Jalen Brunson has had a coming-out party in these playoffs. The guard out of Villanova has worked hard on his game since coming into the league and he has shone on the national stage by helping the Dallas Mavericks reach the Western Conference Finals.
He led the way in the first round with Luka Doncic missing some time and after a rough start in the Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, he helped the Mavs stun the top seed in 7 games. They have already achieved a lot more than anyone could have predicted before the playoffs started and while the journey looks set to end against the Golden State Warriors in the Conference Finals, the Mavs aren’t going out without a fight.
They won Game 4 119-109 to get on the board in the series and Brunson joined the Inside the NBA crew to discuss what went on. When Charles Barkley later asked him if he had surpassed his father, Jalen had quite the epic answer.
"My dad wasn't even a player compared to me!"@jalenbrunson1 after Chuck compared him to his dad 🤣 pic.twitter.com/GJ1mbjE05r
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) May 25, 2022
“My dad wasn’t even a player compared to me!” @jalenbrunson1 after Chuck compared him to his dad
While that may be a bit harsh to say, Jalen is definitely not wrong in his assessment here. Rick Brunson averaged just 3.2 points per game during his NBA career, while his son, in his first postseason as a full-time starter, is averaging 22.2 points per game.
He is setting himself up for a big payday this off-season and the Mavericks probably regret not being able to agree on an extension last summer. Still, they’d be pretty happy of course that he has played so well on the big stage and that they now have another reliable option alongside Doncic, who was recently voted into the All-NBA First Team. The Mavs might be on their way out of the playoffs, but Brunson is just part of a long list of positives to come out of the 2021-22 campaign.
