Jalen Brunson heard the doubters. Now he has the Knicks on the brink of history

By Etan Thomas • June 8, 2026 • Sport

As a former NBA player, I know that criticism is part of the game. But in an age when players are under attack constantly, the Knick star is an example to us all

The entire basketball world is singing the praises of Jalen Brunson and rightfully so. He has led the Knicks to the NBA finals for the first time since 1999 and has united the entire city of New York in a unique way. On every New York street you can see people of every race, color, creed, nationality, religion, economic status and political affiliation unified in excitement as the team seek their first NBA title since 1973. While older Knicks fans break out their Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and John Starks jerseys, younger fans have the names of Brunson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns on their backs. Chants of “MVP!” fill the air in every New York borough every time Jalen Brunson steps up to the free-throw line. Knicks fans have staged watch parties on the sidewalks, in the parks, and on the corners. All of New York is, in the words of JadaKiss, “outside”. The scenes will be even more intense – and joyous – if the Knicks win two more games against the San Antonio Spurs to clinch the NBA title, something which could happen as soon as Wednesday on the team’s home court, Madison Square Garden. Brunson has been the spark for the Knicks’ brilliant run and he has been praised by analysts, writers and broadcasters. But the universal praise for the point guard wasn’t there in 2022 when he joined the Knicks. And it wasn’t just from a handful of media members, it was the majority of them. Stephen A Smith went on a tirade berating the Knicks organization for putting their faith in Brunson, hiring his father, Rick. He appeared to have given up on Brunson before he had even played a game for the Knicks. “The Knicks are acting like he’s KD. Is he KD? Is he Kawhi Leonard? Jalen Brunson isn’t the answer”. It wasn’t just Smith though. Frank Isola on Sirius XM questioned whether the Knicks were overpaying for a player who, in his opinion, had a standout postseason with the Mavericks only due to Luka Dončić missing time with an injury. Fox Sports’ Nick Wright (“It’s an awful idea. Bill Simmons put it perfectly when he called it the saddest sweepstakes ever … the Jalen Brunson sweepstakes”), Colin Cowherd and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (“He’s not the type of player that elevates them into contender status”) had similar views: that Brunson was a good player, but not one who could put a team on his back and carry them to the title. Wright wondered if Brunson was “even one of the top 10 point guards in the NBA?”. While Kendrick Perkins was one of the few dissenting voices to back Brunson from the start, he was in a firm minority. Becky Hammon, a six-time WNBA All-Star who has won three titles with the Las Vegas Aces as a coach, had perhaps the most interesting take. Her view was not that Brunson lacked talent: in fact, she repeatedly praised his skill, toughness, and leadership. Her criticism was that Brunson, who is listed at 6ft 2in, he was too small to be the best player on a championship team. She referenced Hall of Fame guards Allen Iverson (6ft), Steve Nash (6ft 3in) and John Stockton (6ft 1in) as elite players who never won a championship as the unquestioned best player on their team. She pointed out that most NBA champions have been led by taller stars such as wings, forwards, or centers; that smaller guards tend to be easier to target defensively in playoff series; and teams can scheme against undersized stars over a seven-game series. She acknowledged that Stephen Curry (6ft 2in) was able to overcome his lack of height and lead the Golden State Warriors to four NBA titles but Hammon saw him as an exception to the rule. “If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” she said during an appearance on ESPN in December 2023. Hammon has never really backed away from her opinion. Even after Brunson led the Knicks to the 2026 NBA Finals, she said she still believed the historical trend favored her argument, while acknowledging that Brunson could prove her wrong. “I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong,” she said in May. The point of this isn’t to castigate those in the media for lambasting the Brunson signing but to send a message to young athletes who give too much credence to what “they” say. Athletes have always had to live with criticism. It started with newspaper columnists in the early 20th century to talkshow hosts on radio to hot-take artists in the cable TV era. But now young athletes are often glued to their phones, subject to negative attention on social media 24 hours a day. We have seen case after case of athletes going into depression and losing their love of a sport they excel at. Of course, not every young athlete can be as brilliant and exceptional as Brunson. But he has shown that opinions on social media and cable are just that – opinions. This season, after years of criticism. Brunson has: -- Made the all-NBA second team (with a strong case that he should’ve been on the first team) -- Won the Larry Bird Trophy as Eastern Conference finals MVP after averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 assists per game against Cleveland. -- Led the Knicks to within two games of the championship after a 13-game (and counting) winning streak. -- Produced several clutch moments in these NBA finals such as his 30 points in Game 1 as New York stole home-court advantage, and a game-sealing steal and free throw in Game 2, helping the Knicks take a 2–0 series lead. For Knicks fans, this playoff run has cemented Brunson’s reputation as one of the franchise’s greatest postseason performers and one of the league’s premier clutch players. I hope the message resonates loud and clear with all young players. Don’t ever let haters discourage you. Always believe in yourself and let the hate motivate you to greatness. Etan Thomas played in the NBA from 2000 through 2011. He is a published author, podcaster, poet, activist and motivational speaker.

Source: The Guardian