Devin Booker focusing on the positives, moving past NBA All-Star snub

Devin Booker was in the national news cycle for something out of his control, being snubbed for the All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Even when he was named a replacement on Wednesday, the fact didn’t change that he still didn’t get his spot the first time. It brought on several strong reactions from players that night calling out the lack of Booker on the All-Star roster, like Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

That made it something worth asking him about the next time he talked, to say the least. Unfortunately, there was not terrific timing on that availability with it coming after a bad 124-121 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Booker had a game-high 33 points. He also had five personal fouls and one technical, and was clearly fouled at the buzzer and should have been shooting the potential game-tying free throws.

Alas, it was a big story, so the questions came.

“I honestly don’t have much to say about it,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the experience. It’ll be fun.”

Did he feel different at all in the game after being such a topic of conversation the last 24 hours?

“I don’t think so,” he said.

How about that LeBron tweet that he retweeted?

“I always try to say I focus on the good that’s going around so I’m past that situation,” Booker said. “But there is some good going on around me.

“Since I have everybody’s attention, I’d like to give a big congratulations to my father Melvin Booker and Jessica Holtz for passing their CBA test to become certified agents. So two really close people to me that I’m looking forward to doing business with moving forward. And my brother, Davon Wade — he recently moved out the house, he’s on his own and he got his real estate license over a year ago, so super proud of him also.”

Very cool! We love to see the family thriving!

But one more time, how do you try to keep this positive mindset going forward?

“I try not to get too high and not get too low. Just what I spoke on,” Booker said. “I come here and I give my all to my profession every day, and when I leave here, I’m focused on my family and my close ones around me.

“And they do a good job of keeping me very humble and down to earth. So that’s why I made the statement about them and their progression in life too, because at the end of the day, it is bigger than this basketball thing, and the entertainment behind it and the politics behind it. So getting to an age of finally understanding that has helped me center myself.”

You can’t deny the guy’s got his head screwed on straight, right?

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