International man of mystery Emmanuel Mudiay took the court for the first time in the United States since April of 2014 on Friday night. In April he was one of the West All-Stars in the storied McDonald’s All-American game that features the best high school talent from across country. On Friday he took the floor as a member of a different western team, the Denver Nuggets.

Unlike most of his fellow draft picks from the States, Mudiay decided to forgo his collegiate eligibility, instead choosing to spend a year playing professionally in China for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. It was a decision that was highly scrutinized, and for all the wrong reasons. After a fierce recruiting battle for his services, Larry Brown and the SMU Tigers ultimately won his verbal commitment during Mudiay’s senior year of high school.

In the eyes of many this would have been the perfect fit for the 6-foot-5, 190-pound point guard. Brown is not only one of the most well-regarded coaches in the country, but he also has experience molding young point guards into legitimate stars — look no further than what he and Allen Iverson accomplished for the Philadelphia 76ers.

But when Mudiay’s academic standing came into question and there were rumblings that he might not qualify for the team at SMU academically, he decided to go the Brandon Jennings route and skip college altogether.

For many 18-year-old kids, being a millionaire abroad would end in certain catastrophe, but there was never even a hint of Mudiay having any interests other than improving his game night in and night out. That’s why when he severely sprained his ankle this past December the basketball world held its breath. There were no doubts that from a pure talent standpoint he was one of the best in this year’s draft class, but questions swirled around how he might actually project in the NBA.

After six other teams passed on Mudiay on draft night, the Nuggets had no choice but to scoop him up at No. 7, with hopes that he would live up to the comparisons of John Wall and Russell Westbrook that came with him before the injury in China.

Through three games thus far in Las Vegas Summer League, it looks like the Nuggets made the right decision and just may have found their point guard of the future. He is averaging 13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-high 7.3 assists. His most impressive performance was on Sunday night against the Miami Heat, where he finished with 19 points, 10 assists and three steals. It was a game where Mudiay’s jump shot was consistently falling, the only part of his game that many scouts believed was NBA ready.

His athleticism has been on full display, with intricate no-look passes, explosive drives to the rack and a tenacity that takes any point guard to the next level. Mudiay looks like the real deal through his first three games of real NBA action.

Emmanuel Mudiay impressing with his court vision! #NBASummer @Nuggets https://t.co/TmAfdpvZAZ

— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2015

The Nuggets still have veteran PG Ty Lawson on the books for next season, but it’s more than likely that he will be somewhere else on opening night and Mudiay will be the starter from day one. That may be just what they need in the Mile High City.

Douglas Ammon is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Who covers all things about the Association, follow him on Twitter @DA76er