When Jalen Brunson signed with the New York Knicks in the summer of 2022, the deal raised eyebrows. Four years, $104 million for a guard who had started just 62 regular-season games? It felt like a gamble. Three years later, the Knicks are NBA champions — and that contract looks like the steal of the decade.
Brunson dropped 45 points in a gritty 94-90 Game 5 win on the road against the San Antonio Spurs, sealing the Knicks’ first title since 1973. He earned Finals MVP honors in the process. And for the Dallas Mavericks, the sting of letting him walk just keeps getting worse.
Here’s the thing: Brunson didn’t bolt without warning. According to multiple reports, the Mavericks repeatedly lowballed him during contract negotiations in 2021 and early 2022. They had a chance to lock him in at a discount before his breakout playoff run — when he averaged 21.6 points and helped carry Dallas to the Western Conference Finals. Instead, they played hardball. By the time they realized their mistake, Brunson’s relationship with the franchise was already frayed.
His father, Rick Brunson, had deep ties to the Knicks organization, which only made the decision to leave easier. Dallas lost a rising star because they refused to see what was right in front of them.
This isn’t the first time the Mavs have botched a point guard situation. In 2004, they let Steve Nash walk in free agency. He went on to win back-to-back MVPs in Phoenix, turning the Suns into perennial contenders. There’s a grim pattern here, and now it’s cost them a championship.
To make matters worse, the Knicks built a contender around Brunson — adding key pieces like OG Anunoby and Julius Randle to complement his scoring and leadership. While Dallas scrambled to rebuild around Luka Doncic, New York methodically climbed the Eastern Conference ladder. Now they’re holding the trophy.
The what-if game is brutal for Mavs fans. What if they had paid Brunson early? What if they had traded Doncic and built around the more durable guard? We’ll never know. But the comparison stings: Doncic has yet to win a title, while the player Dallas undervalued just lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
One silver lining for Mavericks faithful: Luka hasn’t won a ring yet either. But if he ever does — say, with the Lakers — that would be the final dagger in a three-decade saga of front-office failures. For now, the Knicks are champions, Brunson is a legend, and Dallas is left wondering what might have been.
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