Prior to Monday's contest against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich shared his view of the dynamic Kings rookie's first season.

"He's really got a high basketball I.Q.," said Popovich to a group of media members outside of the visitors' locker room. "He understands innately how to play the game. He's built for it mentally, whether it's shooting the ball or understanding spatial arrangements."

The future Hall of Fame coach didn't stop there.

"He's a pretty good athlete, but he's a fantastic basketball player," continued the five-time NBA championship-winning coach. He's not intimidated by the NBA, he's played in a lot of big games. You don't have to play in the NBA to play in big games, they do that all around the world."

Listen to the complete interview below: