Jalen Brunson's ascent to stardom may not have been seen by many, but he has always been playing at a high level since his high school days.
The Knicks are an easy target for critics to laugh at, but on this one, they got it right with Brunson. They knew what they had in Brunson. Thibodeau has been familiar with him going back to coaching his father as the Knicks assistant coach, and he worked with the Knicks point guard when he was a high schooler during the head coach’s private time. The aloof Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose once served as Brunson’s agent, not to mention he is the point guard’s godfather. There was a reason why the organization hired Brunson’s dad to be the team’s assistant coach, they knew they had to hire him to get his son on the team.
You can see why the Knicks may have illegally tampered to get Brunson to sign with them from watching him this season. He has been their MVP. He has made the big shots when the team needed him the most, and he did that again in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ Game 1 101-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers by scoring six of his 27 points in the final few minutes of a tight game, which sealed the Knicks win.
He is the reason why the Knicks should beat the Cavaliers and maybe go on a long playoff run, just like in the good old days when the franchise really mattered in the tri-state area and in the league.
It should be an insult to Brunson that he is a candidate for the Most Improved Player award. He is a great player as it is. Anyone that thinks of him as the most improved player still doesn’t get it when it comes to his ability as an NBA player. All he has done is make big shots in winning time whether it was in high school, at Villanova or in Dallas. We got a great look at what he did here. Anyone that watched Brunson play should not even be surprised.
Knicks fans knew what they saw in him, which is why they voiced their approval of his signing. To them, he should be an MVP candidate. They tend to overrate the Knicks players, but on this occasion, they are right on.
Brunson defines toughness. He plays through the pain, as we saw this season. Whether it was ill-advised or not, he came back quickly to play through an ankle injury. He can’t be 100 percent. No player is at this time of the year. What’s impressive about him is he elevates the Knicks by playing at a high level despite playing through the pain. It’s something that no one can teach. Either he can do it or he can’t.
In a way, he is such a throwback. He represents the opposite of load management. He is a player that likes to throw the first punch and respond right back when someone throws at him. He can be a dirty player in his own right, which is actually a compliment since the ‘90s Knicks knew how to play dirty in doing the grunt work.
He is a typical Thibodeau player.
Brunson is more than just an overachiever. He is actually a dominant scorer, rebounder and point guard. He has averaged 24 points per game this season on 49% shooting. He does a great job of boxing out to set up picks. He deserves credit for the improvements in Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes this season by making the game easy for them. This explains why Rose decided not to trade Quickley and Grimes to get Donovan Mitchell; he knows the point guard can make those two even better.
Brunson handles the ball and creates his own shot. He can score inside. Honestly, what’s not to like about him? It seems the more we watch him, the more impressive he is. This is why it’s foolish to keep saying he is an overachiever, not to mention it's an insult to him. Brunson does things as a point guard that make him a star.
The Knicks haven’t had a point guard like that since Mark Jackson. Yes, it’s been a long time. If the Knicks in the 90s had Brunson in his prime, their championship drought of 50 years and counting would have ended a long time ago.
The Knicks can certainly win a championship with him if they can get that one more star to pair with him. Think Donovan Mitchell, Karl Anthony-Towns or LeBron James wouldn’t want to play with him? The Knicks are in a position to get a star player through a trade with the draft picks or free agency with Brunson being the attraction.
Sometimes, it’s easy to wonder what could have been for Carmelo Anthony if Brunson had played with him. Anthony has always flourished with great point guards, such as when he played with Chauncey Billups in Denver and the aging Jason Kidd with the Knicks. For the criticism Anthony received for being selfish and not making anyone better, it’s fair to say he did not have a point guard that he could trust. This is where the Knicks failed Anthony, not that we are making him a pariah here because he earned criticism for underachieving here by not elevating the Knicks and doing plenty of losing.
As a franchise, the Knicks have got so much going for them. They actually have direction, and it could get even better in the next few years. Maybe Knicks fans young and old can finally die in peace once their beleaguered team has won a championship. Maybe Knicks owner James Dolan can finally shed the “loser” label for good.
It’s all about Brunson. That’s where it all begins and ends, and that’s why it’s time to start taking him seriously as an NBA star.
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