NEW YORK \u2013 Devin Booker and Kyler Murray have an obvious connection.<\/p>\n
Arizona pro team franchise player.<\/p>\n
Same back number. They led their respective teams to the playoffs.<\/p>\n
They played college ball in the Southeastern Conference, but have another connection that knew them before they landed in the Valley and moved to the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n
Avery Johnson Jr.<\/p>\n
“I’ve known Avery for a long time,” Booker said. “We’ve been friends since middle school.”<\/p>\n
Johnson Jr. met Murray in high school in Texas.<\/p>\n
“That relationship has only grown since then,” Murray said.<\/p>\n Johnson Jr. isn’t just close friends with Booker and Murray.<\/p>\n Not only is he connected to these two on a personal and professional level, Johnson Jr. is a budding businessman who’s making it his own.<\/p>\n The son of former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, he founded Elevate Global, a “full service and entertainment” company representing athletes, brands and entertainers.<\/p>\n\n “It’s just expanding into other lanes, other businesses, other athletes,” Johnson Jr. said. \u201cWe hire people into the company, take what we learned from Booker and Murray, and use that to leverage other clients and other players to operate on a global level.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson Jr., 27, is just getting started.<\/p>\n “If you look at his career from basketball to where he is now, he’s always been one step ahead of anyone his age,” Booker said. “He’s going to do big things. He already has. Always a listening person. He’s always on the road. He knows what’s going on.” \u201d<\/p>\n After finalizing the partnership and investment of Murray, Booker and Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Johnson Jr. formed a company focused on “contract negotiation, marketing representation, brand representation, business development and IP creation.” did.<\/p>\n He also partnered with Los Angeles-based nightlife group H.wood, which has restaurants around the world from Dubai to Toronto, to prepare to open 40 Love restaurant\/lounge in Scottsdale in “early 2023.” I’m here. across the United States.<\/p>\n “It’s just a cool project,” Johnson Jr. said. \u201cA special place for A-list celebrities and performances.\u201d<\/p>\n Scottsdale’s new nightspot is backed by ‘global athletes and entertainers’.<\/p>\n In the world of sports from an early age, Johnson Jr. has grown to become a Division I basketball prospect, joining the AAU circuit and NBPA Top 100 camps to showcase some of the country’s best talent.<\/p>\n Booker was there too.<\/p>\n “We played each other,” Johnson Jr. said.<\/p>\n They’ve been really tight since then. Avery Johnson remembers when his son and Booker were young.<\/p>\n “I remember when Devin Booker was in high school, he slept on the floor in Avery’s room and Avery slept on his bed,” Johnson said. “Wow, why aren’t they in the cabin? They just wanted to be together and train together.”<\/p>\n Johnson attended Booker’s high school jersey retirement ceremony in Moss Point, Mississippi last month, but it wasn’t the first time the two shared a special moment.<\/p>\n “When Devin walked across the stage for the draft, Avery Jr. was there when his name was called,” Johnson said when Phoenix picked Booker 13.th<\/sup> Entirely outside of Kentucky.<\/p>\n Johnson Jr. and Murray were connected during their high school years in Texas.<\/p>\n They played at the same high school in Texas. Murray was a prodigy at Allen High while Johnson was on the job at Plano West.<\/p>\n “Avery and Kyler were like brothers from day one,” Johnson said. \u201cEven Kyler played in high school and I remember when he came over to spend time with us. I think there was a healthy amount of respect because I ended up playing for.” <\/p>\n\n Johnson Jr. and Murray started college at Texas A&M before transferring. Johnson Jr. went to Alabama to play for his father and Murray landed in Oklahoma to win the Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n Johnson said, “I have tremendous respect for the Kyler and Murray family. They are very consistent with Avery Jr. and they trust him. is a member of, and it is not easy to enter.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/12\/30\/PPHX\/6b15dd9e-9421-43a2-a951-fb0144aabc9c-Avery1.JPG?width=300&height=345&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Phoenix](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/12\/30\/PPHX\/7b2b6078-9c69-4cbf-ad0f-e7695e31ab2a-Avery2.JPG?width=300&height=380&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nWhy aren’t you in your room?<\/h2>\n
![\"Moss](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/0efb6da7428e8a522e94eb6181ed72d7176c78cb\/c=0-560-1438-1370\/local\/-\/media\/JacksonMS\/RecruitingReport\/2014\/05\/10\/\/1399769305000-tcl-6cok3qnrj1i1dxgh5n40-original.jpg?width=980&height=553&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\n“From day one, they were like brothers.”<\/h2>\n