6 Biggest Knicks surprises of 2022-23 regular season

Jalen Brunson’s Breakout Season

The fanbase seemed very split on the signing of Jalen Brunson in free agency. Either you felt he was worth the money like yours truly, or you thought he was overpaid. For those whose Brunson glass was half full, we were convinced by the steady progression he had shown year after year in Dallas and were officially sold on him after his heroics in the Mavericks’ run to the Western Conference Finals.

However, even the most optimistic among us didn’t foresee how amazing Brunson would be in his first season donning the orange and blue. The season-long stats for the NBA’s latest recipient of the Eastern Conference Player of the Month are fantastic on their own; he’s averaging 23.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game with a 48.9/41.1/83.3 slash line. And yet, he has posted these same stats during some stretches that put the base numbers to shame.

JB went Michael Jordan on the league by taking his flagrant All-Star snubbing personally. Following the announcement of the 2023 NBA All-Stars and missing out on that honor, Brunson averaged 31.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 6.1 APG, with a 59.7/50.0/77.8 slash line over his next seven games. Brunson and Kawhi Leonard are the only two players to do this since the new year by the way:

But perhaps the most impressive number Brunson has put up this year is his total clutch points. He has scored 139 points in the clutch, the fourth most in the league, shooting 51.6% on 91 total attempts (sixth-highest). Sensational.