Jalen Brunson shared a close bond with former teammate Luka Doncic, as they were drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2018. They would make small bets with each other over mini-competitions, which led to Doncic defeating Brunson on the FIFA video game and making him wear a Dallas Cowboys jersey with ‘Luka’s son’ written on the back in 2020.
“No face no case. It wasn’t me.”
“No face no case. It wasn’t me”
— Eagles diehard Jalen Brunson once lost a FIFA bet to Luka Doncic and had to wear a Cowboys jersey with “LUKA’S SON” on the back pic.twitter.com/Nl1F6VxVQa
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 5, 2024
Brunson is a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan. His Philly sports fandom is staying alive even though he’s playing in New York for the Knicks now. He confidently turned down fans of the Cowboys during his time in Dallas to stick with the Eagles as well, showing his allegiance can’t be changed.
Doncic and Brunson continued their tradition of making bets like this after he left the franchise as well, with Luka having to pull up to Madison Square Garden for a game against Brunon’s Knicks while wearing an Eagles jersey with ‘JB Son’ written on it. Luka even requested the media to avoid taking pictures of him.
The Mavericks lost Brunson in the summer of 2022 after making a Conference Finals run, with the Knicks swooping in and outbidding the Mavs for Brunson’s services. Since then, Brunson has become an All-NBA player, averaging 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists this season, leading the Knicks to the No. 2 seed in the East.
Brunson’s departure destabilized the Mavs last season, leading to them finishing as the No. 11 seed and missing the Playoffs. But it forced them to replace Brunson by acquiring Kyrie Irving, which has paid dividends this season as the Mavericks are in the NBA Finals, with Luka Doncic continuing to lead them.
Luka Doncic Knew Jalen Brunson Would Be A Star After The 2022 Playoffs
Jalen Brunson’s star leap was not evident for everyone to see, as he helped the Mavericks sustain the period where Luka was injured and finish the season with 52 wins. Doncic was scheduled to miss the first few games of their first-round series against the Utah Jazz, which led to Brunson going off through the first three games to help the Mavericks take a 2-1 series lead without Doncic.
Those games against the Jazz convinced Doncic that the man he was drafted alongside was meant to be a star in the NBA.
“I would say one game that really was impressive on that playoff run, we lost the first game against Utah… That second game, if we lost that second game, it would be tough to come back, we are 0-2, and then we have two in Utah. That second game, I think he had like 45, something like that. It was a tough game, and we needed a win no matter what.”
“That game was really impressive. I was just on the bench watching like ‘Wow, this guy’s amazing.’ But just 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.”
Brunson averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the 2022 Playoffs but would complete his star leap on the Knicks, getting votes for NBA MVP this season.
Doncic has proven that he’s a generational talent whether Brunson is with him or not, averaging 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists this season. His Mavericks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, overcoming the massive blow Brunson’s departure caused after one season of pain.
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