As far as all-time fumbles by a franchise go, the Mavericks going from having a young backcourt pairing of Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson to having neither and nothing to show for it is near the top of the list.
It’s two of the more inexplicable moves in recent NBA history. Dallas watched Brunson excel throughout the 2021-22 season, including the playoffs, and let him walk. Then, two-and-a-half years later, they handed Luka on a silver platter to the Lakers.
Despite both being done dirty by the Mavs
— or maybe even because of it — Brunson and Luka have kept a friendship throughout the years. So, when Brunson was on the verge of an NBA title in the Finals, Luka reached out to him, as he recently confirmed in a Spanish interview with the YouTube channel DrafteadosNBA.
Given how close he is with so many past and current teammates, it really seems like Luka is one of the best guys in the league. From Brunson to Dorian Finney-Smith to Kyrie Irving to Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, Luka has so many teammates he’s close with.
Luka did an interview in Slovenia where he revealed he did not watch the Finals, but mainly because the games came on in the middle of the night. He was clearly paying attention to the scores and cheering on his former teammate.
The hope is that, next spring, it’s Brunson sending texts to Luka encouraging him to finish off a Finals win and congratulating him on his first title.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
