Jalen Brunson has now become a superstar in the NBA, but he was not a highly thought of prospect coming out of Villanova. Brunson was only selected with the 33rd pick of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and their former majority owner Mark Cuban was asked why they chose him, on the Roommates Show .
“I'll tell you the whole war room story, man, it was great,” Cuban said. “So, we picked Luka (Doncic), traded up to get Luka, and we get to 31 and there's all the scouts that were like, JB, JB, JB, JB, he's a winner, yada yada, little bit chubby, not quite as fast, not super athletic, but he's a winner, he's a cleanup kid, you can't put a value on that. That's our guy. And then we had Yogi Ferrell, who was from Indiana. The decision was made to draft JB, and then Yogi took a deal with the Sacramento Kings."
Co-host Matt Hillman hilariously stated Cuban did not have to mention the chubby part, but it certainly made for a better story. As for the rest, I'd say the scouts were pretty much on the mark.
Brunson has never been the fastest or most athletic but he certainly is a winning player. He entered the NBA after winning two national titles with Villanova and being named the 2018 Naismith Player of the Year. Life in the pros got off to a slow start, though, and it initially looked like he'd be yet another great college player who would go on to have a solid but unspectacular career in the league.
That perception of Brunson only started to change in his fourth season with the Mavericks. He nailed down a starting spot in the 2021-22 campaign and went on to play a big role in them making it to the Western Conference Finals. He famously had a 41-point outing against the Utah Jazz in the first round, in Luka Doncic's absence, and that was a sign of things to come.
Brunson became a free agent after that postseason and Cuban and the Mavericks were unable to hold on to him. He headed off to the New York Knicks on a four-year, $104 million deal, and it was actually thought of as an overpay at the time. It turned out to be quite a bargain for the Knicks.
In his first season, Brunson led the Knicks back to the playoffs with a 47-35 record and finished third in voting for Most Improved Player. Things then got even better in 2023-24, as the team went 50-32 to finish with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Brunson took another big leap in his second season with the Knicks, averaging 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. The 28-year-old's excellence on the court saw him finish fifth in voting for MVP and he made the All-NBA Second Team as well.
Brunson then averaged a whopping 32.4 points per game in the playoffs and nearly dragged an injury-ravaged Knicks team to the Eastern Conference Finals. He has now well and truly established himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA and one wonders what might have been, had the Mavericks managed to keep hold of him.
The Knicks sure are glad that things didn't turn out that way. Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5 million extension with the team this offseason and both parties hope their partnership lasts for a very long time.
Related: Mavs Owner Mark Cuban Apologizes To Jalen Brunson For Insulting His Parents During 2022 Negotiations
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