EXCLUSIVE: MSU's Xavier Booker on First-Round Draft Pick Projections

Michigan State men's basketball center Xavier Booker is already anticipated to be one of the best prospects in next year's NBA Draft.

Michigan State's Xavier Booker is introduced as part of the starting lineup before the game against Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Despite having averaged less than 10 minutes a game in his freshman season, Michigan State men's basketball sophomore center Xavier Booker is already being projected by some to be a first-round pick in next year's NBA Draft.

It's a level of expectation that is nothing new to Coach Tom Izzo's program -- former Spartan stars like Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. were held to that same standard.

Booker has business to tend to before he decides to call it a career with the Spartans, but being one of the top players in the 2025 NBA Draft is a real possibility.

"Honestly, a goal of mine has always been to go to the NBA," Booker told me at the 2024 Moneyball Pro-Am on Thursday. "So, I've been putting in the work, that's my goal after this year is to try to go to the NBA. So, I'm going to put in the work, but obviously, I got to have short-term growth on the way there, so my main goal right now is just getting better in the summer, doing good in Spain, winning games in Spain, and then, carrying that over to the season."

With high expectations, also comes pressure, of course. Pressure is often viewed as a negative connotation. But Booker doesn't look at it that way.

"Pressure comes with everything," the Spartan center said. "If anything, pressure is honestly like a privilege because that means you're just doing something right, and people have high expectations of you. So, I feel like pressure is just a privilege."

Fortunately for Booker, as he works to reach his dream of making it to the NBA, he has one of the most respected coaches in the game of basketball in his corner.

"It's very valuable," Booker said. "He [Coach Izzo] has great knowledge from -- he gets a lot of feedback from NBA guys and, honestly, just has all the feedback, in general. He's been around the game for a long time. So, having a coach like him, he knows just about everything. So, having a coach like him really means a lot."

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