Stars and team officials crowded into the room, talking about each other's brand-new suits. On the other side of the room stood a 16-year-old girl wearing blue jeans, pink heels and a Suns jersey, watching and waiting. Jenna Warren is waiting for someone, her "baby," Devin Booker .
Booker spent most of the day with Jenna. Together they shot baskets in Central Park, ate spaghetti at Carmine's, and shopped at the NBA store on Fifth Avenue. Jenna's parents warned her before the trip that Booker might not have a lot of time to spend with her. But Booker cared deeply about Jenna, and they spent six hours together, during which time Booker almost never let go of Jenna's hand. Everywhere he went, Booker would ask Jenna what her favorite place was that day, and Jenna would firmly answer every time: "Here!"
After visiting the NBA store, Jenna and Booker were separated by nearly two Hour. Jenna stood on the escalator rising from the lobby and looked down. Later, she returned to her hotel room to take a nap with her parents. After waking up, two seamstresses and a hairstylist dressed up Jenna carefully. For Jenna, who has Down syndrome, being apart from Booker felt like a long time. When Sun reporters and strangers asked Jenna about her favorite place to visit that day, her answer was always the same: "Here!"
Jenna recognized Booker in the crowd and ran over. After a big hug, Jenna kissed Booker on the cheek. In contrast, Jenna was less than thrilled with her new haircut and custom-made new clothes with Suns jersey lining. However, Jenna gets extremely excited when she's near Booker. Whenever she sees Booker—whether on TV, in the court, or in person—Jenna tells those around her, “I love him.” When Booker hugs her, she says to Booker, “I Love you." Booker would give the same answer without hesitation every time.
The whole room applauded when Booker and Jenna appeared.
"For Jenna," Booker said, "she didn't care whether we lost or won, whether we got No. 1 or No. 14. Jenna taught me that there are things bigger than basketball. More importantly. She is always trying hard to be better, so I will work harder to be better."
Booker noticed that it didn't take long for Jenna to watch it. His warm-ups, or screaming for every beautiful jump shot he makes. Jenna reminds Booker of someone. Booker said he has always made quick friends with people with disabilities. When Booker was in middle school, one of his group of friends included a man with Down syndrome named Caleb. The others were reluctant to play with Caleb, but Booker spent almost every lunch time with Caleb. Caleb became the Granville High School Bulldogs' biggest fan because Booker was the star there. Years later, Booker realized how important that friendship was to his heart.
Later, Booker went to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to live with his half-brother Davon Wade and his sister Mia Powell. They share the same mother, Veranika Gutierrez, and the three often play in the backyard in the afternoons. Booker and Davin played everything from basketball to football, and Mia sat by and cheered them on. After that, the two brothers left home together - Davin went to college and Booker went to Mississippi to finish high school. There, Booker played under his father, former NBA player Melvin Booker. After Booker and Davin left home, Mia's development began to slow.
Mia, now 14, has microdeletion syndrome, an inherited chromosomal disorder. Booker and Davin said that Mia's current IQ is only equivalent to that of a 7-year-old girl. After that, Mia became a loyal basketball fan. "In the first physical education class in high school, they were playing basketball, and Mia told everyone in the class that I was better at basketball than every one of them," Booker said.Unfortunately, Mia can't always witness her brother Booker's excellent basketball career. When Booker and Davin get home, the three of them play a variety of games together, from chess to basketball to tennis. No one wants to lose, and the two brothers will not let Mia win easily. "She would always say, 'I'm your sister, why don't you two let me win?'" Devin said with a smile. "But I won't let her win."
After the Suns selected Booker with the 13th pick in the 2015 draft, he and Davin moved to Arizona . Mia didn't know that the chat time would change because of this. Almost every morning, she would insist on asking her mother to help her video chat with her two brothers. This means that Booker has to get up before 5 a.m. almost every day. On the other end of the video is his sister's happy smile and excited voice.
"She was everything to us," Booker said. "She changed all of our lives for the better. No one in this world brought more laughter to me and our family than she did."
