Devin Booker talks career year, Mikal Bridges and Suns winning NBA title this season

The fandemonium for Devin Booker has reached rock star status as evidenced by the screams and yells he receives during the pregame player introductions at Footprint Center.

“This city has always showed love and it’s an exciting time," Booker said. "Everybody is juiced up ready for what we got coming up. The atmosphere is there.”

The Phoenix Suns enter the playoffs as a fourth seed in the West – and one of the favorites to win it all with their franchise player having a career year.

The Republic caught up with Booker last week and discussed this regular season and then later reconnected with him Sunday and talked about the legendary Al McCoy, team identity, Mikal Bridges’ scoring eruption in Brooklyn and what it’ll take for the Suns to win an NBA championship this season.

The Suns (45-37) will open postseason play against the Los Angeles Clippers (44-38) in Game 1 Sunday at Footprint Center.

Q: You averaged a career-high in points this season (27.8 ppg.). People are saying you’re playing the best basketball of your career. Does it feel like this is your best season in the NBA?

A: “It’s been all over the place because I’ve been in and out of the lineup (with injuries, Booker played a career-low 53 games this season), but I’ve had some good stretches.”

Q: Describe this season?

A: “It’s been all over the place, but I think the main goal and what we realize since we lost last year and lost in the finals the year before that it comes down to this year. That’s the only thing that matters. It’s an important time and we’re at full health, full strength and it’s time to do it.”

The Suns finished with 45 wins. The last NBA champion to win fewer than 50 games in an 82-game season were the 1994-95 Houston Rockets, who won 47 games. They were a sixth seed.

Q: Saw you gave Al a hug Sunday after the halftime ceremony honoring his 51 seasons as the ‘Voice of the Suns.’ He’s retiring after this season. What did it mean for you to see that?

“There’s no better person to learn this city and the history of this organization and the history of the whole entire city than Al. Those early years when he was still traveling with the team, and I got to chop it up with him on the plane. Those are moments that I’ll never forget. Just hearing the passion, the history of this franchise in his voice just made me want to go harder.”

When you were at Kentucky, you played with great players who wound up in the league. Now you’re with great players here, but there’s always the whole, ‘this is my team.’ Did you ever buy into that at all?

“Nah. That’s more of a media thing. I think that comes between some other teams, but that’s never been my situation. I’ve always prided myself on playing the game the right way and understanding the other team’s tendencies and my teammates' tendencies. Going with the group that we have now, you mentioned my group in college, I know what everybody was capable of. It’s not taking a backseat to anybody. It’s just understanding situations, it’s understanding how to play this game.”

Looking at Mikal, first, he took your jersey number. Then he goes off scoring wise. Two-part question. One, how do you feel about the way he’s playing and two, why didn’t that happen here?

“I think it was happening here. Everything is situational. Obviously, the ball is in his hands a lot more there, but we saw it in him. The time that I missed, he was going crazy. I was the first one to always encourage him from his first shot in the NBA, like, ‘I need you to be aggressive. I need someone to take some pressure off.’ He’ll be the first one to tell you. I’m telling him to shoot more every time we played with each other. Now he’s getting that opportunity.”

The Suns traded Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first round picks and a pick swap to Brooklyn for Kevin Durant and T.J. Warren right before the trade deadline.

To Booker’s point, Bridges averaged 19.5 points in the 21 games Booker missed with a left groin strain, but he averaged 26.1 points in 27 games with the Nets since the trade.

In 365 career games with the Suns, Bridges averaged 12.2 points.

Q: Last question. The Phoenix Suns win an NBA championship this year if____________.

A: “Win 16 games.”

Q: Is there any formula, you feel, that can make that happen?

A: “Nah, man. You can never know what to expect with the playoffs. You just have to control what you can control. Lock into details of the game. It’s not going to be easy. We understand that. Everybody has to be on board knowing that this is the hardest part of the season. There’s going to be tough times. There are going to be times we’re going to have to get on each other, hold each other accountable, but that’s just the name of the game.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Devin Booker talks career year, Mikal Bridges and Suns title hopes