Knicks star Jalen Brunson and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle were well-acquainted long before their teams kicked off their second-round playoff series Monday at Madison Square Garden.
Originally a 2018 second-round pick by the Mavericks, Brunson played three seasons under Carlisle with Dallas, primarily coming off the bench behind superstar point guard Luka Doncic.
“He obviously has grown tremendously,” Carlisle said Monday before Game 1. “He had some huge games for us the first three years, but it was Luka’s team. When he came here, it was pretty clear right off the bat that [Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau] just said, ‘Hey, this is your thing.’”
Brunson averaged a then-career-high 12.6 points in 25.0 minutes per game in 2020-21 — his final season with Carlisle — but his playing time plummeted during that postseason. In the Mavs’ opening-round loss to the Clippers that year, Brunson played only 10 minutes in Game 5; 15 in Game 6; and 10 again in Game 7, averaging 3.7 points over those pivotal contests.
On Saturday, Brunson downplayed feeling any extra motivation by facing Carlisle in the postseason.
“You’re in the playoffs now,” Brunson said. “There’s no extra motivation. It is what it is. The past is the past. Rick, he welcomed me into this league and … helped me grow from day one. Coaches got to make decisions that better suit their team. Whatever happened, happened, and we’re moving forward from there.”
Carlisle, who won a championship with Dallas in 2011, parted ways with the Mavericks after the 2021 playoffs and has spent the past three seasons coaching Indiana.
Brunson, meanwhile, spent one more year in Dallas, averaging 16.3 points and 4.8 assists in 31.9 minutes per game in 2021-22 under head coach Jason Kidd while starting 61 of his 79 appearances.
The 6-2 guard has said he was willing to sign a four-year, $55 million extension with Dallas, but he ultimately hit free agency in 2022 and joined the Knicks on a four-year, $104 million contract.
Brunson, 27, quickly blossomed into the Knicks’ primary option, averaging 24.0 points per game in 2022-23 and a career-best 28.7 points per game this year en route to his first All-Star selection.
“Jalen, as aggressive a scorer as he is, is one of the great team guys I’ve ever been around, in this league or any sport at any level,” Carlisle said Monday. “He’s just really exceptional. Amazing things can happen for your team and a lot of bad things can happen for opponents, so hats off to New York for being able to sign him. He’s been historically great here.”
Last week, Brunson became the fourth player in NBA history with four consecutive playoff games of at least 39 points as the Knicks advanced past the Philadelphia 76ers in round one. His 47 points in Game 4 set a Knicks playoff record.
Asked Monday whether Brunson’s experience playing under Carlisle could work to the Knicks’ advantage against the Pacers, Thibodeau replied, “That was a long time ago.”
“Rick’s coaching this team differently,” Thibodeau said before Game 1. “It helps that maybe you have an understanding of what he is or the things he likes to do, but it’s different. But Jalen’s such a student of the game that he’s going to study for everybody.”