Budding Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker has been on Kobe Bryant's radar for a while. In fact, almost exactly one year ago, the Los Angeles Lakers legend gave the young NBA player a pair of signed shoes after the Suns defeated the Lakers last season.Now, Booker has become an even better player in his second full NBA season and, on Friday night, scored an incredible 70 points in a loss to the Boston Celtics.That, of course, caught Bryant's eye, but it wasn't the scoring itself that left the 2008 NBA MVP and five-time NBA champion most impressed.No, what Kobe appreciated the most were Booker's postgame comments, in which he said he never once considered the fact that he was incapable of scoring 70 points in a professional game. In the video below, Bryant talks about how he loves that mindset and thinks too many players limit themselves in today's game:

"The biggest thing though is that he said, 'I don't put limits on myself,'" Bryant says in the video. "You think you can score 70? Yeah, why not? Could have been 80, could have been 90. It's that mentality that's very important for the next generation of players to understand - you do not limit yourself. That's awesome."

Those comments sound a lot like what Kobe said about Booker to ArizonaSports.com after he squared off against the young star last season. Then, Kobe expressed an appreciation for Booker's killer mentality after the then-rookie used Bryant's own signature move to score a basket over the legend:

“I think the most important thing about my career is being able to pass it on and have the next generation of athletes embody the same spirit and learn some of the same techniques and have that same mindset,” Bryant said after last year's game. “That’s the coolest thing to me. Playing against Booker tonight, I mean he went straight to my move the first time he caught it. ‘You don’t have to beat me on my move man!’ But it was great to see, it was absolutely great to see because I remember I did the same thing with MJ.”

At only 20 years old, the fact that Booker has already impressed Bryant on multiple occasions is incredible, but perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. After all, as Kobe pointed out, he doesn't put limits on himself.

Yes, the Suns may be an abysmal 22-52 this season, and yes, they did lose to the Celtics when Booker scored 70 points, but anything is possible moving forward as long as Phoenix has Booker around.