Karl-Anthony Towns pointed out that Devin Booker is not confident in his chances of reaching the NBA.
Devin Booker solidified himself as one of the top players in the NBA. As Star approached a decade in the league, he built a strong resume for himself.
Booker played alongside Karl Anthony Towns in Kentucky, where he impressed the league scouts with strong points in the two-guard spot.
Now, a few years in the NBA, Booker is set to sign a two-year, $150 million contract with the Phoenix Suns, making him one of the best players ever.
However, in the Kentucky era, Booker was unsure of the possibility of creating an NBA. And it was in the town of Karl Anthony that gave him confidence to succeed.
Karl-Anthony Towns was a guest of Carmelo Anthony at 7pm on the Brooklyn Podcast. When discussing his time with Devin Booker of Kentucky, Towns shared an interesting story.
He revealed that Booker initially didn’t think he would reach the NBA.
“You know, it’s crazy. We’ve been friends since high school. We’ve been talking about Kentucky since high school…
“I remember the books were in college. We were sitting there and they said, ‘You’re about to go to the NBA. You’re about to be drafted.
“I was like my peers, if we were to handle business in court, we would win and all draft stocks would go up.
“If we handle our business the way we envision it, it’s no point in staying. Fast forward, get advice, get drafted, go to the Sands. The rest is history.”
Towns has further made it clear that Booker hasn’t started with the Kentucky team. However, due to their success as a unit, their value rose ahead of the NBA draft.
“He never started. We had a platoon system. I don’t know if anyone remembers it or not. It was crazy to say 10 years ago. I don’t remember that. But like the team, we had the platoon system off.
“So it seemed I only played 17 minutes in the game. The book played like 14 minutes. And the rest of our bench once we couldn’t do college basketball with us.
“And we were just playing, and he never got the chance to show what he could do, but we were winning. And when you win in college, everyone’s value increases.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was an outstanding prospect in the 2015 NBA Draft, taking first place overall. Devin Booker finished 13th overall in the same class.
Both players won multiple All-Star nominations and took part in the deep playoff run. Booker reached the NBA Finals in 2021.
The two stars have found themselves at various points in their careers. Booker remains with the Suns when rebuilding his team.
On the other side of the league, Karl Anthony Towns is about to win the NBA championship with the New York Knicks next season.