Jalen Brunson Called Luka Doncic His Most Famous Contact and Then Roasted Him

Jalen Brunson just won an NBA championship with the Knicks, but his old friend Luka Doncic still holds a weird little place in his phone contacts — and his heart.

During an appearance on “Kids Sports Reporters,” Brunson was asked whose phone number qualifies as the most famous person he has. He thought about it for a second before landing on Doncic. That makes sense. The two were teammates in Dallas from 2018 to 2022, back when the Mavericks were still figuring things out and Brunson was a backup guard finding his way.

But Brunson couldn’t just leave it at a nice answer. He followed up by joking that he’s “not a fan” of Doncic and called him “one of the worst teammates” he ever had. It was clearly sarcastic, the kind of ribbing that comes from years of locker room proximity and shared bus rides.

Then one of the kid hosts hit Brunson with a curveball. The young co-host pointed out that Doncic “doesn’t play defense.” Brunson looked genuinely caught off guard for a second before busting out laughing.

“He plays a little defense, he tries,” Brunson said, still laughing.

Different paths but familiar faces

Brunson’s Knicks just toppled the Spurs in five games to win New York’s first title since 1973. That’s a career-defining run for a guy who left Dallas in 2022 as a free agent and quietly became one of the best point guards in the league. Nobody saw the Knicks getting here this fast, but here they are.

Doncic and the Lakers, meanwhile, finished third in the West with a 53-29 record and looked dangerous until the playoffs started. Doncic missed the entire postseason. The Lakers beat the Rockets in six games during the first round, then got swept by the Thunder in the second round. That’s a brutal way for a season to end, especially when your star can’t get on the floor.

The Lakers are going to spend this offseason trying to build a roster that can actually win when it matters. Doncic is the centerpiece, and everyone knows it. But there’s no guarantee anything clicks. The West is a meat grinder and the Thunder just showed they’re ahead of the curve.

Brunson and Doncic don’t share a locker room anymore. But the friendship is clearly still there. You don’t roast a guy that hard and that specifically unless you actually like him.