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The Dallas Mavericks will be on the sidelines once the postseason starts in less than two weeks, likely watching the Oklahoma City Thunder as they perform during the Western Conference playoffs. Despite that, the Mavs pulled off an upset win Sunday, in which rookie point guard Jalen Brunson showed out.
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan had nothing but praise for Brunson for his effort during the contest, saying that he is the type of player who “impacts winning.”
“I had him in crucial situations with the USA team. He's a great teammate. He understands very, very clearly what goes into winning. And he impacts winning,” Donovan said, via Brad Townsend of Sports Day Dallas News:
“Now, how do you break all that down? He just has ‘it.' Now, I'm not sitting here saying he's the best athlete in the world and the best three-point shooter in the world or the most explosive point guard in the world. But he impacts winning. I think that's how I would classify him. So I'm not one bit surprised.”
Jalen Brunson finished Sunday's win with 18 points, four assists and two rebounds to his credit across 30 minutes. Prior to arriving in the NBA, Brunson was a standout on two national championships squads while at Villanova.
Despite having been selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft, Brunson has forced his way into the starting five down the stretch for head coach Rick Carlisle. He has started 24 of the Mavs' last 26 outings.
Brunson tied a bow around March, closing out the month with 14 straight outings in which he scored in double figures. Undoubtedly, he made his case to become Dallas' new point guard of the future, one that can play alongside fellow rookie Luka Doncic for seasons to come.
