It didn’t go the way Dallas had hoped for one of its prized rookies. While one first-year guard left Las Vegas after a disappointing outing, another hadn’t even suited up, and yet would soon change the direction of the franchise before playing an official NBA game. Years later, former Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle shared stories on those different rookie experiences, offering his take on the early careers of Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson.

Carlisle recalled that Dallas deliberately kept Doncic out of the 2018 Summer League after his lengthy European season. Meanwhile, Brunson struggled during his own Summer League debut.

“Jalen Brunson played in Summer League,” Carlisle said on The Draymond Green Show, “And if you ask Jalen about it, he’ll tell you it was an inauspicious Summer League. He didn’t play particularly well.”

Carlisle’s memories of Doncic’s arrival, however, were entirely different.

“The first day of pickup games… he’s playing with these guys, and he is playing like Magic Johnson. He is rebounding, and he is throwing dimes all over the place. He wasn’t really even looking to score.”

That first impression left Carlisle surprised. “I’m like, ‘God, this guy’s like a Magic Johnson-type player.'” The Mavericks coach admitted he initially saw Doncic as a wing because of his size before realizing the rookie belonged at point guard.

While Jalen Brunson earned his place through steady improvement, Doncic’s growth was almost immediate. Fresh off winning the EuroLeague MVP and Final Four MVP with Real Madrid before entering the NBA Draft, the Slovenian arrived in Dallas with a résumé rarely seen for a teenager.

Within weeks of training camp, he convinced Carlisle that the offense belonged in his hands. The move paid off as Luka Doncic won the 2018-19 NBA Rookie of the Year award before earning five consecutive All-NBA First Team selections.

Brunson’s development made him one of the Mavericks’ most dependable guards, but his time came alongside Doncic’s rise as the face of the franchise. After Dallas committed fully to building around the Slovenian star, Brunson accepted a secondary role before he became a star in his own right. He later went to the New York Knicks in 2022 after the Mavericks failed to secure him on a long-term extension, and then led the Knicks to their first title in 53 years, winning Finals MVP in the process.

Doncic, on the other hand, is now the face of the LA Lakers after the purple and gold saw four-time MVP LeBron James move to Philadelphia in free agency.