Knicks' Jalen Brunson Says He's 'Very Thankful' for Luka, Jason Kidd, Mavs After NBA Title Win

Having established himself as a superstar player and the centerpiece of the New York Knicks' first championship in 53 years, Jalen Brunson is grateful for the learning experience provided during his four-year run with the Dallas Mavericks.

Appearing on By the Horns with Cam Smith and K.C. Johnson (starts at 14:50 mark), Brunson explained that he is "very thankful" he got to learn from playing alongside Luka Dončić, working with head coach Jason Kidd and everyone in the Mavs organization.

"It was great for me," he said. "Obviously, I thought I would be there in the beginning for a long time, but I think that whole situation there — I got to learn from Luka, I got to learn from Rick Carlisle and J-Kidd. And I'm very thankful. I mean, they brought me to the NBA. They allowed me to be me. I got better every single year, so I'm very thankful for them."

Brunson was a second-round pick by the Mavericks in 2018. He entered the NBA after helping Villanova win two national titles, but his pro prospects coming out of college were limited due to his small stature and perceived defensive limitations.

After carving out a backup role during his first two seasons, Brunson took on a larger share of the offense in 2020-21 when he finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

The 2021-22 season was Brunson's true breakout when he started a career-high 61 games, averaging 16.3 points on 50.2 percent shooting.

Even though Brunson approached the Mavs about extending his contract for $55 million over four years, they declined and allowed him to test free agency in the summer of 2022.

The Knicks signed Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract that wound up marking the start of their journey to winning an NBA title. He has made the All-NBA team in each of the past three seasons and finished in the top 12 of MVP voting in his first three seasons in New York.

Brunson averaged 32.6 points, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. His 45 points in the decisive Game 5 was tied for the third-most in a Finals closeout win.