Jalen Brunson was a high-profile guard in college, leading the Villanova Wildcats to two NCAA championships in his three years there. Things changed dramatically when he decided to turn professional.
Brunson was selected 33rd overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, a class widely regarded as one of the strongest in recent years. The worst part, at least from his perspective, was landing with the Dallas Mavericks, who also acquired Luka Doncic — arguably the most NBA-ready player in that draft.
Brunson averaged 18.9 points while playing around 32 minutes per game in his final college season. Those numbers declined during his rookie year with Dallas, as he posted 9.3 points and roughly 22 minutes per game. The Mavericks also had guards such as Dennis Smith Jr. and J.J. Barea, making his role uncertain.
He instantly became a back up with Doncic as the team’s main guy in terms of playmaking and scoring. Brunson shared that it was during these times that he felt unsure about his ability.
“The only time is probably my rookie year … playing pickup with the team in Dallas and then obviously watching Luka doing his thing so effortlessly,” he said when asked by a reporter if ever dealt with imposter syndrome in his career..
“That was probably the only time, and it made me kind of question myself to see how hard I actually had to work to be in the position that I wanted to be in.”
Jalen Brunson addresses doubters
Brunson eventually became expendable for the Mavs. Doncic stayed a little longer. He found his home with the New York Knicks and now, he is playing in a starring role.
There are still doubters. There’s one from a former NBA assistant coach saying he is not a 1A and his height is a disadvantage for a contending team.
The three-time All-Star said he is aware of the naysayers but he and his team are all about putting in the work.
“We’ve been doubted a lot. There’s been a lot of noise from the outside that we could talk about, complain about, do something about – but we’ve always gone back to the gym and worked on our game,” he said.
“We can’t be satisfied just because we’re here.”
Brunson has a chance to silence doubters once and for all starting on Wednesday when they start their 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.