To the Gutiérrezes, both of whom are first-generation Americans with Mexican parents, Booker’s background is a source of pride. Gerardo can rattle off facts about Booker like he’s a walking Wikipedia page: Booker’s mom is Mexican American, and his grandfather was born in Los Nogales, Mexico, a town near the Texas border. “His mom even has the same last name as us: Gutiérrez.” “I think all of this is even cooler because he has Mexican blood in him, and he’s carrying that with him,” Gerardo said while looking at a marquee that featured Booker in the center. Now, with Booker on the team, they have something even more singular to cheer for: an NBA superstar who, at least in one way, is actually like them. The brothers got their Suns fandom from their father, who came to love the team during the Seven Seconds or Less era. They’ve been Suns fans since they were little and growing up in South Phoenix, and they have faint memories of the Steve Nash–led teams of the mid-2000s, as well as fresher memories of the Suns drafting and building a team around Devin Booker. They gaze up at the gold lettering and Larry O’Brien Trophy graphics with anticipation and disbelief. Twenty-four-year-old Gerardo Gutiérrez and his brother, 20-year-old German Gutiérrez, are two of the few people there, sipping the last drops of their Dutch Bros iced coffee and taking pictures of the stadium marquee signaling that their team is hosting an NBA Finals. Music booms through two speakers as a DJ and a hype man practice their lines, but the area is virtually deserted.
on the night before Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals, and the space in front of Phoenix Suns Arena is brightly lit.
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