3 Jalen Brunson stats that New York Knicks fans will love

The New York Knicks have an exciting new point guard in Jalen Brunson. With New York and Brunson agreeing to a four-year, 104 million dollar deal, expectations will be high for the 25-year-old guard. While there have certainly been some differing opinions from fans and analysts on just how much Brunson will ameliorate the Knicks’ woes, there is reason to be optimistic.

Brunson took a leap this past season with the Dallas Mavericks. As he jumped into a more prominent role, playing over 31 minutes per game, all of his per-game totals increased. Brunson now has an opportunity to take on an even greater role with New York.

Brunson is one of those players who upon closer examination, pops off the screen in both the eye test AND the stat sheet. There are some specific Brunson stats we can look at from last season that bodes incredibly well for his future as a lead guard on the Knicks.

3 Jalen Brunson stats that New York Knicks fans will love

Jalen Brunson’s true shooting percentage

Brunson is best known as a dynamic ball handler who finds creative ways to get buckets. At 6’1”, he HAS to be extra inventive with how he creates space for himself. His knack for breaking down defenders, coupled with his shooting touch, results in a scorer that truthfully is a lot more elite than I think some may realize.

Simply put, true shooting percentage is a statistic that takes into account 3-point shooting and free throws to help measure how effective a player is at scoring. It’s imperfect (as all stats are) but is still a good categorizer. The guards with the highest true shooting percentages are either some of the most efficient role players in the league or the flat-out best scorers in the league.

Brunson’s true shooting percentage last season was 58.1%. If you filter the list of guards who actually played big roles (over 10 shot attempts per game), Brunson ranked 12th out of 72 eligible guards. That’s behind players like Steph Curry, Zach LaVine, Trae Young, and just ahead of players like Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Jayson Tatum.

Think of the degree of difficulty on some of Brunson’s shots. As a 6’1” guard, he shot over 50% from the field in his last two seasons, while taking a plethora of tough turnarounds and off-balance shots. He is a fantastic scorer. His high-level scoring shows up exceptionally well in another key area.

Jalen Brunson can get to the rim

The Knicks have not only been missing a point guard, but they’ve also been missing any player who can get to the rack.

With Derrick Rose out for most of last season, New York’s backcourt was sorely missing players who were effective at driving to the rim. Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley much prefer to operate along the perimeter. Even among their wings, only RJ Barrett seemed to have any sort of urgency to drive to the paint.

This is an area where Brunson excels. His rim pressure is absolutely lethal. Brunson ranked fourth among 106 qualified guards in his field goal percentage when driving to the rim. This doesn’t have to do with just his layup package or finishing AT the rim. It’s just as much about his in-between game.

I already touched on Brunson’s dazzling dribble combos, but his wide array of finishing moves is just as extensive. Whether it’s using his body to shield and take bumps, or using quick releases on floaters and scoop layups, he simply finds ways to finish at the rim.

It’s his preferred method of attack, break down the defender and go to the rim. The Knicks could really benefit from having a guard who can penetrate opposing defenses.

New York’s offense oftentimes feels like a game of hot potato with players just dancing along the perimeter, taking two or three dribbles, going nowhere, ultimately just skipping the ball around the perimeter. They needed someone whose first option is to drive, and they now have it in Brunson.

Jalen Brunson is smart with the ball

Because Brunson is more of a “score first” lead guard rather than a “true point guard” (I am also sick of having to classify guards into specific roles), there may be a false perception from some that he isn’t really a great orchestrator of team offense. That he’s someone who can find offense for himself, but not necessarily his teammates.

Brunson has the ball on a string and it gives him the ability to deliver some pinpoint passes. He makes a lot of “point guard passes,” whips passes around his head, kick-outs to open shooters, and alley-oops to rolling big men.

He’s also careful with the ball. Brunson had an assist/turnover ratio of 3.04. Among qualified guards, that ranked 15th out of 131 players. If you take a closer look at that list, the only guards with a better assist/turnover ratio who actually handled the ball as much as Brunson were Chris Paul, Tyrese Maxey, Dejounte Murray, Terry Rozier, and Tyrese Haliburton.

The New York Knicks weren’t a high turnover team last season, but that was largely due to their slow, low-risk offense. Incorporating Brunson into a prominent role as the team’s starting point guard could have a pretty big impact. Not only is he attacking the rim and scoring efficiently, but he’s taking care of the ball. His 4.8 assists per game from last season could have a sizable spike with the Knicks.

Given all of these outstanding stats about Brunson’s scoring, driving, and ball-management, a fringe All-Star level could absolutely be in the cards next year. Is somewhere around 21 points and 7 assists per game on outstanding efficiency out of the question? It doesn’t seem like it. Brunson is on the verge of hitting his basketball prime, and it will happen in the world’s most famous arena.

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