WHITMIRE — Eight-year NBA veteran Trevor Booker, a Whitmire native, announced his retirement from professional basketball.
Booker entered the NBA in 2010, after being selected 23rd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The draft rights to Booker were immediately traded to the Washington Wizards, where he joined John Wall in his rookie campaign.
“I’m just a kid from a small town in South Carolina. Coming out of school I wasn’t considered a big time recruit, and got passed over by a lot of the blue bloods of college basketball. Playing in the NBA was a dream. I want kids to see my story and understand what can be achieved through hard work and determination” said Booker.
Booker, a three-star recruit out of high school, was named Gatorade player of the year in South Carolina before choosing to stay close to home and attend school at Clemson University, under Head Coach Oliver Purnell. Booker quickly earned a starting role during his freshman campaign in the ACC with his unmatched motor, grit and physical style of play. Booker finished his four year collegiate career in 2010 as one of the best all-time players in Clemson history, with First Team All-ACC honors, ACC All-Defensive Team honors, and the winningest player in Clemson history. Booker became an impact player for the Washington Wizards in his four years, before signing a two year contract with Utah Jazz. In Utah, Booker was a fan favorite that brought out his energy and passion for the Jazz faithful to see on a nightly basis. Following his two year campaign with the Utah Jazz, Booker signed a two year contract with the Brooklyn Nets, where he had his best statistical season of his career, averaging 10ppg 8rpg during the 2016-2017 season.
“Trevor is one of the most down to earth and considerate players that I’ve met, and I have no doubt that he is going to thrive in the next chapter of his life,” said Alex Kennedy, USA Today/Hoops Hype analyst.
Booker, a star in his role in the NBA, is a serial entrepreneur and business man with ownership in over 25 different companies including the MLS team D.C. United, a Shark Tank cosmetic product called Nohbo Drops, in which he owns with Mark Cuban, an International Boarding High School by the name of Combine Academy, a large commercial and residential real estate portfolio and several more entities.
Booker has a message for his NBA playing peers, “I want NBA players to see what I was able to accomplish off the court by using my resources provided by being an NBA athlete. The NBA changed my life, and for that, I am forever grateful.”
Booker posted this on Twitter following the announcement, where he spoke a little bit about his hometown.
“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 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, S.C.”