After seven seasons in the NBA, Raleigh’s Devonte Graham is taking his talents overseas to play in Serbia. Before he heads out for the season, he’s giving back to the city he loves.
“(Raleigh) is home, man,” Graham said. “They say home is where the heart is.”
It’s the place that raised him
“No matter how far I go, where I travel to, it’s all good experiences, but you never forget your roots and where you come from,” Graham said.
Saturday Graham will put on his fourth annual Devonte Graham community day at Moore Square in Raleigh from 3:00-6:00pm. Before that he’s heading back to his old stomping grounds at Broughton high school to put on his basketball camp.
“There’s a lot of kids who support me that I don’t even know about that love watching me play,” Graham continued. “For me to be able to be here, present, and for them to be able to come is big for them.”
Graham is the underdog who came out on top. He wasn’t highly recruited out of Broughton high school but Bill self at Kansas took a chance on him. After a stellar four years he was drafted to the Charlotte Hornets in 2018.
He knows he could be inspiring the next Devonte Graham in Raleigh who just needs a chance and some inspiration.
“You can look at them and see yourself in them in a way,” Graham said. “It just inspires them. They say, ‘ You’re not that tall, how did you make it to the NBA?’ And they can look at me and be like, ‘okay maybe I can do this one day’.”
Graham’s underdog story continues. He’s heading to Serbia to continue his professional career with the Red Star Belgrade with aspirations of making it back to the nba.