Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players that should’ve been drafted instead of Moritz Wagner
By Robert Marvi
3. Jalen Brunson
Brunson was drafted with the 33rd overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. He had a strong college career, averaging 18.9 points and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from downtown in his junior season at Villanova University.
He started the season quietly, as he was mostly a backup to Dennis Smith Jr. early on, but after Smith was traded to the New York Knicks, Brunson started to come alive, putting up 13.3 points and 4.5 assists a game on nearly 50 percent field goal shooting in 28.8 minutes.
He may stand only 6-foot-3 while weighing 200 pounds, but NBADraft.net had plenty of nice things to say about him just prior to the 2018 NBA Draft.
They listed Mark Jackson as the player he most compares to and even said that Brunson “is one of the most accomplished/successful guards to come out of college basketball in recent memory,” citing the fact that he was named the AP Player of the Year honors and won the Wooden Award in 2017-18.