3 Years After Fateful Trade, Jalen Brunson Gets Pat On The Back From Mavericks Legend

In the summer of 2022, Jalen Brunson’s NBA career changed forever when he signed with the New York Knicks. Brunson has since blossomed into an All-Star with the Knicks, but this past weekend, he got a blast from the past, courtesy of the team that drafted him.

After the Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic to advance to the Emirates NBA Cup final, Brunson sat down with the panel from Prime’s NBA coverage. One of these panelists happened to be Dirk Nowitzki, who is widely considered as the greatest Maverick ever. 

Interestingly, Nowitzki brought up Brunson’s exit from Dallas in this post-game conversation. In a joking manner, of course.

“When he left for New York, I wasn’t sure if this was gonna work,” the German superstar said with a smile, which Brunson reciprocated. Then, taking a more serious tone, Nowitzki continued. “I'm super proud of you. I saw how hard you work, how much it means to you, how much time you put in when nobody's watching.”

Nowitzki, whose cult following in Dallas is matched only by Luka Doncic, went on to recognize the leadership role that Brunson has embraced for the past three seasons. “I’m so happy for you that you’re leading this franchise the way you are. You’re scoring 30 a night. I never saw that coming.”

Back in 2018, Brunson was selected 33rd overall by the Mavericks in the NBA Draft. This gave him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Nowitzki, who ended up announcing his retirement at the end of that season.

The 2018–19 campaign was pivotal in Mavs history for yet another reason: The third overall selection in Brunson’s draft class was none other than Luka Doncic, who would inherit the mantle from Nowitzki as the Mavericks’ main man. Doncic wasted no time imposing his will in Dallas, which meant that Brunson would have to play second fiddle to a generational star.

Perhaps that was why Nowitzki humbly said that he didn’t quite anticipate the tremendous growth of Brunson. While Nowitzki and Doncic have cemented their place as the darlings of the Mavs franchise, Brunson has made a name for himself with another NBA squad.