Way more than a Brunson story
Defense still wins championships
This New York story is being told like it’s Marvel, with Jalen Brunson as the superhero who saved Gotham. Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady had a conversation about Brunson as “the greatest Knick.” FOX had a conversation they call “All Hail King Brunson” with talk about next year’s MVP.
Hero stories are fun; everyone loves Jalen Brunson. But that’s not this story; that’s not how the Knicks won.
Brunson’s superpower is not that he cooks every defense, as that narrative suggests. Through the playoffs on TrueHoop we’ve discussed Brunson’s elite problem solving capability.
But I suspect his most incredible quality may be something else: that he’s the most incredible leader and teammate, which inspires greatness from his teammates, especially—it shows up dramatically in the evidence—when it matters most. The Knicks, as a team, are remarkabl…
