Jalen Brunson got some love during this year’s NBA Finals from his former co-star.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic was interviewed this week by Spanish YouTube channel Drafteados. During the interview, Doncic got asked about his relationship with former teammate Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks.
Doncic revealed that he still keeps in touch with Brunson and even sent Brunson a message before the Knicks’ decisive win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
“We’ve talked a lot during these Finals,” said Doncic of Brunson, according to a rough translation. “Before the last game, I said [to him], ‘Just one more.’ And then, of course, after he won, I congratulated him. He messaged me back, and I thought, ‘He must have so many messages.’”
Doncic, 27, and Brunson, 29, were teammates together on the Mavericks from 2018-22. The two also shared a particularly close relationship since they both entered the league at the same time as members of the 2018 NBA Draft class.
Brunson took a backseat to Doncic in Dallas, and they made it to the Western Conference Finals together in 2022. Then later that summer, Brunson left in free agency to sign with the Knicks and blossomed into one of the NBA’s elite players.
Doncic went on to lead the the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals without Brunson but has yet to advance past the second round ever since then now that he is a member of the Lakers. With Brunson though having himself achieved the ultimate goal by winning an NBA championship with the Knicks, Doncic is very happy for him (especially since both of them were badly fumbled by the Mavericks).
