EMPIRE OF THE SUNS
Devin Booker pulls up to Phoenix car club’s holiday charity event for foster kids
Dec 24, 2022, 3:00 PM | Updated: 3:49 pm
PHOENIX — Taking something at face value is fine.
Devin Booker has a cool collection of old school cars. He’s gone viral a few times in the last couple of years, pulling up to the arena in his various vehicles from a generation or two before his time.
But there is a deeper story there, as there is with nearly anything.
And for Booker, there’s a story behind every car he owns. Whether it was growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, or Moss Point, Mississippi, each car is one the Phoenix Suns two-guard saw at one point in his life in a certain environment.
It’s more than just, well, a cool collection of old school cars.
“Really just seeing people around town that was getting it, people that are getting money came through in the coldest whips. … Lot of car culture around there,” Booker told Arizona Sports Friday.
That made Booker in his element on Sunday when he showed up to the Sophisticated Few Car Club’s annual Christmas Angels charity event in south Phoenix.
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The car club, first formed in 1974, is the oldest in Phoenix and comes together with its love of lowriders for community outreach. It runs the event each year to donate toys, clothes and more to foster children without families for the holidays.
Booker rolled up in Pretty Penny, his 1959 Chevrolet Impala, for an off the radar appearance that allowed him to embrace being a part of the community more organically.
@DevinBook pulled up to the SS 😎 pic.twitter.com/sAl1tpucz6
— 🦋 (@arhernandez_) December 19, 2022
“That’s what I try to do,” he told Arizona Sports on Friday. “Make it as authentic as possible. Everything else feels forced. It was done in a natural way. They showed a lot of love, it was for a great cause. It was a win all the way around.”
Some of the original members of the club reached out to Booker and invited someone who shares their passion. Booker partnered with Undefeated, a boutique store he’s worked with in the past, to give the kids some early Christmas presents.
It was another opportunity, of course, for Booker to continue bonding with the city he’s represented for eight years. That as well as some of his Latino heritage that comes from his Mexican-American mom. His grandfather was born in Los Nogales, Mexico, right near the Texas border.
Booker has said in the past that this has been much easier for him to do in Phoenix, a city with a population that’s 42.7% Hispanic or Latino where he can feel that culture.
“That’s always been my plan,” Booker said of connecting to the city and his Latino roots. “Being right down here near the arena, I feel like it’s here more than ever. And you can feel the love, you can feel the passion. It’s in the arena every night. That’s the original Phoenix Suns.”
That was great for Booker, along with the cars he was able to geek out at from the club.
“They had everything,” he said. “They had Impalas, they had the (Chevy) Fleetlines, they had a couple Chevy Blazers — right up my alley.”
Booker was presented a shirt, which he donned as an honorary member.
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He felt right at home.
“Just time spent at a park just like I did growing up,” Booker said. “Cooking good food, cornhole was being played, cold drinks — it was a good time overall.”
That was enough for Booker to come through. Add on the purpose of the meetup, though? A no-brainer.
“Anything for a good cause to get some kids that are without their families for the holidays,” Booker said. “Make them feel loved and make them feel the love that’s around them.”
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