When Devin Booker entered the NBA, he was one of many talented players drafted out of the University of Kentucky, but few believed he would become arguably the best player in his Wildcat group.

Karl-Anthony Towns was considered the best player to come out of Kentucky in 2015 and was therefore selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the No. 1 overall pick.

With Towns no longer available, the Wildcats’ next star, Willy Cauley-Stein, was drafted at number 6, followed by Trey Lyles at number 12, before Booker was signed by the Phoenix Suns at number 13.

Although Towns was a star in Minnesota, Booker was the best player in that group and now shares the spotlight with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in Phoenix.

Former Suns head coach Earl Watson saw firsthand how good Booker was and recently spoke about when he realized he would be such a talented player in the NBA.

“The moment I knew Devin Booker was going to be that guy … at the end of every practice, he was playing one-on-one against whoever was left there, and he was beating them,” Watson said, via FanDuel TV.

“The moment I knew Devin Booker was going to be that guy… At the end of every practice, he would play 1-on-1 with whoever was left there and he would beat them…”@Earl_Watson has great praise for @DevinBook 🙌

Watch the whole @RunItBackFDTV Interview! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kcNG5gfC6N

— FanDuelTV (@FanDuelTV) 9 August 2024

Currently, Booker is trying to help the U.S. national team win the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, playing alongside NBA stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Durant.

Booker has been an integral part of head coach Steve Kerr’s team and has received high praise for his play so far.

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Team USA announces lineup changes for gold medal game