Dallas Mavericks: 5 takeaways from the 2018-19 NBA season

3. Jalen Brunson is a steal

With the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 Draft, the Mavericks selected Jalen Brunson. A three-year point guard out of Villanova University, Brunson had risen to prominence after two national championships in three seasons. He was a high IQ floor general, one Dallas hoped would pan out down the line.

Unlike his fellow rookie teammate who dominated from the beginning, Brunson took some time to get accustomed to the pace of NBA basketball. It was from February on, though, where he started to show off his stuff on a nightly basis.

He started 27 out of a possible 30 games in the second half of the season, averaging 12.6 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the field to go along with 4.9 assists per game. All this productivity came in just 28.8 minutes of action per night, marking a surprising finish to the season for the second-round pick.

Luka will serve as the primary ballhandler in Dallas for at least the next decade or so. This leaves little room for Brunson to fully reach his ceiling. However, the modern NBA requires multiple ballhandlers on the court. Brunson’s proven capable of having the ball in his hands, and if he can continue to improve on his already respectable 34.8 3-point percentage, the Mavs will have found a true diamond in the rough with which to add to their young nucleus.