KAT: Devin Booker Didn't Know If He'd Make The NBA While in College
Aug 20, 2025
According to Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker feared that he might not be good enough to play in the NBA when the two players were together at Kentucky.
A consensus five-star prospect out of St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, New Jersey, Towns played one year for a completely loaded Wildcats team. Also playing for Kentucky that season were the Harrison twins, Dakari Johnson, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Liles and Devin Booker.
While all of those players would go on to play in the NBA, Towns and Booker emerged as the clear stars of the group. But Towns recently told Carmelo Anthony during an appearance on the 7 PM in Brooklyn Podcast:
"I remember Book was in college and we would be sitting there and Book would be like, 'Man, you about to go to the NBA, you're going to get drafted number one and I'm gonna be here in Kentucky for another year or two and I'm going to just try.' And I was like, bro, if we handle business on the court, we win and stuff, all our draft stocks go up."
Despite their pedigrees, Towns and Booker didn't play major minutes during their one season in college as Coach John Calipari institued a platoon system.
Even during his first season in the league, Booker scored more than he did in college, averaging 13.8 points per game during his rookie season. That would be the only season in his ten-year career where he averaged less than 20 points per game.
