The New York Knicks won the 2026 NBA championship, and Jalen Brunson was the best player on the team. The best player on the best team in the NBA. In theory, that should make Bronson one of the top candidates to be viewed as the best player in the league. But he's not. In fact, some rankings don't even have him in the top 10.
In reality, that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where Brunson ranks in the media's or the public's top 10 NBA players. All that matters is that the Knicks win basketball games, and last year, Brunson clearly proved that he can help them do that. But it is an interesting thought experiment to consider why Brunson isn't viewed as a better player by the masses.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes a player special when it matters most. People don't really factor in clutch.
Jalen Brunson's clutch makes him better than people realize
Obviously, some people care about clutch when it comes to certain players. Michael Jordan is one of the most clutch players of all time, and people know that. People see Kobe Bryant, and they think clutch
For a long time, people saw LeBron James, and they thought "not clutch.” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Clutch. Jayson Tatum? Not clutch. People just hand out these labels to players whether or not it's true.
In reality, James has been clutch. He's hit a ton of huge shots to help his team in the playoffs. The same goes for Tatum, who has had multiple massive games when it matters most for the Celtics in the postseason.
But in today's NBA, it feels like people are so obsessed with being a perfect fit on both ends of the floor that they forget about how important it is just to make shots in important moments.
Brunson is one of the best shot-makers in the NBA. He just is. He knows how to get to his spots when to get to his spots and when the team needs him to make a big bucket.
But the difference is, even though a lot of players know that, few can make it happen. Brunson is one of the best in the business at making it happen. He's always one move away from making a shot in the big moment.
And at the end of the day, winning in the NBA is about having more points than your opponent. So, if you have a player who is always capable of putting up points, that should probably give them a leg up in the “top 10 conversations.”
So, why isn't Brunson viewed as a top 10, maybe even top five player in the league? Well, he's short, and he's not great on defense. But how much does that really matter if he's constantly able to put points on the board at the drop of a hat?
Maybe that's where people are missing the mark.
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