Doncic's Mavericks and Brunson's New York Knicks are currently just one win away from reaching the division finals.
As of May 16, Beijing time, the Mavericks 3-2 Thunder, the Knicks 3-2 Pacers.
Doncic and Brunson were teammates in the Mavericks, and they were drafted players in the same year, compared with Doncic, Brunson can be said to be an older draft, and the two helped the Mavericks in the second round in the 2021-2022 season in 7 games, defeating the league's No. 1 Suns and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
Luka Doncic: Born in 1999, he was drafted by the Hawks with the third pick in the first round in 2018 and was immediately traded to the Mavericks, who acquired Trae Young. In the 2020-2021 season, he was selected to the Western Conference All-Star starting lineup, in the 2021-2022 season, in the Western Conference All-Star backup team, in the 2022-23 season, he was selected to the All-Star Western Conference starting lineup in the 2022-23 season, and in the 2023-24 season, he was selected to the All-Star Western Conference starting team and won the scoring title. Luka's career has become dazzling from the moment he entered the league, becoming a rising star and future star of the league. As of May 16, Beijing time, the Mavericks won 3-2 Thunder in the second round, and they were only one victory away from the Western Conference finals.
Jalen Brunson: Born in 1996, he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 33rd overall pick in the second round in 2018. Compared to Doncic, Brunson pales in comparison. As an older second-round pick, when he first entered the NBA, he could only play as a substitute, and no one would notice this small player. It wasn't until the playoffs in 2022 that Brunson exploded. In that year's playoffs, Brunson became a wonder player, playing in 18 playoff games, averaging 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 34.9 minutes per game. When Doncic was not there, when the team was in danger, it was he who carried the team's offensive banner and chiseled the basketball into the basket one by one. That year, he helped the Mavericks defeat the surging Suns (No. 1 in the league in the regular season) after trailing 2-0. Teaming up with Doncic took the team to the Western Conference Finals. This moment kicked off his becoming the "King of New York".
Brunson, who is worth a lot of money, naturally yearns for a bigger contract, and joined the New York Knicks in July 2022, and the Knicks offered him a four-year, 104 million yuan contract. During his time in New York, Brunson played superstar style, leading the team to the playoffs for two consecutive years, and in the 2022-2023 season, the Knicks stopped in the second round and lost to the Heat, who created the Black Eight Miracle. In the 2023-2024 season, the Knicks made a comeback, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers who sat on MVP Embiid 4-2 in the first round. Currently, the Pacers are leading 3-2 in the second round and are only one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals. In addition, in the 2023-2024 season, Brunson was selected as an All-Star for the first time.
In this year's playoffs, Brunson averaged 33.9 points per game to become the king of the playoffs, and performed 40+ super performances many times. The title of "King of New York" was also officially crowned, and he deservedly deserved it.
The king of today's league second-round picks, the first is Jokic, and the second I think Brunson deserves it.
Doncic and Brunson have now become the stars of the team, and they are both fighting for their championship dreams, and their legendary careers have just begun, so let's wait and see.