Semaj Booker (born June 25, 1997) is an American basketball player and former runaway child from Lakewood, Washington.
He gained national attention in 2007, at age nine, for escaping from his home in Lakewood to San Antonio, Texas on his own, traveling by car as a driver and by airplane as a passenger.
[4] In the following morning, after being excused from juvenile detention, Booker traveled to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on a bus, without his mother's knowledge.
[6] The incident gained the attention of Norm Dicks, the local U. S. Representative, who said, "If a 9-year-old can exploit this (air travel) security system, we are going to have to look into the procedures.
In his middle school years, during which he lived in Texas and North Carolina, Booker began playing organized basketball.
[16] On April 7, 2018, Booker would be one of about 50 or 100 people to officially travel to Garfield High School to tryout for the Seattle Ballers, one of eight teams created for the newly founded Junior Basketball Association (JBA).
[17] After the tryouts for Seattle concluded, Booker was named one of four players (at the time) to be confirmed for the newly formed team.
In that game, he recorded 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block as a starter in a blowout 121–103 win over the Dallas Ballers.