Luka Doncic admitted he did not watch Jalen Brunson lead the New York Knicks to the 2026 NBA title because of the late start times in Slovenia (Europe).
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic did not closely follow the end of the 2025-26 NBA season, even though the championship was won by his former Dallas Mavericks teammate Jalen Brunson.
Position
PG
Age
29
Height
188 cm
Weight
86 kg
Birth place
New Jersey, United States of America
The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the NBA Finals, claiming their first championship since 1973. Brunson was named Finals MVP after averaging 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in the series.
However, because of the time difference in Slovenia, Doncic admitted he did not wake up in the middle of the night to watch the games live.
“It’s all too early for me, waking up at three in the morning, so I didn’t watch,” Doncic said with a smile, via Siol.net.
Jalen Brunson led Knicks to historic title
Brunson closed the Finals with a 45-point performance in Game 5, setting a Knicks franchise record for points in an NBA Finals game. He scored 29 points in the second half as New York beat San Antonio 94-90 and completed the series win.
The Knicks finished the playoffs with a 16-3 record and had a 13-game winning streak during the postseason, the second-longest in NBA playoff history.
Credit Imagn Images – Scanpix
Brunson’s title run also became another reminder of the Mavericks’ 2018 NBA Draft class.
Dallas landed Doncic and Brunson in the same draft: Luka arrived after a draft-night trade with the Atlanta Hawks, while Brunson was selected by the Mavericks with the 33rd overall pick.
The two played together in Dallas for four seasons and reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022 before Brunson left for New York in free agency.
Doncic and Brunson’s connection after Knicks title
BasketNews previously covered Brunson’s honest comments about Doncic after leading the Knicks to the NBA title.
Luka also spoke earlier about Brunson’s success, saying he sent him a message after the Knicks won the championship and noting that both players have grown a lot since their time together in Dallas.
This time, Doncic gave a simpler answer: he did not watch the Finals live.
Credit AP-Scanpix
Luka coming off injury-hit Lakers season
Doncic is coming off his first full season with the Lakers, where he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists, leading the NBA in scoring and finishing fourth in MVP voting.
However, his season ended with frustration. A late Grade 2 hamstring strain kept him out of the playoffs, and the Lakers were eliminated in the second round against OKC.
Doncic has since said the injury is behind him and confirmed that he will not play for Slovenia this summer.
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