Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon stated she will not apologize for her previous assessment of New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who recently led his team to an NBA championship and earned Finals MVP honors. Hammon's initial comments in 2023 suggested that a team whose best player is small, like Brunson, might not be capable of winning a championship.
Despite Brunson's historic playoff run and the Knicks' victory, Hammon reiterated her stance. "Jalen, all he did was prove history wrong. He proves he’s an outlier," Hammon said, referencing his performance. "So you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas, and I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch."
She added, "I mean, he was that 1A dude. But apologize, I’m never gonna apologize for having an opinion. That’s what ESPN pays me for."
Brunson, listed at 6-foot-2, was instrumental in the Knicks' championship-clinching 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5, where he scored 45 points. During the team's championship parade, Brunson alluded to critics without naming them directly. "There’s a lot of people who have a lot of negative stuff to say," he stated. "There’s a lot of people who have their own opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you don’t have to say s–t to them. They don’t deserve it."
Hammon also playfully suggested she might have intentionally provoked Knicks fans with her remarks. "Let me just piss off Knicks fans again and say, I think he’s the greatest Knick ever," she commented. "Give them something else to talk about. ... I’ve always been a Jalen Brunson fan. I was a fan of his at Villanova, in Dallas, and why this comment went off the rails, I have no idea because it was clearly a historical and analytical take."
Brunson, in his fourth season with the Knicks, has become a significant figure for the franchise. He has averaged 26 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game over his four seasons, earning three All-Star selections and the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year award last season. In the playoffs, his averages rose to 29.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.7 rebounds, helping the Knicks end a 53-year playoff drought.