Despite all the individual honors and team-wide successes Jalen Brunson has come across during his tenure with the New York Knicks, it still seems people aren't convinced he's the kind of star who can lead the club to ultimate glory.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon is justifiably fed up with this kind of talking point.
During a recent episode of The Hoops Collective Podcast, the seasoned writer discussed how there are widespread questions over whether a "small, ball-dominant guard" like Brunson can be the number one option on a legitimate title contender.
While he acknowledged that one could argue it is a "fair question," when looking at his resume alongside his on-court improvements throughout his career, such fears should be far from overwhelming.
"The Knicks got relevant again after they signed Jalen Brunson. You can doubt all you want, but he's a small-ball dominant guard who has a track record of showing up in the playoffs. He's a champion going back to Villanova," MacMahon said. "He's consistently showed up in the playoffs for the Knicks. I'll take my chances with that guy."
Knicks star Jalen Brunson has proven track record of winning
As noted by MacMahon, Brunson's experience in the winning department dates all the way back to his collegiate years, where, while serving as the starting point guard, he helped guide the Villanova Wildcats to two NCAA Championship runs in a span of three years.
During his early days in the NBA, he worked his way up from being a second-round selection in 2018 to a key rotation piece for a 52-win, 2022 Western Conference Finals-bound Dallas Mavericks squad.
Throughout his stint with the Knicks, behind his leadership and heroics, New York has yet to see an earlier exit than round two in the postseason, and just last season, he guided them to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in a quarter-century.
Now in year four in the Big Apple, he has these Knicks not only residing in the second seed with a record of 18-7 and boasting the third-highest odds of winning a title, but, following Saturday's commanding 132-120 win over the Orlando Magic, heading to the championship round of the 2025 NBA Cup, where they'll square off against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Prior to him signing on with the Knicks back in the summer of 2022, the ball club had seen a four-year stretch where they registered a record of 116-186 and made the playoffs just once. Throughout the four years he's been donning the orange and blue threads, New York has gone 166-105 and has yet to miss out on playoff action.
Frankly, at this point, questioning Brunson's ability to directly aid toward winning ways on the hardwood is essentially an unknowing admission of one not paying attention to what's going on with him and these Knicks.