DALLAS — Jalen Brunson found success with the Dallas Mavericks before signing with the New York Knicks following the 2021-22 NBA season. Mavs head coach Jason Kidd was asked how Brunson has improved since leaving Dallas ahead of Wednesday's game against the Knicks.
“He’s one of the best players in the world,” Kidd told reporters. “He was tough here. Think he might use his right hand a little bit more, something that we tried to talk to him about using here.”
Kidd is a fan of the way Brunson has implemented using both hands while dribbling the ball and finishing on a more consistent basis over the years. A left-handed player, Brunson is capable of going left or right with success at this point in his career — something Kidd claims the Mavs encouraged him to do during his time with Dallas.
“When you talk about Brunson, his basketball IQ, his work ethic, he loves the game… He loves the stage,” Kidd continued. “When you’re playing for the Knicks, what better stage you can be on. He's not gonna run from it, he's gonna embrace it. As we get older in life, he knows what he has to do.”
Brunson will return to the Knicks' lineup on Wednesday night after missing a week with an ankle sprain. New York enters play with an 8-5 overall record, placing the team in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Mavs — who will be without Cooper Flagg due to an illness on Wednesday — are 4-11 and in 13th place in the Western Conference.
