After watching Devin Booker for years, Koby Brea never thought they’d be NBA teammates

Koby Brea and Devin Booker are only six years apart in age, but the former is about to enter his rookie NBA season while the latter is embarking on year 11. The former Kentucky Wildcats will join forces this coming season with the Phoenix Suns, something Brea couldn’t even dream of as a kid growing up in Washington Heights, NY.

“It’s crazy. It’s kind of weird, if I’m being honest,” Brea said in a recent interview about teaming up with Booker. “Just cause he’s somebody that I’ve watched so much growing up throughout my life. I never thought I’d be in the same facility, same locker room, stuff like that. Just to see him up close and in person, seeing how he goes about this day, the work that he puts in, hearing all the stories from him, how hard he goes, and everything like that.

“Just being able to see who he is as a person outside of the game and also everything he does behind the scenes, I think is really cool.”

For someone with his skillset, Brea couldn’t have picked a better veteran and mentor than Booker — and that goes beyond just their ties to Lexington.

Both are 6-foot-6 shooting guards with outside shot-making that rivals the best players in the world. During their lone seasons at Kentucky, Brea averaged 11.6 points while shooting 43.5 percent from deep on 5.9 attempts per outing in 2024-25. A decade before, Booker averaged 10 points on 41.1 percent outside shooting on 3.7 attempts per contest in 2014-15.

As a young college prospect, Booker ended up going 13th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft to Phoenix, but he was hardly locked into being the future four-time All-Star he turned out to be. Brea shares a similar title to Booker as being a shooter first (which Booker soon bucked in the NBA), and is a little bit behind the eight ball after going through five years of college. The Suns ended up snagging Brea 41st overall in this year’s draft.

Booker quickly adapted to the NBA game. He averaged 13.8 points per game as a rookie, finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year race. Expectations won’t be nearly as high in year one for Brea, but he’ll be working alongside his model for success every single day throughout the season.

To hear Brea’s full six-minute preseason interview with the Suns, dive into the video below. He also talks about why he chose 14 for his jersey number, when he fell in love with basketball, his excitement level for this season, and much more. Brea, who showed moments of brilliance in Summer League, will make his preseason debut for the Suns on Oct. 3.

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