Star point guard Jalen Brunson is a large part of why the New York Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
As the main engine of a potent offense, Brunson has been as clutch as ever in this postseason, although the Knicks haven’t allowed many teams to make it close.
TOP NEWS
They returned back to relevance seemingly the moment they signed Brunson as a free agent four years ago. At the time, the move was scrutinized heavily.
Despite the initial noise about signing an undersized guard to a large contract, the Knicks have gotten better in virtually every area since Brunson’s arrival.
After several years of steady improvement, he helped the Knicks burn through the first three rounds of the playoffs and now have them four wins away from an NBA championship.
There’s a debate gaining traction about whether or not a ring would make Brunson the greatest Knick of all time, but he may already be in the top five.
With zero championships, Finals MVPs or regular season MVPs so far, he’s not yet on the level of the legendary Willis Reed in terms of accolades.
When it comes to the franchise record books, he doesn’t come close to Patrick Ewing, who holds a number of Knicks records. The great Walt Frazier may be the only player outside of those two that top Brunson.
Frazier was a terrific two-way player who could take over the game on both ends of the floor. Those three sit at the top of the Knicks’ mountaintop, but Brunson has a very strong argument for fourth.
Not only is he second in franchise history in regular season points per game 26.3, he’s also second in playoff scoring at 29.2 points per game.
While Carmelo Anthony quickly became a franchise legend in the early 2010s and helped make the Knicks relevant again for a few years, he never found the playoff success in New York that Brunson already has.
Even if Anthony has the edge over Brunson for fourth, it’s hard to make the case for anyone to knock Brunson out of the top five.
Bernard King had a glorious three-season scoring stretch for the Knicks from 1982-1985, but a devastating knee injury prevented him from polishing his legacy in New York.
Dave DeBusschere was a key member of the Knicks’ championship teams in the 1970s but he was never expected to shoulder the load that Brunson is.
It’s ultimately a subjective discussion when it comes to specific rankings, but Brunson’s numbers more than establish him as one of the greatest Knicks of all time.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
