Star guards Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson began their careers together with the Dallas Mavericks when both were selected during the 2018 NBA Draft. Doncic was selected No. 3 overall, acquired in a draft day trade with the Atlanta Hawks, while Brunson went No. 33.
They were a formidable duo for their time together, especially once they were both inserted into the starting lineup. But, looking for his own team to run in the same way that Doncic does, Brunson departed during the 2022 NBA offseason.
He signed a four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks and has flourished as their starting point guard. Both players have been performing at a high level this season and the NBA has acknowledged just how well they have been playing.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Jalen Brunson, Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks Updates
On Tuesday, it was announced that Doncic and Brunson have been named the Players of the Month for their respective conferences. Doncic has been stuffing the stat sheet looking to get Dallas out of the NBA Play-In Tournament and into the top six in the Western Conference.
The Mavericks went 11-4 in March and he was a driving force behind their success. He averaged a triple-double, scoring 32.5 points per game to go along with 10.1 rebounds and 10.1 assists.
Brunson put the Knicks on his back in March and helped them remain in the race for a top seed in the Eastern Conference. New York went 9-5 in March, getting within a game of the No. 2 seed before their recent three-game losing streak.
With Julius Randle missing every game and OG Anunoby missing all but three, the onus was on Brunson to carry the club offensively and he responded. The Villanova product averaged 28.8 points per game while making 48.1 percent of his shot attempts.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Jalen Brunson, Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks Updates
He had a career-high 61 points against the San Antonio Spurs on March 29th as he has a counter to whatever opponents throw at him. Brunson went on one of the most torrid scoring stretches in Knicks’ franchise history in March, doing everything he could to keep the team afloat.
Doncic is receiving plenty of attention for the NBA MVP award this season, and rightfully so. It is time that Brunson starts garnering similar attention, as he should be a borderline finalist for the MVP given everything he has faced to this point with the Knicks.
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