Luka Doncic must learn from Jalen Brunson for Dallas Mavericks to reach goals

Luka Doncic needs to tone it down on referees and focus on helping his teammates

Doncic was dubbed by a scout, “the worst transition defender in the history of basketball”, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, and it is not because of a lack of skill. Number 77 does not even cross his team’s foul line at times because he is barking at the official about a foul that was not called.

Luka never wins those arguments, and he compounds a missed shot or turnover with an easy bucket on the other end of the floor. The yelling at officials likely gets him fewer calls, and it always has him near the league lead in technical fouls.

Doncic and Brunson were both selected by the Mavericks in the 2018 NBA Draft. In their first five years in the NBA, Luka has 59 technical fouls and JB has three. The current Knicks point guard did not get one until his fourth season in the league.

Brunson is no stranger to driving to the basket, and he too draws a ton of contact, but the 6’1 guard just plays through it. If there is no call, he sprints back on defense to help his teammates. Brunson wants to win just as badly as Luka, but he realizes what will accomplish that is winning the next play. The foul or lack thereof is over, and there is no changing it.

That is far from the only leadership trait that Luka Doncic could learn from Jalen Brunson to help the Dallas Mavericks win more games.