Booker never mentioned it to Jenna's family Mia, but they speculated that someone in Booker's family or friends had a similar disorder. Less than six weeks into the season, Booker became friends with the Jenna family, who have been buying Suns season tickets since 2010 so they could get into the arena earlier. Most of the Suns' home games start at 7 pm, and Jenna's family is used to sitting on the sidelines at 5 pm. They are the first fans to come to the arena. Booker's early warm-up, which included hitting five three-pointers from various points beyond the arc, ended right in front of where Jenna, his mother, Gracie Colvin, and stepfather, Ray, were seated. Finally, after hearing Jenna applauding him, Booker walked over and greeted her. “We have a lot of faith in Booker,” Gracie said. "We have always treated Jenna like a normal person. Although she has Down syndrome, it does not define her. Booker has never treated her in a different way."
Jenna has a cheerful personality and is open-minded. Restricted. She didn't learn to walk until she was three, but Gracie enrolled Jenna in a dance class when she was four. During her first group singing session, Jenna sang loudly by herself, and the singing session completely turned into her personal singing. Jenna's mentor came to stop her, but Jenna blew a kiss to the crowd, even as she was being led off the field to a standing ovation. Jenna was strong, having endured four heart surgeries and a host of other surgeries. The family didn't know what made Jenna so fascinated by basketball, but her mother Gracie, a tutor, used it to help Jenna learn everything from social interaction to addition and subtraction. Jenna has gotten to know a lot of players over the years, including a few of her favorites — from Steve Nash to Goran Dragic — but no one has as close a relationship with her as Booker. close.
After Eric Bledsoe suffered a season-ending injury in late December, Booker entered the starting lineup. After that, Booker became the fourth youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points and ranked fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting. He gradually showed his ability to become a cornerstone player for the Suns. Before every home game, Booker greets Jenna, Gracie and Ray. In the Suns' third-to-last home game this season, when they faced the Jazz at home on April 3, Booker invited the three of them to the sidelines. "I remember as a kid I always wanted to be on an NBA court," Booker said. "I thought it was going to be a special experience for her." Later, Jenna told Booker that day was the most beautiful day of her life.
So when the Suns asked him to represent the team in the lottery ceremony and told himself that he could bring friends, Booker knew the candidate in his heart. When the Suns first called Gracie, they pretended it was about a season-ticket renewal. They kept it a secret for a week until Booker invited Jenna on Instagram to attend the draw in New York. Gracie was attending a church meeting in Ontario, California when she was notified. They drove to a gas station and made calls to record Jenna's reaction.
When Booker introduced himself to Jenna, he never minded that she had Down syndrome. In preparation for the lottery, Bruce Bowen visited Booker and asked him who he would invite to New York. "I brought my best friend, who is the biggest Suns fan I know," Booker said. Hearing Booker read her name, Jenna stood up and waved to the crowd. When Booker left his seat and prepared to walk onto the stage of the lottery, he was more convinced than ever that the Suns would get the No. 1 pick.
In the end, the Suns got the 4th pick and the 13th pick that the Wizards traded to them. Gracie and several Suns reporters sitting next to them in the front row were a little disappointed -- until Ray reminded them what a great player the team had selected with the 13th pick a year ago.
After the interview, Booker found Jenna again and asked her to take a photo with him as the reporter prepared for the final round of photos. As Ray looked on, he turned to Gracie and said, "This is the most unforgettable experience of our lives, isn't it?"
When he signed his second contract, Booker hoped to buy a big house so that he could His mother, sister and brother live with him. Maybe Booker would like to see Mia and Jenna meet one day. Maybe, they will become good friends. But for Booker, this question of the future is not important, what is important is this moment. Jenna told Booker she appreciated everything and that she would miss him. "I'll see you again soon," Booker told Jenna, hugging her tightly again. Booker gradually walked away, and Jenna's parents asked her the same question again. "I love him," Jenna replied.
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