Jalen Brunson has reiterated his importance to the New York Knicks again, and again, and again, and again still. And you know what? He did it again during their first-round matchup against the Detroit Pistons, carrying them to a victory with a series-winner in Game 6 that thrust him onto the franchise's Mt. Rushmore—if he wasn't there already.
But with every bucket, with every assist, with every dribble, Brunson isn't merely cementing his place among the Knicks' all-time greats. He is now, officially, doing something the NBA playoffs haven't seen from anyone other than LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Brunson is shouldering an absurd workload, and delivering historical results
Three numbers help encapsulate the degree to which the Knicks depend on Brunson. There is his usage rate, which is an estimate of the number of team plays he finishes while on the floor. There is his assist rate, which is the percentage of Knicks baskets he creates for others while on the floor. And then there is his turnover rate, which is simply the number of turnovers he commits per 100 plays.
After his first-round efforts against Detroit, Brunson is now on pace to post usage and assist rates above 30, with a sub-10 turnover percentage, through two separate playoff campaigns. Here is the list of every player to do the same while appearing in more than 10 postseason games:
- Michael Jordan (1990-91 for 17 games)
- LeBron James (2008-09 for 14 games)
- Jalen Brunson (2023-24 for 13 games)
Aaaaand, that’s it. Seriously. There is a plausible scenario in which Brunson exits the 2025 NBA playoffs with more 30-plus/30-plus/sub-10 postseason campaigns than both LeBron and MJ. That is objectively, unequivocally, totally outrageous.
For anyone thinking these are cherry-picked numbers, well, they're not. Not really. Posting a usage rate of 30 or higher is superstar territory. Pairing it with an assist percentage north of 30 is an extension of that territory, and pretty rare. Just four players notched both benchmarks during the regular season while appearing in more than 50 games: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and LeBron James. Enough said.
Posting dual-30s while hardly ever turning the ball over, though? That's legendary stuff. The league's average turnover rate in the playoffs right now, excluding garbage time, is 13.6 percent. Brunson is currently turning the ball over on just 8.5 percent of his possessions. The 8.2 turnover rate he posted last year, mind you, is the best mark among the historical trio to which he belongs.
New York's dependence on Brunson is uncomfortable, but necessary
This is one of those accolades that should warp your perception of reality for reasons both good and bad—sort of like Jalen Brunson winning Clutch Player of the Year.
On the one hand, the Knicks' reliance on Brunson is harrowing, noticeably thinning out their margin for error. If he can't don his cape, their list of safety nets doesn't inspire much confidence. Even the best versions of Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby do not grade out as favorable advantage creators against set defenses.
On the other hand, Brunson's capacity to ferry a GOAT's workload, and do so efficiently, is the entire reason the Knicks are here at all. It can be frustrating to watch him over-dribble, sometimes even looking off obvious passes in favor of contested fadeaways. But the offense isn't changing until the Knicks get deeper in the initiation department, unless the head coach changes, or both.
For now, Brunson's superhuman displays, even when imperfect, are all that separates New York from an existential crisis. What he's doing isn't just for the time being necessary. It's working, even if just barely, and it has him chasing greatest-of-all-time icons.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.