021
Well, he learned very well from these guys. DBook is one of the most gifted players right now and he’s always trying to get better, as Kobe told him to do. The late Los Angeles Lakers legend asked him to be legendary and Booker carries that message with him literally every single game. He’s doing a great job with the Suns and they’re ready to take the next step to try to emulate what Kobe did with the Lakers several years ago.
