The Golden State Warriors Made A Mistake

In 2018, the Golden State Warriors could have drafted Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks).

The Golden State Warriors are one of the premier franchises in all of sports.

They have won four NBA Championships over the previous nine seasons, and the organization does not make many mistakes. 

However, they could have made a better decision in 2018. 

What Was The Mistake?

The Warriors selected Jacob Evans with the 28th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Evans had a good college career with Cincinnati but only played in 57 regular season games (and seven NBA playoff games) with the Warriors before being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2019-20.

Following two games with Minnesota, Evans did not appear in another NBA game.

His career averages are 2.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 33.7% from the field and 31.5% from the three-point range over 59 regular season games. 

With the 28th pick in the 2018 #NBADraft, the Warriors select Jacob Evans. pic.twitter.com/eL0sTgpwTX

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 22, 2018

Meanwhile, the Warriors could have selected other players who would have been much better.   

Most notably, Jalen Brunson was drafted with the 33rd pick by the Dallas Mavericks. 

He spent the first four years of his career with Dallas, and helped them make the Western Conference Finals in 2022 (they lost to the Warriors).  

Jalen Brunson showed OUT tonight 🔥

41 PTS
8 REB
5 AST pic.twitter.com/56N5r2BrUd

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 19, 2022

This past year, Brunson (in his first season with the New York Knicks) averaged 24.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists per contest while shooting 49.1% from the field and 41.6% from the three-point range. 

He led the Knicks to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and they won their first NBA playoff series since 2013 (before losing to the Miami Heat in the second round). 

Knicks point guards with 5+ 20-point games in a playoffs:

— Jalen Brunson
— Walt Frazier

that’s it. pic.twitter.com/ILldWbN71H

— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 27, 2023

While the Warriors have done just fine, winning the 2022 NBA Championship and making the 2023 playoffs, it's intriguing to wonder what Brunson could have looked like as Steph Curry's backup (or playing alongside him and Klay Thompson). 

In college, Brunson helped Villanova win two NCAA Championships, so his winning experience could have been the perfect fit for Golden State.