The NBA is like most other businesses, except for those extra zeroes on the paycheck.
It’s about relationships. You connect with people. You find a group that you identify with. You move up in your company.
Even if, sometimes, the person you connected with isn’t there when you prosper.
That’s what’s happened to Jalen Brunson. His first three seasons with the Mavericks were an opportunity to bond with many people, but one in particular, Rick Carlisle’s assistant Jamahl Mosley, became an especially close friend.
Last summer, Mosley became the head coach of the Orlando Magic, who came through American Airlines Center on Saturday night. It was a chance to see a good friend for Brunson, who has known Mosley since before he went to Villanova.
“I miss Mose,” Brunson said after he scored 19 points while the Mavericks dispatched the Magic 108-92. “I remember when I got drafted, Mose and my dad had a great relationship. I think they coached together at some point (Denver, 2006-07).
“I just remember my dad saying (after the draft) coach Jamahl Mosley is there, so you’re going to be in good hands. He’s going to help you out. He’s going to look out for you. And that’s what he did.”
Mosley was thrilled when the Mavericks drafted Brunson with the 33rd pick of the same draft that yielded Luka Dončić. They now make up the Mavericks’ starting backcourt.
Dončić, of course, is a perennial MVP candidate. But Brunson has developed into a next-level contributor over the past two months. He’s scored in double figures in 24 consecutive games and, for the season, averages 16 points and 5.6 assists while shooting 50.5 percent from the field.
One person is not surprised.
“I think I’m a little biased toward Jalen because I’ve known him almost since he was in high school,” Mosley said. “He’s special. He really is somebody special.
“What he’s done in his progression – because of the way he’s worked and the way his staff has pushed him to get better. He’s done a great job of getting better every single year.”
Brunson has flourished so much in the starter’s role alongside Dončić (and sometimes in relief of him when health dictates) that coach Jason Kidd said Saturday that the ceiling for the fourth-year veteran might need adjusting.
“You see that from watching,” Kidd said about how he examined Brunson and others in his time at home during health and safety protocols. “JB is playing at an extremely high level, if not an All-Star level for us. And now being in the starting lineup, I think, helps Luka.”
The Mavericks are always trying to find ways to ease the burden on their superstar.
Brunson has the mentality and the maturity to do that.
That’s something he traces back to Mosley.
“Besides the basketball part, he’s been a great mentor for me,” Brunson said. “I’m really happy that he has the opportunity to be a head coach. Yeah, the first three years here he was great to me.”
Suffice it to say that no matter where either of them goes in their NBA journeys, they will always remain close.
And who knows? Their paths may once again cross.
Twitter: @ESefko
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