“Once they sent me letters, ‘I’m like I’m not picking a side, I got both’”. Through these remarks made by Devin Booker back in August, one realizes that the Suns star almost missed attending his alma mater: the University of Kentucky. In the end, however, he did, which only strengthened his basketball foundation. As a Wildcats player, the story of the 1992 NCAA campaign would’ve only fuelled his rivalry against Duke. Despite this, almost 10 years after grad, the NBA star is willing to keep that ‘feud’ aside to give out praise where it’s due.

The ongoing NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament recently had the Duke Blue Devils go up against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Possessing a 13-2 record in comparison to Notre Dame’s 7-9, attendees would’ve expected odds to favor Kentucky. What many wouldn’t have expected, though, was for Cooper Flagg to become the highlight of the night! The 18-year-old continued igniting high-level crowd cheers, as he made memorable three-pointers within seconds, and often stunned everyone with defense-breaking passes.

The young star scored 42 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. His accumulated points helped set a new Duke freshman scoring record, surpassing Zion Williamson’s 35-point record. On top of that, Flagg also set a new ACC freshman scoring record. A day that Cooper would never forget was only made better by Devin Booker’s praise. He highlighted a picture of the 18-year-old on his Instagram stories and wrote, “(Book emoji) Club”.

Devin Booker’s remark was a reference to Cooper Flagg competing against Notre Dame while wearing the Nike Book 1. Despite his association with the ₹267.3 million New Balance brand, the young player has occasionally donned shoes from the Suns star’s signature sneaker line. In fact, a pair of the Nike Book 1, in the “Python” colorway, was on Flagg’s feet during his Blue Devils debut.

Less than two weeks ago, Booker had highlighted a similar praise to LeBron James’ youngest son, Bryce. He did so after the teen also donned the Book 1s for a special photoshoot. This certainly would make the shooting guard glad to see a younger set of players give his shoe line some respect.

Devin Booker has never publicly admitted to holding any resentment against the Duke Blue Devils. However, he was once a member of the Kentucky Wildcats. This would have automatically caused him to develop a competitive edge against his rival collegiate team. After all, as highlighted by the ‘Kentucky Kernel’, “If you ask your grandparents, they’ll know. If you ask your parents, they’ll know. And after the 2024 Champions Classic, ask any college basketball fan and they’ll know. This rivalry just means more”.

For many, the ‘feud’ first began during the 1992 NCAA Tournament. At that time, Duke occupied the 1st seed, and Kentucky the 2nd. A matchup was held between them in the east regional final to determine a spot in the Final Four. Christian Laettner made a turnaround jumper with 2.1 seconds left. He won the game for Duke, 104-103!

A 2024 Sports Illustrated article placed the retro game on top of its ‘the greatest college basketball game of all time’ list. It was a major humiliation for Kentucky, and it’s safe to say that resentment probably continues to be carried even 30+ years later.

Despite everything, Devin Booker is a professional. KD’s teammate knows to give credit when it is due. Furthermore, his current praise for Cooper Flagg should not come as a surprise, given that this is not the first time he has done so.

Devin Booker praised Cooper Flagg after the youngster’s stellar performance against Team USA: “He wants it”

Back in July, Team USA was preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The city of Vegas hosted the squad for a multi-day training camp. Cooper Flagg was invited to the camp as part of the USA Select Team. By that point, Flagg was already being touted as a potential first-round pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, and his time with the Select Team cemented that claim.

During a practice session that saw Team USA go up against the Select Team, Cooper reportedly dropped a 3-pointer over Anthony Davis, secured a baseline turnaround over Jrue Holiday, and pulled off an acrobatic putback after gaining a foul adv over Bam Adebayo. To make these feats against the three best defenders of the modern-day NBA was nothing ordinary.

Though Team USA won by 74-73, Cooper Flagg earned the respect of several veterans that day. “He wants it,” said Devin Booker. “I know this experience. He’s going to take with him and move forward.”

NBA Fans may have just started witnessing glimpses of a long and fruitful hoops career. Whether Cooper Flagg backs up the hype with his game after earning the trust of Devin Booker is something that remains to be seen.