The Golden State Warriors‘ quest to rise in the standings hit another roadblock. Despite recently reclaiming the ninth seed with a decisive victory over the Lakers, the Warriors stumbled at home against the New York Knicks. They struggled to contain Jalen Brunson, who scored 34 points, and ultimately succumbed to a narrow 119-112 defeat against a Knicks team missing Julius Randle and OG Anunoby. This loss pushed the Bay Area team back to the 10th seed, now four games behind from making it out of the play-in region.

Despite the loss, Draymond Green had nothing but praise for the 27-year-old guard, Jalen Brunson. In his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State’s defensive anchor spoke highly of Brunson’s skills while drawing parallels with his career. “JB is one of those guys that you cheer for because he’s humble. He’s a second-round pick as national player of the year. I know what that feels like.”

Draymond can empathize with Brunson because they were both overlooked on their draft nights. Despite winning National Player of the Year honors, they weren’t picked until the second round. The Golden State Warriors selected Draymond Green as the 35th overall pick green in 2012, while the Dallas Mavericks picked Brunson as the 33rd overall in 2018. However, adding one more parallel, they both proved their doubters wrong.

Green became a linchpin of the Golden State Warriors dynasty, contributing to four championships in eight seasons. While JB has yet to win a chip, he is very well on the path to doing so, thanks in huge part to Draymond Green.

Draymond Green’s role in Jalen Brunson’s emergence

Jalen Brunson first came into the spotlight during the 2022 playoffs. With Luka Doncic injured, Brunson carried the Mavericks through the first round, dropping even 41 points during Game 2 against the favored Utah Jazz. But then they met the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, a series that ended in five games. And no player guarded Brunson more than Draymond Green in that series.

Despite Brunson’s solid performance overall, he struggled to shoot against Green, managing just 41 percent from the field and 29 percent from beyond the arc. Nonetheless, this experience proved instrumental in Brunson’s growth.

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“Obviously, having Draymond defend me, it was different. Like you said, you have to adjust. For me, it made me better. It made me understand what I had to work on to be better. One of those things that makes you rethink, what are you going to do to be better?” said Brunson before the game versus the Warriors on Monday night.

And now, nearly two years later, he got the better of Green, shooting 48% from the field and 33.3% from downtown against the Warriors.

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