It's eleven games into the season and the New York Knicks are in the middle of an intriguing transformation, which has started with Jalen Brunson. This is not just about their star guard scoring points; Brunson is quietly reshaping his game under head coach Mike Brown and it could be the spark that pushes the Knicks past decades of playoff frustration.
“In the offseason, (relocation/catch-and-shoot) 3s is what I worked on. The talk was about playing off-ball, so why don’t I just work on that? That was a lot of the stuff I did this summer. The ball is going in when I do it,” Brunson said according to an article published by James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.
The results have been clear. So far, Brunson has been embracing a play style that allows the Knicks’ depth to thrive while staying lethal himself when his time comes. Brunson has long been one of the league’s elite self-creating scorers, carving defenses apart with pick-and-rolls and isolation plays. That style helped New York reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
However, things have changed: seemingly for the better. Brunson is taking on a more off-ball role, moving through the offense, setting up his teammates, and creating space for the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby. He's doing this while keeping his scoring impact high.
Before his recent ankle injury, Brunson had been proving that this approach works. Through 11 games, he averaged three catch-and-shoot 3s per game at a 50 percent clip, up from the 1.9 attempts he averaged last season. He took both relocation and standstill shots, consistently moving in rhythm with the flow of the offense.
This is a nuanced evolution for the Knicks' offense. Brunson is not just taking better shots, he is positioning himself to maximize team efficiency. That's a skill that Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has long used to dominate games without constantly needing the ball in his hands.
The Knicks, currently standing as the second seed at 7-4 in the Eastern Conference, are showing early signs of a system that balances high-level scoring with smart spacing. Brunson’s absence due to his ankle injury could be a significant setback, but the positive news is that the foundation is already there.
When he returns, he will just be picking up where he left off. Brunson should be able to step back on the court as a more versatile, more unpredictable version of himself—capable of elevating teammates around him.
In a league where isolation scorers make headlines, Brunson has been starting to quietly prove that evolution and adaptability can be just as important. For the Knicks, things don't seem to just be about one player anymore. This offense is about finally bringing a title back to New York. Brunson’s new approach could be exactly what makes that possible.