Jalen Brunson has been playing competitive basketball for more than a decade and had never suffered a significant injury until February.
He learned some interesting things while he was on the shelf recuperating from right shoulder surgery.
Such as, what it’s like to be in Dirk Nowitzki’s shoes.
“I couldn’t sleep laying down,” Brunson said. “I had to sleep in a reclining chair. I felt like Dirk, like an old man. I couldn’t really do a lot.”
Somewhere, Nowitzki is laughing at that jab.
In all seriousness, though, Brunson is back on the court and ready to begin his third NBA season after missing the final 10 games and restart of the 2019-20 season. He had surgery on his right labrum (non-shooting shoulder) and the long, tedious process of rehabilitation is now over.
“The shoulder is 100 percent,” he said. “I’m ready to go, plain and simple.”
What isn’t completely clear is just what role Brunson will have when the Mavericks get back to business in the preseason games starting Dec. 12 and when the regular season begins on Dec. 22.
He had flourished both as a starter and coming off the bench in his first two seasons. He averaged 20.1 minutes, 8.8 points, 3.2 assists and shot 35.2 percent in 130 games (54 starts).
But when he spent the summer working to make sure his shoulder was healed rather than being with the Mavericks in the NBA bubble, it opened the door for players like Trey Burke to shine. Plus, the Mavericks traded for Josh Richardson and drafted Josh Green, both of whom will impact the backcourt minutes.
It’s enough to get Brunson’s attention. But he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s competition. It’s the whole NBA,” he said Wednesday as he took his turn in the Mavericks’ media week interviews. “You’re always competing against somebody, against yourself. Every year, 60 guys get drafted, so there’s 60 guys coming in for your spot.
“So no matter what, you got to compete against yourself. And obviously, you’re competing against others, but for me, keep the mindset the same. Compete. Be the best person, the best teammate I can possibly be.
“And make sure there’s no confusion. I’m working my butt off every time on the court.”
The influx of talent will make for a competitive training camp, which will open later this week. It has Brunson and all of his teammates optimistic about what this team can accomplish this season.
The Mavericks made the playoffs in 2019-20 for the first time since 2016. Now the stakes and the expectations rise.
Brunson said the team knows exactly what has to happen to improve on the disjointed season that they just completed three months ago. They must get better defensively.
But just as important, they must learn how to execute better late in games. They had a 17-24 record (20th in the NBA) in clutch games last season.
“It definitely is not a great feeling,” Brunson said of knowing that the Mavericks failed more often than not in close games last season. “It’s not just me, it’s everybody. Everyone knows what we’re capable of. We have the talent to be one of the best teams in the league.
“We got to come together and know that what we’ve been through last year can’t happen this year. Or can’t happen as often as it did. It’s going to happen here and there. But we got to be a team that can hold each other accountable. We’re obviously a great team, but we definitely need to close out some games this year.”
All of that said, Brunson has an abundance of optimism going into the season. He saw the improvement that was made from his rookie season to last year.
Moreover, he’s eager to get back into a situation where he can contribute. He did not like being away from the Mavericks when he was rehabilitating after surgery.
While the rest of the team toiled in Florida, he worked in the training room.
“Watching was fun – watching those guys compete,” the 6-1 guard said. “But I definitely would not recommend that for anybody, any player who is part of the team to be that far away from the team and not being able to contribute, even from a vocal standpoint. If I was there in the bubble not playing, I definitely would have enjoyed it a little more. I wanted to be out there. But watching that and going through what I went through – I never did before, but – I now I definitely won’t take this game for granted.”
Brunson stayed behind because getting his shoulder 100 percent superseded anything that he could have done in the bubble.
By doing that, he was ready to get back on the court in September, as if the season was going to start then, when it normally would.
So once he got past the difficult first weeks of rehab – and stopped feeling like Nowitzki – it was full steam ahead.
“When you go through an injury, especially your first, you don’t really know what to expect on the court,” he said. “To be able to go through all that, the running, the conditioning, then it was easy. It was a long process, very drawn out. But every step of the way kept getting better and better.”
He’s hoping that trend continues with his professional career. His team made a nice jump from season one to season two.
Now, with the addition of some hard-nosed defenders and more physical players, the chance for a rise further up the Western Conference pecking order is certainly within reach.
“I’ve been around a bunch of tough-minded people who are willing to work hard, willing to sacrifice and willing to be the best they can be,” Brunson said. “For some reason, I’ve always been surrounded by people like that. And this team is no different. I’m just really excited to be part of that. And to make sure we hold each other accountable for these 72 games and more.”
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment