Phoenix Suns' T.J. Warren shows big love for basketball
It is difficult to distinguish the love of basketball among NBA players.
Most players dedicate their lives to the game, relish its riches and strive for success.
T.J. Warren is not alone in his passion. There are other Suns who are gym rats. There are other Suns who are driven to be great, who hang on every word from coaches.
Warren’s late-night sessions are out of public view, often even away from Talking Stick Resort Arena. The product is obvious with Warren vying to be a Suns starter at 22 years old, but only three people have seen how long this fire has burned: his parents, Tony and T, and his older sister, Nikita.
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When T.J. was 3, he went to bed in Raleigh, N.C., holding his basketball like a teddy bear. Once he fell asleep, his father, Tony, returned to T.J.’s bedroom to move the ball to the floor. A half-hour later, Tony went back to check on him and T.J. had the ball cradled under his arm -- just as he now protects it from opponents when driving through traffic.
Warren grew up infatuated with the memorabilia from his father’s playing days at North Carolina State, where T.J. would eventually play wearing the same No. 24.
“You got a lot of trophies, Daddy,” toddler T.J. said to his father, who had a brief pro career in Germany.
At the time, Tony played every Saturday at a local Raleigh gym, and T.J. knew it like most kids know the Saturday morning cartoon schedule.
“They’re waiting on us,” T.J. would anxiously tell his father.
T.J.'s favorite place was already the gym, as it is today. At ages 3 and 4, when he first started accompanying his father, T.J. would watch from the side while playing alone. Inevitably, he could not contain himself and ran on the court to join the adults’ game.
It is appropriate that T.J. grew up watching older men play because his offensive game is old-school, prompting Bernard King and Alex English comparisons. He has the wide array of shots that an older YMCA player uses once athleticism dips. Floaters, wrong-foot runners, bank shots and cutting without the ball pile up points as quietly as T.J. -- aka “Tony Buckets” -- carries himself.
“He’s got that unique skill of scoring,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said after Warren was drafted 14th. “When it comes time for the playoffs and you need to get tough buckets, we think he’s a guy who can get tough buckets.”
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By the time T.J. was 5, his dad knew he had a special kid. T.J. scored 27 in his youth game debut, already contorting his body to score however possible and reading caroms off the rim.
The Warrens were all in, becoming basketball nomads to drive him to tournaments as far as Ohio and Missouri. His sister followed, becoming the girls basketball coach at Dad's alma mater, Enloe High School.
T.J. grew up with Kevin Durant posters, shoes and shirts. He also grew out, loving his mother’s chicken wings and French fries too much. He weighed the same 225 pounds that he does now as a junior in high school but carried it far differently from this year’s toned look.
T.J. always had an offensive knack but Tony was the one with the defensive reputation in college. After T.J.’s freshman year at North Carolina State, Tony told him that he would need to be able to chase small forwards if he was going to be one. T.J. came back 23 pounds lighter and became 2014 ACC Player of the Year over Jabari Parker.
Warren burns to be great but is subtle, not boastful. He grew up appreciating team ball with David West as his mentor since age 12, when T.J. joined the Raleigh-area AAU club that West sponsors.
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An unselfish player, T.J. worried about being deemed a ball hog. But make no mistake about his confidence. From his loaded team at a New Hampshire prep academy to his freshman year at North Carolina State, Warren’s accomplishments were qualified by the talent around him. None of those players (Mitch McGary, Jakarr Sampson, Deonte Burton and Semaj Christon in high school or C.J. Leslie and Lorenzo Brown at North Carolina State) are as accomplished as he has become -- even though he has only 40 rookie appearances, 21 in last season's final 23 games.
“It bothered him when he was younger when other guys got more publicity,” Tony said.
The fire is stoked again. Warren spent most of the summer in Raleigh, where Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried gave him a key to the gym and T.J. moved within three blocks of campus. Like many teammates, he came back to Phoenix early for pickup games and voluntary workouts.
“I get so amped up just when we scrimmage and do competing stuff,” Warren said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
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A starting job is possible if Warren can show those offensive instincts are transferring to his defense. Hornacek said he saw improvement and put him on Utah top scorer Gordon Hayward in a start Friday.
“I thought T.J. battled,” Hornacek said. “It was good for him to go up against a guy like Gordon because you play against a guy like that, it’s going to help him against anybody else.”
It would be helpful if Warren developed a 3-point shot but that is a work in progress for a jump shot best left to his mid-range efficiency.
“If I’m not starting or I am, I’m going to give 100 percent effort out there and continue to play for my teammates and coaching staff,” Warren said.
The Heat Index can be reached at paul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him on Twitter @paulcoro.
Up next
Who: Rockets at Suns.
When: Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix.
Radio/live-stream: KMVP-FM (98.7)/ suns.com.
Rockets update: Houston has gone 1-2 in the preseason, losing a low-scoring contest to the Memphis Grizzlies, handily beating the Dallas Mavericks and most recently falling in a high-scoring affair to the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Star guard James Harden left the loss to Orlando with a right knee contusion. SF Corey Brewer has led the Rockets with 15.7 points per game in the preseason, followed by Harden (14.0) and SG Trevor Ariza (11.5). C Dwight Howard has pulled down 11 rebounds per game.
Suns' 2015 preseason schedule
- Oct. 7 vs. Sacramento
- Oct. 9 vs. Utah
- Oct. 13 vs. Houston
- Oct. 16 at Denver
- Oct. 20 at San Antonio
- Oct. 21 Dallas