Steph Curry's personal trainer compares Luka Doncic to Warriors star

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What you are about to read is an understatement.

Mavs guard Luka Doncic is an awesome basketball player.

But just how good is he?

"Really good (laughing). Unbelievably good," Brandon Payne -- Steph Curry's personal trainer -- told NBC Sports' Tom Haberstroh on "The Habershow" podcast. "His skill level is right up there with Stephen. It is off the charts. And his IQ is right there with it.

"At that size, when you combine the skill level, the IQ and the amazing confidence that he has -- with his ability to control defenders and make players play at his speed -- you get what you're seeing here, which is a guy that night in and night out is pretty unstoppable.

"He is a lot of fun to watch."

In mid-August 2018 -- just two months after he was drafted by Dallas -- Doncic flew to the Bay Area for a private workout with Curry and Payne.

“For me, I just wanted him to be exposed to the excellence of Steph,” Bill Duffy, Doncic's agent, told Haberstroh at the time. “Not just Steph’s skill, but appreciating the work that goes into it.

“I wanted to show him that someone at that level can take instruction, too, be corrected. Brandon is up here telling Steph, do this, don’t do that, correcting him.

"I think someone like Luka, was like, ‘Woah -- Steph is top 2-3 players in basketball and he has someone pushing him to be the best he can be?’ To be exposed to that was special.”

Doncic was named Rookie of the Year last season, and has upped the ante in a major way so far this year.

Through seven games, he is averaging 26.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.1 assists, while shooting nearly 47 percent overall. His numbers will look even better when he eventually increases his 32.8 percentage from beyond the arc.

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Plain and simple, the Slovenian is must-see TV.

It's extremely unfortunate that we won't get to see Doncic and Curry square off this season, as the three meetings between the Warriors and Mavs are on Nov. 20, Dec. 28 and Jan. 14.

Sometimes, life ain't fair.

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