Jalen Brunson has a lot to prove to the faithful fans of the New York Knicks.
He was easily their biggest acquisition during this offseason and a lot of people expect him to do big things and lead the team to the playoffs, and possibly beyond.
Brunson is coming from another team, one where he was considered the righthand man of Luka Doncic.
During his time with the Dallas Mavericks, Brunson got to know Doncic very well and saw how he played and what made him the sort of superstar he is.
Jalen Brunson and everyone knows that Luka Doncic is a lock in the Hall of Fame 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/7lTwHLy5Vr
— Mavs Nation (@MavsNationCP) August 31, 2022
And Brunson has nothing but serious praise for Doncic.
“I’ve said this numerous times and I’ll continue to say it until I speak it into existence: that dude is a fist-ballot Hall of Famer,” Brunson said about Doncic.
Let’s see if he is still talking like that when the two former teammates battle against each other.
Brunson’s Bond
Brunson and Doncic played excellently together and were becoming one of the best backcourts in all of the NBA.
But as Brunson’s star power grew, other teams set their sights on him.
The Knicks made their desire for Brunson no secret and were trying to land him right as free agency started – and possibly before, according to tampering allegations.
They got their wish and signed the guard to a gigantic, monster deal that is worth four years and over $110 million.
Now he is going to be running a team and not playing alongside someone like Doncic.
For a while, it seemed like the Knicks were going to nab Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz but that obviously didn’t happen.
A lot more pressure is going to be on Brunson’s shoulders but he seems ready to take on the challenge.
NEXT: The Knicks Were Right To Bow Out On Donovan Mitchell