NBA's new plan gives Doncic and Brunson perfect chance to team up once again

When the Dallas Mavericks drafted Luka Doncic with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, it was very clear almost right away that they had struck gold. He dominated the NBA as a rookie as he averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game, but what Mavs fans didn't realize right away is that Dallas drafted another star on that 2018 summer night as well.

With the No. 33 overall pick, the Mavs drafted Jalen Brunson. Brunson didn't end up having as big of a rookie year as Doncic did, but he still proved that he was still a significant role player right away. He averaged 9.3 points as a rookie, and he and Doncic both showed that they have bright futures ahead.

Fast forward to the 2022 NBA Playoffs, and Brunson and Doncic were both unstoppable. Brunson had his coming out party in that postseason as he averaged 21.6 points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field, but he ended up leaving the Mavericks over the summer as he signed with the New York Knicks.

Brunson and Doncic could team up with NBA's new All-Star Game format

The Mavs lost Brunson for nothing, and fans never got to see both Doncic and Brunson on the same team when they were both playing at a star level. This crushed Mavs fans, but now we have the chance that they may get to reunite for one night.

The NBA's new All-Star Game format is going to allow players from each conference to be on the same team, as all 24 All-Star selections will be in a pool for NBA legends Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith to draft. There will be another team that is the team of Rising Stars champions, and they will have a tournament to determine the NBA All-Star Game champion.

This gives the perfect chance for Brunson and Doncic to reunite on the hardwood for the first time since the summer of 2022, and this new All-Star Game format could be the secret recipe to get viewership back to this game. The competitiveness of this game has gone way down over the years, and this new format is going to bring something that fans have never seen as games will be played to 40 and in a tournament style.

We've seen players from the Western and Eastern Conference be on the same team in past All-Star Games with the Team LeBron and Team Giannis format, but there has never been an All-Star Game that looks like this. If Brunson and Doncic happen to get drafted to the same team, Mavs fans are going to be glued to their TVs to get a glimpse of what this duo could have been in a fun environment.