{"id":347626,"date":"2025-12-14T04:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/347626\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:36:08","slug":"the-knicks-say-jalen-brunson-merits-mvp-consideration-his-play-says-it-as-well-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/347626\/","title":{"rendered":"The Knicks say Jalen Brunson merits MVP consideration. His play says it as well"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Josh Hart<\/a> got asked a question Saturday night after the New York Knicks<\/a> reached the NBA<\/a> Cup championship game about where Jalen Brunson<\/a> ranks as a scorer. Hart smiled. Brunson cringed.<\/p>\n

And then, as typically happens when those two share a postgame podium, comedy happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s barely a 6-foot guard,” Hart began, with Brunson sitting about two feet to his left. “Not physically impressive, not athletic, but he\u2019s able to manipulate defenses. Big head, so he has a big brain. He\u2019s able to figure out those angles and find himself in position to be successful. So, inch for inch, I think he\u2019s probably the best one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunson \u2014 listed at 6-foot-2, perhaps a bit generously \u2014 tried to interject a few times during Hart’s answer, to no avail. Hart couldn’t stop talking, much in the same way that Brunson couldn’t stop scoring. He had a game- and season-high 40 points in New York’s 132-120 win over Orlando in the NBA Cup semifinals, giving the Knicks a shot at the title on Tuesday against Oklahoma City or San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Hart’s point, in his own way, was clear: Brunson is playing at an elite level right now. And Knicks coach Mike Brown was more direct, walking into the postgame interview room Saturday and hammering home a specific point he’s been making in recent weeks \u2014 that Brunson, even this early in the season, belongs in the MVP conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe makes the game easier for everybody,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThat\u2019s what MVPs are supposed to do, and he definitely did that tonight. … At the end of the day, he carries you home. It\u2019s beautiful to be able to see him do what he\u2019s more than capable of doing on a national stage like this, in an environment like this. Hopefully you guys as media and the fans out there can continue talking about him as an MVP of this league because that\u2019s exactly what he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown later made this clear: He’s not campaigning. The way he sees it, he’s just offering facts. And if Brunson \u2014 now averaging 28.8 points per game \u2014 keeps playing this way, the MVP case is going to get even more compelling.<\/p>\n

This is also clear: Brunson isn’t going to lobby for individual honors. And he has his reasons, starting with his parents \u2014 one of whom is a Knicks assistant coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cSandra and Rick Brunson, first and foremost, how they raised me,\u201d Brunson said when asked why he doesn’t outwardly seek recognition. \u201cMy family, my wife, my inner circle, everybody that I have been involved with. My inner circle keeps me humble, and I wouldn\u2019t want it any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was 16 of 27 from the field on Saturday, adding eight assists to the 40 points. He and Orlando guard Jalen Suggs both had 25 points at halftime; Suggs was slowed by a nagging hip injury and had only one point in the second half. The game was tied at 90-90 late in the third, and the Knicks went ahead for good with a 9-2 run \u2014 Brunson scoring seven of those points and getting the assist on the other basket.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe constantly finds a way,\u201d Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. \u201cHe gets you in tough positions. He knows how to use his footwork, knows how to use his leverage, knows how to get calls, stepping into shots. He plays those long minutes early on, being able to find matchup situations. Again, he hit some tough, timely shots. I think that\u2019s what you have to credit him for. He\u2019s one of those guys who continues to do that, and that\u2019s what he\u2019s proven to do in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunson was the NBA’s clutch player of the year last season, so it’s not like he’s been ignored by voters. Brown just wants him to have a different trophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see a lot of other great candidates that are well-deserving but I don\u2019t ever hear Jalen\u2019s name,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re first or second in either conference, and you\u2019re putting up the numbers that he\u2019s putting up, his name\u2019s got to be one of the first names coming out of somebody\u2019s mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/NBA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Josh Hart got asked a question Saturday night after the New York Knicks reached…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-347626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-nba","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}