By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Trevor Booker announced his retirement at 32 years of age and after playing in the NBA for eight seasons.
Booker posted a letter on Twitter, in which he described his basketball journey. “It took me three-four days to write it. A lot to think back and forth,” he said.
The letter is as follows:
“This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write. Do I just come out and say it at the beginning of this post or do I wait until the end? I think I’d rather tell some of my story first…
“Let’s start with a super shy, unsure, lanky built, box headed country boy that came from a city of two thousand people, one stop light, a Piggly Wiggly for a grocery store, and a graduating class of 12. I knew nothing other than country life. We had no resources at all. All I knew was family and outdoors, the simple and loving life. Being poor was so normal that you didn’t even know you were poor. It was just how everybody in the country lived. We had the best times just as long as we had each other. So let’s just say that I’m a proud country boy…
“This never nationally ranked kid managed to somehow make his way to the NBA, something that I never thought could happen coming from Whitmire, SC. When I was coming out of college, 6’7” was considered undersized for a power forward in the NBA. Just add that on to the list of challenges that made it harder for me. But I guess being a relentlessly hard worker and competitor can increase your odds. I had ACC commentators asking me if I was looking to go overseas after I’m done with college. The odds were always stacked against me but I loved it. I was ranked 49th on the mock draft but I worked my (expletive) off and busted everybody’s (expletive) that I went up against in NBA Pre-Draft. Needless to say I ended up getting drafted 23rd in the 1st round.
“I say all of that to say… I’m just a country boy that got to live out his dreams while doing something that he loved. This game has opened my eyes to a whole nother world outside the country life. I’m an owner of a private high school that was built from the ground up by myself and my best friend. I’m a minority owner of a major league soccer team in DC United. I own over 250+ doors of real estate. I’m partnered with Mark Cuban in a Shark Tank product. I’m doing things that I never even knew existed when I was growing up. All of this is possible because of the sport of basketball. I never knew that my love for the game would take me places that some people can’t even imagine.
“That’s why it’s so tough to sit here and write that I’m officially announcing my retirement from the game. It’s definitely a bittersweet moment and you can see why if you read this whole post. Although I’m retiring, you can definitely still catch me in front of the tv every night watching league pass.
“With all of that said, THANK YOU BASKETBALL! I have no clue where I would have ended up without you, but watch where you take me. I hope you guys continue to watch my journey because it’s definitely not over, it’s just the beginning.”
Booker played for the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers from 2011 to 2018. He is the brother of Khimki Moscow center Devin Booker.