Luka Doncic made his return for the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday following a brief spell on the sidelines due to an ankle problem. The 6-foot-7 forward did not seem to have skipped a beat, leading his Mavs side to a 102-98 victory against the San Antonio Spurs. Following the tightly-contested victory, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich could not help but sing the praises of Doncic, who torched his Spurs for 24 points (on 9-of-23 shooting), one 3-pointer, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and a steal in 33 minutes of play. According to the veteran coach, he sees shades of the great Magic Johnson in Doncic.

“I hate to say this: He’s not Magic Johnson, but it’s Magic Johnson-like in the sense that he sees the floor in that same way,” said Popovich, who watched Doncic record a 42-point triple-double the previous time the Spurs faced the Mavs, via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “He’s got a real intuitive sense, and you can’t teach that. He’s just got it and he’s great at it. I’m not trying to put the Magic Johnson pressure on him — he’s not ready for that yet — but he’s doing a hell of a job.”

Doncic flirted with a triple-double again against San Antonio, and at this point, it’s hard to argue against Popovich’s observations here given the Mavs star’s outstanding all-around play in his sophomore year. Nevertheless, as the five-time NBA champion coach said, Doncic still has a ways to go before he reaches Magic’s level, but with what we’ve seen so far, it’s not hard to imagine the 20-year-old eventually developing into one of the greatest to have ever played the game.