The interview with Devin Booker is about to begin when Suns coach Earl Watson interrupts.

“Tell him what you asked me yesterday,” he says to the reporter.

“I wanted to know what Booker’s ceiling was,” the reporter replies.

“What did I say?” asks Watson.

“An MVP candidate.”

“What else?” says Watson, who is looking directly at Booker.

“That he can be one of the greatest if not the greatest player ever to wear a Suns uniform,” the reporter says.

Satisfied, Watson walks away. The reporter turns his attention to Booker, who just shakes his head.

“Let’s not go there,” Booker says.

Why not?

Career on the rise

Let’s get the numbers out of the way because they’re a necessary – but small – part of Booker’s story. His 2,774 career points are fourth-most for a player before the age of 21, trailing only LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. He’s the only active NBA player with a 70-point game, which came last season against Boston. Since 2005-06, only Durant and Kyrie Irving have had more 30-point outings through their first 153 games.

Booker was named to the 2015-16 NBA All-Rookie First Team, he’s the youngest player ever (19) to compete in the 3-point contest during All-Star weekend and his 246 career 3-pointers are the most ever by a player before turning 21.

In late August, Durant anointed Booker, saying: “Better watch out for that boy because he is nice. He next, I’m telling you.”

“That means a lot,” Booker said. “KD was a guy I used to have a Fathead of in my bedroom. I used to go to sleep looking at KD every night. Now he’s respecting my game.”

Durant isn’t the only one. Teammate Jared Dudley said Booker reminds him of former Portland All-Star guard Brandon Roy.

“A combo guard who can kill you in the mid-range, play in the post and shoot the 3,” Dudley said. “That’s a great comparison for him.”

Dudley believes Booker is more talented than Golden State’s Klay Thompson but, “I don’t know if he’s at the James Harden level.”

Well, there’s time: Booker won’t turn 21 until Oct. 30.

“He’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever seen at a young age,” Watson said.

Booker’s talent is only part of the story, though.

Drive to excel

Talk to anyone about Booker and one of the first things they’ll mention is his competitive nature. If you didn’t know any better you’d think they were talking about Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.

“I do see a similar mentality to Kobe,” Dudley said.

Watson tells this story:

“When Devin Booker first started his rookie season he didn’t play a lot,” Watson said. “I remember after every practice he would try to play the entire team one-on-one. And I don’t remember him losing. Then he would walk off the court and be pissed off. That was his way of saying he needed to be on the court. I just thought it was hilarious. Here was this 18-year-old proving to you why he should play.”

The commonly held perception is that Booker got his competitive nature from his father, Melvin, a former University of Missouri point guard who had a brief NBA career, playing in 32 games over two seasons.

But that’s not entirely true.

Booker didn’t live full-time with his father until high school, when he moved from Michigan, where his mother resided, to Mississippi. By then, his contempt for losing already was part of his DNA, thanks, in part, to his always wanting to beat his older brother, Davon, at every game they played.

“I think that always pushed me because I could never beat him,” Booker said. “I always wanted to be the best at everything. All my friends knew it. They’d say, ‘I don’t want to introduce you to this because you’re going to be better than me in a week.’ ”

When Booker was 13 a friend of his owned a ping-pong table. Booker would hang out there every day after school but he couldn’t beat his friend or his friend’s father. So, during the summer, he slept over at his friend’s house for a full week just to work on his game.

“My mom was like, ‘Are you coming home?’ ” Booker recalled. “It was crazy. Here I am 13 years old, playing ping pong until two or three in the morning.”

Guess what happened next.

“I just ended up getting so much better than my friend,” Booker said. “I ended up beating his dad, too. We put our results on a chart we hung up next to the ping-pong table and I was so far ahead of them.”

That competitive spirit hasn’t waned. When Booker was a rookie he constantly asked Watson if he would be picked for the Rising Stars Challenge game to be played All-Star Weekend.

He made the team and was thrilled. So when Booker was selected for the game again last season, Watson said, “Hey, congratulations.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t make the All-Star team,” Booker replied.

