On and off the floor, La Familia's DJ Burns brings non-stop energy: 'We don't win this game without him.'

When La Familia made its debut in The Basketball Tournament last summer, it was Kerem Kanter — the younger brother of former Kentucky center Enes Kanter — who stole the hearts of the Big Blue Nation and became the fan-favorite.

But through two games in this year’s edition of TBT, it’s been DJ Burns earning the title of honorary Wildcat.

Burns wasn’t just a random addition to La Familia’s roster, either. He spent his first two college seasons at Southern playing under head coach Sean Woods, who is now La Familia’s head coach. From there, Burns transferred and played two seasons at Murray State before finishing his college career at Youngstown State in 2023-24.

An athletic 6-foot-7 forward, Burns has made a significant impact both on and off the floor for La Familia.

In the TBT opener against Stroh’s Squad, Burns posted eight points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in a blowout win. He was even more important in Sunday’s 80-76 win over War Ready, finishing with six points, five rebounds, and a steal. While the counting stats weren’t as good as game one, he made plays when his team needed them the most.

But where Burns has really made his presence felt is as the team’s unofficial hype man. There isn’t a player on La Familia bursting with more energy than Burns. Whether he’s on the floor or watching from the bench, you’ll see the New Orleans native pumping his jersey out and screaming to the sea of Kentucky fans every chance he gets. He even got into it with War Ready’s Wendell Green Jr. at one point, which resulted in double technicals — the crowd sure did love that one.

“I think we all, not just the team or the coach, I think everybody in the building can appreciate what he’s bringing to our team,” Aaron Harrison said of Burns postgame. “It’s just so much energy. He’s just excited to be here. He expresses how excited he is to be here and how grateful he is. We all get inspired by that type of energy. He’s helping the whole arena really. We really need him and we appreciate him.”

DJ Burns has really become a fan favorite for BBN pic.twitter.com/jzt0YmJjI0

— Mario A Maitland (@MarioMaitland_3) July 20, 2025

If there is ever a lull in the crowd noise, Burns makes sure to wave his hands and get everyone back on their feet. He brings that same energy to the hardwood on both ends of the floor — fighting for loose balls, moving his feet on defense, and sprinting up and down the floor. Woods had Burns in the game during key stretches of the fourth quarter and in the Elam Ending.

“I know DJ, I recruited DJ, DJ played two years for me at Southern University,” Woods said. “So DJ knows me and that’s the reason why we’re so tight, because our energy level and our passion for the game of basketball is the same. When he was a freshman, he led the league in rebounds — that’s just who he is. Any team that he plays for, he enhances the energy level. That’s just DJ Burns.

“He’s a great complement to these guys. Everybody needs that glue guy, needs that energy that keeps everybody going. And he never stops. He’s the X-factor and he’s been the X-factor. Him and Kahlil (Whitney) both, and we need them, especially coming down the stretch in key moments like today.”

Burns had a couple of chances to seal the win for La Familia in the Elam Ending, but his open three-point looks just didn’t want to drop. Archie Goodwin came in to save the day in the end, but without Burns and his 18 minutes of hard work, La Familia is likely knocked out of this tournament. Right before Goodwin’s heroics, Burns hit a huge shot in the paint during the Elam Ending to help push his team toward victory.

“I think Aaron hit it right on the head. His energy has been amazing for us,” Goodwin said of Burns. “The crowd is getting into it a lot with him and really bringing the energy when he gets going. And you see it. He got stop after stop. That’s a guy that you love to play with because he brings the little things and the intangibles that might not go in the stat sheet all the time, but they count towards winning, and you need guys like that. He’s been doing a great job of that for us and I couldn’t be happier for him. We don’t win this game without him.”

Burns might not be the most talented player on La Familia, but he’s a necessary piece to the puzzle. He consistently makes winning plays in a tournament where that’s not always common. That’s an easy way to have a rabid fan base remember his name forever. If Burns can keep it up the rest of the way, he might just be taking home a piece of the $1 million grand prize.

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