Devin Booker labels 's**t talking' as 'art' and deems rivalries are beneficial for NBA
Devin Booker has risen up the rankings of NBA players. He has also gained elite status as a trash-talker. Booker has had a few run-ins as of late in his NBA career. He spoke about how much he values “s**t-talking” as part of his game.
On JJ Redick’s podcast, "The Old Man & the Three,” they discussed Booker’s love of talking a little smack on the hardwood.
Booker talked about the witty lines he heard growing up in open gym runs with his father’s friends. He said he’s also inspired by his fellow NBA trash-talkers and uses it as part of his game.
“I don’t know where it came from," Booker said. "I just started doing it. Trash-talking is a lifestyle. In the environments I grew up in, it is something I have been doing since I could say hi. I have been doing since I was little, in everything we did. Not just basketball. There is an art to it.”
JJ Redick said Booker’s NBA trash talk began early. He heard chirps from Booker during his rookie season even when Booker’s Suns were down 20 in a game at the Staples Center. Redick also said Chris Paul called a young Booker a “psycho” on the court.
The two shooters also talked about the current state of the game. Redick asked Booker why he thinks rivalries have diminished in the game and there does not seem to be any more bad blood between players.
“There are no real rivalries because of grassroots basketball," Booker said. "A lot of these guys, we have known for a really long time. We have gotten to a point where we just know it’s not really that deep half the time.”
He also said players do not fight much anymore because of many reasons. For one, no one wants to pay a half-million-dollar fine after the fight is over. He also said that not many lines are crossed on the floor when players talk trash. According to Booker, when lines are crossed nowadays, players handle it off the floor like men behind the scenes in conversation.
Devin Booker’s trash-talk resume
Devin Booker has grown into a role as a bit of a trash-talker. He has had some heated verbal exchanges, most notably with Luke Doncic.
The Suns star says he does not antagonize or start fights on purpose. Booker called himself a competitor and not an agitator. He said he uses trash talk to motivate himself and push himself further in his game and in the zone.
“Believe it or not, I usually don’t start it. But all I need to hear is one little thing and I go,” Booker said.
Still, his exchanges with Doncic have been notable. Just last season, the two got in each other’s faces during a Sunday afternoon game in March when Booker and the Suns beat Doncic and the Mavs 130-126.
After the game, Doncic said there were no hard feelings but he didn’t appreciate the timing of Booker’s words at the end of the game. The two have traded subtle shots before and since.
The Suns blew out the Mavs in a chippy 132-109 win in Dallas in January this season. Booker outdueled Doncic with 46 points to Luka’s 34.
There were seven techs assessed in the game. Doncic had a heckling Suns fan ejected during a Devin Booker scoring run. After the game, Booker said he had no personal issue with anything that happened or anyone on the Mavs, it is just a competitive energy between the two teams.