The Minnesota Timberwolves have been the NBA's biggest surprise early on in the new campaign, as they have raced out to a 22-7 record, which is tops in the Western Conference currently. There have been many reasons for their success, but the continued growth of Jaden McDaniels is one of them, and he had some high praise for Luka Doncic ahead of the Timberwolves upcoming contest with the Dallas Mavericks.

McDaniels has continued his ascent into one of the top wing defenders in the NBA this season, while also remaining a strong offensive player on the other side of the floor (10.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, 54.4 FG%). McDaniels has taken note of the torrid stretch Doncic has been on to start the season for the Mavs, and he gave the star guard his flowers ahead of their upcoming meeting.

Via Jon Krawczynski:

“Jaden McDaniels on Luka Doncic: ‘Lowkey he’s kind of already mastered the game.'”

Jaden McDaniels won't have to worry about Luka Doncic this time around

Jaden McDaniels with the Timberwolves arena in the background injury

While McDaniels is continuing to grow as a player, the same is somehow still being said about Doncic, who is firmly in the MVP discussion at this point of the campaign (33.7 PPG, 9.2 APG, 8.4 RPG, 48.9 FG%). Doncic is averaging career highs in points and assists per game at this point, and he's also shooting a career-high 38.4 percent from behind the arc to go along with all that.

The good news for McDaniels and the Timberwolves is that they likely won't have to worry about Doncic on Thursday night, as he's expected to miss this game due to a left quad injury. McDaniels was likely relishing the opportunity to go against Doncic, but he will have to wait until later on in the season to see if he can slow down the “master” that is the Mavs superstar.