Luka Doncic Reveals Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson's Turning Point
Luka Doncic knew that Jalen Brunson's breakout performance during the 2022 Western Conference quarterfinals was the start of something great ... at the end of their collaboration.
Doncic spoke about his lasting relationship with Brunson during his appearance on JJ Redick's podcast "The Old Man & The Three." With the rise of Brunson, now the New York Knicks' star point guard, to national prominence, Redick asked Doncic when he knew his 2018 draft classmate was destined for greatness.
The Slovenian superstar provided an obvious, if not detailed, date, as he was particularly impressed with Brunson's performance in Game 2 of the West's opening round against the Utah Jazz. Brunson had taken over for an ailing Doncic with Dallas trailing 1-0 in the best-of-seven set, scoring a career-best 41 points in a 110-104 victory that changed the course of the series.
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"If we lost that second game, it'd be tough to come back. We'd be 0-2, and then we'd have two in Utah," Doncic noted. "So the second game, I think he had like 45 or something like that. It was a tough game and we needed a win, no matter what. That game, I was really impressed. I was just on the bench watching it like 'wow, this guy's amazing.'"
Doncic missed three games in the series but Dallas nonetheless won it in six en route to an unexpected trip to the Western Conference Finals. Brunson's postseason showings immediately thrust him into the top of free agent wishlists and the Knicks eventually landed his services for $104 million on a four-year contract.
Some saw the contract as a risk considering Brunson's relatively paltry stats, averaging 11.9 points and 3.7 assists in four seasons after coming over from Villanova as the 33rd pick of the 2018 draft. Brunson arrived 30 picks after Dallas took Doncic in the third slot of the same selections.
But Brunson has built upon the success that emerged in that postseason and is averaging a career-best 27.5 points and 6.5 assists in year two of his four-season deal. So far, his efforts have culminated in his first All-Star Game nomination, as he'll face Doncic and the West as a member of the Eastern Conference's headliners.
"Just from starting the first time we got together, the way he worked out every day, coming back in the afternoon ... It was just amazing to play with that guy," Doncic told Redick.
Letting Brunson go east to New York has proven to be a sour turning point for the Mavericks, who missed the playoffs in their first year without his services. Though Dallas (30-23) earned a sizable victory in New York last Thursday, it currently sits in eighth place in the West. That win was earned with Brunson on the bench, as the Knicks' primary point guard was working off an ankle injury.
Despite endearing himself to the New York faithful, Brunson has spoken highly of his time in Dallas, notably calling Doncic his "brother" when he and the United States' men's national basketball team took on Slovenia in preparation for last summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“That’s my brother,” Brunson told Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “We got drafted together. I’ve been watching him grow since meeting him for the first time, seeing the player he is now."
Brunson has two more games with the Knicks before his All-Star debut, beginning with a visit to Houston on Monday night (8 p.m. ET, MSG).
