Yahoo Finance Trevor Booker details wild culture inside Wizards organization: ‘I’m just glad I got out alive’
Trevor Booker has seen a lot throughout his time in the NBA.
The 31-year-old forward played for five different teams over eight seasons, most recently a short stint with the Indiana Pacers in 2018.
It wasn’t until much later, however, that he learned how unconventional — and unprofessional — the start of his career was.
On an episode of “The HoopsHype Podcast” this week, Booker detailed his wild beginning with the Washington Wizards — where he spent his first four seasons in the league from 2010-14.
Warning: This video contains NSFW language.
Trevor Booker on those crazy Wizards teams: "One player cut up another player's suit. One guy took a sh** in another guy's shoe. We'd break into each other's room and beat a player up, tie him up... It was my first NBA team so I was like, "Wow, the NBA is really a sh** show!'" pic.twitter.com/Dry3N1Lkg4
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) November 6, 2019
“It was the most terrible team that I’ve probably been on, but it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in the NBA,” Booker said. “Because those guys didn’t care at all, you know?
“I would come into the locker room the day of a game and watch one player cut up the suit of another player. One guy took a s--- in another guy’s shoe. Oh my goodness, I have stories for days. We would go on the road and we would break into each other’s room and beat a player up, tie him up. There’s so many stories I got from those Washington days. It was so much fun, but looking back on it, oh my goodness. It was so unprofessional.”
The Wizards were not very good when Booker was in Washington. During his first two seasons, under coach Flip Saunders, they won just 43 total games. Things didn’t improve drastically when Randy Whittman took over in 2012, though the team did post a winning record and reached the playoffs during Booker’s final year there.
Once Booker went to the Utah Jazz in 2014, he realized how insane some of the things he had experienced with the Wizards actually were.
“That’s all I knew. It was my first NBA team,” Booker said. “So I’m like, ‘Wow, the NBA really is a s---show.’ But, you know, as soon as I went to Utah, I was like, ‘Wow, this is way different. This is way more professional, and I really like this a lot more. There’s a lot more structure, and you know, it’s family-oriented.’ … I went to other organizations and I realized that what I had in Washington, it was not normal at all.”
Booker bounced around a lot in his final season in the league, playing for the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Pacers before attempting to play overseas in China. His stay there, though, was short lived after a toe injury forced him to undergo surgery. He’s now attempting to find a way back into the NBA.
Though he enjoyed his start, the South Carolina native said he’s just happy to have survived looking back on it now.
“I’m just glad I got out alive,” Booker said.
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