As soon as Jalen Brunson won his first NBA championship and finals MVP in Saturday’s Game 5 against the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks fans went at Becky Hammon’s old take on the team captain. In 2023, Hammon claimed Brunson wasn’t big enough to be a “1A” player on a championship team.
“He’s too small. If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” she said.
She doubled down on that after the Knicks made the finals, but was open to being proven wrong by the Knicks All-Star. While Brunson didn’t raise issues with Hammon’s comments during this playoff run, Knicks fans made sure that blitzing the WNBA coach was at the top of their wishlist if they won the title.
“A lot of people have to admit they’re wrong, Draymond already went,” one fan said.
“This didn’t age well,” another wrote.
“I agreed with her and her and I were wrong. Respect to Brunson,” one fan added.
“She still doubled down after conference finals,” one fan said.
“She better hide,” another wrote.
“To be fair, this was wrong when she said it because Isiah Thomas also exists. Still, she’s gotta get the smoke I guess,” one fan added.
Jalen Brunson finished with 45 points in the closeout Game 5, helping the Knicks overcome a 16-point first-half deficit. He shot 51.9% from the field, 4 of 7 from three and 13 of 15 from the free throw line. Brunson also hit one of the most crucial shots in the clutch with 1:05 left to give New York a two-point lead.
Brunson made history by becoming the highest-scoring point guard in an NBA finals series, averaging 32.6 points.
Kendrick Perkins names Jalen Brunson the greatest Knicks player of all time
Kendrick Perkins didn’t hesitate to name Jalen Brunson as the greatest New York Knicks player of all time. That’s a huge honor, especially given how rich the Knicks history has been and the legends that have played before the star point guard. However, Brunson stood out as the only champion among them, which made it easier not just for Perkins but for all of NBA Twitter to make that case.
“The New York Knicks team is one of the greatest teams of all-time,” Perkins said on Saturday on SportsCenter. “They rank top-five in my books. … He [Brunson] needs to take a huge victory lap right now because he has so many people.
“When you talk about bringing back and making it relevant again, the quarterback position, the small guard – do we understand that Jalen Brunson has joined an elite company with Steph Curry and Isaiah Thomas for a small guard to lead their team to a championship and getting it done in great fashion? This man has become the greatest Knick of all time.”
Brunson and the Knicks went 13-0 before losing the only game of the finals in Game 3. Overall, they boasted a 16-3 record, making it one of the best finals runs in recent memory.
Read more:
- NBA Fans Infuriated as Victor Wembanyama Potentially Escapes One-Game Suspension After “Dirty” Foul on Jalen Brunson
- Charles Barkley Surprised as Sydney Sweeney Travels to San Antonio For Knicks
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