Only hours after Dennis Smith Jr. announced his return to the court after his two-game absence earlier last week, his counterpart Stephen Curry had great things to say about his promise in the league ahead of tonight's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.

“Super athletic guard that knows how to play the game,” said Curry, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. “I think that's the most underrated aspect of his game, just the way he sees the floor, the way he tries to get his teammates involved. And he can shoot it.”

“A lot of people fall in love with the way he can high fly and play above the rim at times, just his explosiveness, but the thing that's going to help him be a long-lasting pro and probably an All-Star one day in this league is his ability to play that five-man basketball and get other guys involved and use his strengths to open up looks for other teammates. You never know how a rookie is going to transition into that mindset, as a point guard especially, and he's shown that he can do that. I'm sure that'll continue and only get better.”

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Smith previously said that his goal was to get to Curry's level, and he will have his first taste of competition against him tonight after missing games against the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets last week.

Curry could deal with a potential suspension stemming from his mouthpiece-tossing incident at the end of the fourth quarter in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, though as things stand, the two Under Armour teammates are set to face off tonight for the first time.