When recognizing pipelines to the NBA, Simeon Career Academy out of Chicago is at or near the top of the list. Beginning with Nick Anderson in 1989 (selected No. 11 overall by the Magic) to top-2 draft picks Derrick Rose (2008, Chicago Bulls) and Jabari Parker (2014, Milwaukee Bucks), Simeon has routinely churned out Division-I and NBA players.
So when deciding what high school he would attend growing up in the heart of Chicago, Talen Horton-Tucker only had one choice at the top of his list. Simeon was the best path to take when fulfilling his immense potential, not just as a college recruit but as someone with NBA aspirations.
"I feel like I was just destined to go to Simeon. .. People were telling me I was going to Simeon when I was in the 5th grade," Horton-Tucker said. "When the time got closer, I wanted to go to the school where I would probably get an opportunity and where the best I could be. I felt like Simeon was where the best players were."
"Simeon is one of these places where you see a pro every four years. … So just being able to be that pro that came through is good for me."
Growing up on the North Side of Chicago in the Uptown neighborhood, Horton-Tucker's skillset made him a local legend on the courts around the city ever since he was a youngster. Through his family connections, he was able to embed himself into the culture of Chicago basketball.
"We would go to games, and I would ask him about former Chicago high school players," said Corey Bradford, Horton-Tucker's AAU Coach. "He knows all his information about guys who played 20 years before he was born. … That's when I knew he was a student of the game."
One of the biggest influences in his life was his grandmother, Paulette Horton. Although she lost her battle with colon cancer when he was 13, the lessons and experiences she gave him at such an early age helped shape precisely who he would be a decade later.
"My grandmother is just big into knowing like that's going on, she's just really big in the community so being able to be around her, move around the neighborhood and go throughout the city, it kind of just made me eager and my love for it just grew," Horton-Tucker said.
"His grandmother ran the pro-am at the park when he was a little kid. … He was at the park with all of Chicago's greats," said Rob Smith, Horton-Tucker's high school coach.
Horton-Tucker made it known at an early age that he wanted to be next in a line of all-time greats to come from the city. He specifically followed the early careers of Anthony Davis and fellow Simeon stars Rose, Parker, and Kendrick Nunn. He noticed this group of players always played with the kids bigger and older than them.
"He was tough," said his mother, Shirley Horton. "He said, 'I'm going to play with the big kids no matter what. … I'm going to do what I gotta do, and then I'm going to go home and keep working at it.'"
That's the beauty of Chicago basketball, though. It's a place where only the tough survive. According to those with deep roots in the community, it's a place where they take care of their own while simultaneously pushing them to new heights.
"The Chicago basketball scene is tough," Horton said. "It's going to teach you to get up and keep going. … That's one of the things I know that Talen learned a lot with Chicago basketball."
"Chicago is the city of blue-collar basketball, and it is played like no other place in the country," Bradford added. "We build a family bond with these guys. If they need anything or need any support, we make sure that we all have somebody to reach out to. … We have the resources for them."
After starring at Simeon, leading them to three consecutive City Championships (2015-18), Horton-Tucker took his talents to Iowa State for one season before heading to the NBA. After winning a title with the Lakers in 2020 (his rookie season), he was traded to the Jazz on August 25, 2022.
He dominated to end last season, taking that momentum into this year and emerging as Utah's starting point guard. He's averaged 10.9 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 31 games this year. However, he has fallen out of the rotation over the past month — a notion that's not indicative of how talented and bright his future remains.
"I am incredibly hard on Talen, I have been all season. … That is because I believe in him," head coach Will Hardy said. "He has not always gotten what he wanted, he's had moments where he was out of the rotation during this season, and he's never complained, he's worked really, really hard every day. … And he's taken hard coaching from me."
"He understands what is real and what is not," he continued. "He wants to play more, he wants to be in the rotation, he wants to be a key player. At that age, to have that level of maturity to understand that you might not always get what you want, and that you have to keep working. … That's a credit to Talen."
Everything good that Hardy said about Horton-Tucker stems from his time in Chicago. His ability to have a mature mindset with everything going on around him and persevere through the tough times comes from his youth.
"I don't want to get choked up, but I always tell people I'm really, really happy because he deserves it," Horton said. "He's a good kid. That's always been how he is. … Good, treats people right, he likes what he does, he's respectful. I'm really proud of him.
"It's really where my passion comes from," Horton-Tucker added. "If I wasn't from Chicago, I wouldn't play basketball the way I play it. Chicago is where I started learning everything. … It's home."