Al McCoy Gets Emotional Talking About Relationship With Devin Booker
The Phoenix Suns' season is officially over, and thus the career of legendary broadcaster Al McCoy is, too.
McCoy finished up 51 years of calling Suns basketball after the team fell to the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
McCoy formed many relationships through his Hall of Fame tenure with the Suns, but none emerged to be more special than the bond he shared with superstar Devin Booker.
Booker arrived to the desert in 2015 and has helped change the culture of the organization, sticking through some mighty tough years before the Suns carried the championship or bust expectations that exist today.
McCoy - who has seen plenty of good and bad basketball in Phoenix - has seen Booker evolve and grow right in front of his own eyes.
Appearing as a special Friday guest of Arizona Sports' Burns and Gambo, McCoy dove into the relationship between he and Booker.
"He is special, and I'm going to tell you when this all started. His first year when he was a rookie - was when they put me in the ring of honor. And when I was out at the halftime ceremonies at the arena, I looked over at the bench and there was one player sitting there during halftime: It was Book. All the other players had gone into the locker room but he was sitting there by himself, said McCoy.
"So a couple of days later I saw him and said, 'Hey Book, I noticed the other night you sat during the halftime and you didn't go to the locker room. How come you were sitting there?'
"He looked at me and he said, 'You know, I know I'm a rookie, but I just wanted to know what it would be like for someone like you to get that kind of recognition.'
"I knew then this was a special kid. So this year when I was honored the last game of the regular season, he was not playing in that game. Remember, all the starters had stayed out. I looked over on the visitors bench and sitting there in street clothes by himself was Devin Booker. When the ceremonies ended, the first guy that came out and gave me a hug was Devin Booker.
"As you know last year when the Suns won their 64th game and I was still in the second row downstairs, I look up as I get ready to go off the air and here's Book. He throws his arms around me and he says, 'You're the reason we're here' and he took his jersey off - signed it - and gave it to me. I have that framed jersey hanging where I live right now. So he means an awful lot to me. Just because he's that type of person … He's special."
McCoy also said that everything is still fairly fresh since putting the microphone down for the last time.
"I guess it really hasn't hit me. As I said to someone earlier, maybe when training camp starts and I'm not gonna be there, I may get more of a feeling. Right now - of course after last night's game - it's kind of hard to be positive. But I had so many great things during the 51 years," he said.
Though McCoy will now step away, his legacy - and relationship with Booker - will be engrained in Phoenix forever.
