Luka Dončić continues to face heavy criticism from different parts of the basketball community, with some going so far as to claim that his former teammate is the better player at this point in time.
Although the Los Angeles Lakers’ expectations increased dramatically after adding Dončić to their roster, the team underperformed heavily in the playoffs. Despite finishing the regular season in third place in the West, Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs in the first round.
Raymond Felton is a former NBA star who spent part of his career with the Dallas Mavericks (2014–2016), Dončić’s former team. Felton created quite a lot of noise with his most recent take on Dončić’s position in the league as a superstar.
Is Knicks Star Jalen Brunson Better Than Luka Dončić This Season?
While Brunson and Dončić were teammates and managed to reach the Western Conference Finals with the Mavs back in 2022, they have gone their separate ways since then. Brunson joined the Knicks and recently took a pay cut by signing a four-year contract for $156.5 million. This is most likely to give the Knicks flexibility to make roster upgrades without crossing the second apron.
If Brunson had waited another year before signing a deal with the Knicks, he could have signed a five-year contract for up to $269 million. Despite averaging a solid 26 points, 7.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds, Brunson put his team ahead of his own financial gain and was credited by the NBA world for doing so.
Although Dončić averaged more points, rebounds, and assists than Brunson this season (28.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 7.7 APG), Felton stirred up a debate by claiming that Brunson is better than Dončić based on their individual performances this season.
“I’m rolling with him(Brunson) before…I know y’all might think I’m crazy…I’m rolling with him before Luka. I’m just saying, bro, he’s showing it though…I gotta give the young fellow his flowers. He’s on the biggest stage in New York City, and he’s winning. What he did in that last game against Detroit, that shot was insane. What he’s done these last two games in Boston…He’s hitting big shots, bro, against high-level defenders.”
Raymond Felton says Jalen Brunson is better than Luka Doncic 👀
(🎥 @ToTheBaha ) pic.twitter.com/Qaa6fTt0EJ
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 10, 2025
While Dončić can still be considered superior to Brunson in terms of pure statistics, the fact that Brunson is still in the playoffs and giving the defending NBA champions more than they expected likely created a recency bias in the minds of former stars like Felton. After all, claiming that Brunson is better when Dončić is facing a long offseason might have been perfect timing. However, there is a point.
Brunson, in a previous conversation, had admitted that when they were teammates, he found Dončić so good that he became skeptical if he belonged in the league. “I was like this dude is good, Do I belong? That type of doubt it put in my mind,” Brunson had said.
In any case, the fact remains that Dončić was able to carry the Dallas Mavericks all the way to the NBA Finals last season without having Brunson as his teammate. Therefore, some may believe that Brunson needs to get past the second round, at the very least, in order for his case against Dončić to be taken seriously.