“Just a year ago you were trying to make this game,” Watson told Booker. “He had surpassed that mentality. Not in an entitled way but in a driven way. He’s super competitive. He wants to win at everything.”

Just like the player after whom Booker models his game.

The Kobe influence

Booker had his favorite players as a child – growing up in Michigan, he loved longtime Pistons shooting guard Rip Hamilton – but his admiration for Jordan and Bryant ran deep, not only for the championship rings they possessed but for how they were the cornerstones of their respective franchises.

“I idolized those guys,” Booker said. “They were intriguing to me. You hear stories about the competitive edge they brought to the game and how serious they took their craft. ... I want to be remembered as one of those guys because at the end of the day this is everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Bryant’s career was winding down when Booker started playing high school basketball in Mississippi. The Bryant who soared above the rim was gone, replaced by a player who beat opponents with his wisdom and will. Melvin Booker would have his son watch how Bryant used his footwork to create space, how he drew contact and then made tough shots, how he developed a fade-away jump shot that no one could block.

“I used to tell my dad, ‘What am I working on?’ ” Booker recalled. “He was like, ‘We’re not preparing for this high school talent because you can just get a layup in high school.’

“I’ve been working on an NBA skill-set level for a long time. I always try to outsmart my defender. I’m not the strongest, I’m not the fastest, I can’t jump the highest so for me it’s doing it in other ways. Changing paces, using your body to get open, knowing your defender. A lot goes into it. You have to study the game.”

In late March, Bleacher Report put together a video showing several of Bryant’s go-to moves followed by almost carbon copies by Booker. Booker didn’t know about the video until he received a direct message on his Twitter feed. From Bryant’s verified account.

“I opened it and I couldn’t believe it,” Booker said.

Booker was a rookie in 2015-16, Bryant’s final season. The Suns and Lakers faced off in late March and, after Booker dropped 28 on Los Angeles, he and Bryant talked postgame for about 15 minutes. Bryant gave Booker a pair of autographed Nike sneakers. On the right shoe he wrote, “Book, Be Legendary.”

But it was a moment during the game that still puts a smile on Booker’s face.

“I remember being in the post against him and I took one of his shots, the fade-away,” Booker said. “He was like, ‘I remember doing that same thing against Michael.’ I was like, ‘Wow.’ ”

The future

Already, at the age of 20, Booker is an “elite offensive player,” according to Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. The next step: Developing the other parts of his game. Watson and McDonough said Booker can become a better rebounder, a better defender and a playmaker as well as a scorer. Booker averaged 3.4 assists last season; Watson said he would like to see Booker average five to six assists per contest.

“I think eventually his defense and passing is going to dictate how big of a player he’s going to be,” Dudley said. “Scoring I think he can always improve a little bit more efficiency-wise but that’s just God given. It’s the other two assets and that’s something we’ll see the next two to three years of his development.”

The Suns are grooming Booker to be, like Jordan and Bryant, the face of the franchise. It might seem too much responsibility for a young man who won’t take his first legal drink until later this month. But in some ways, Booker already has warmed to the role.

“This is my 17th year in the NBA and what stands out differently about him is that when you get in that huddle and there’s a big shot that needs to be taken a lot of guys put their head down. They don’t want to make eye contact with the coach,” Watson said. “We get in the huddle and the most difficult thing for me is I have two guys who always stare at me. (Eric) Bledsoe and Booker. It’s rare to have that in such a young player.”

In Booker’s house is a painting of Michael Jordan and his famous quote about wanting to take the last shot:

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.”

“I look at it every day,” Booker said. “That’s the true meaning of being a leader, being able to deal with the consequences and take the responsibility for it. That’s who I want to be. I want it on me.”

Notes

The Suns will play their first preseason game Tuesday in Portland. Watson said he has yet to decide on a starting lineup. Phoenix's first home preseason game is next Monday at 7 p.m. against Utah.

Center Tyson Chandler turned 35 Monday.

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