Nobody made wearing a mask in the NBA more famous than former Detroit Pistons G Richard “Rip” Hamilton.
After breaking his nose in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker decided that he too will wear a mask moving forward to protect himself from further injury.
Ironically, Hamilton just so happens to be Booker’s favorite player of all-time so Booker reached out to Rip for some advice.
“When you put it on, it’s not going to change the way you shoot,’ ” Hamilton told The Undefeated about what he told Booker. “ ’It will be weird. But once you put it on, leave it alone.’ They tend to want to take it off during a free throw, on the bench or during a timeout.
“Leave it on because you will be more worried about the mask off than on. You will be more confident with it on. You tend to clench up when you go to the basket, but with the mask on you are protected when you go to the basket and are poked in the eye or mouth. You feel invincible. You play more confident with the mask.”
Wearing a mask may take Booker some time to get used to as he shot 5-for-21 in the Suns Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Devin Booker reached out to Rip Hamilton (his "favorite player of all-time") to get some advice on playing with a mask. Here's what Rip told him: pic.twitter.com/wKPfbxSqcp
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 25, 2021
