The New York Knicks are at their best when their best players have the ball. Unfortunately for Jalen Brunson, that's resulted in him catching a bit of a reputation for being a "ball hog." Fans online theorize that he's the reason other players on the team can't get going early in games, or aren't in the offensive rhythms they should be.
That narrative took another major blow on Tuesday when the NBA announced that the Knicks' captain was one of 12 finalists for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. It's the second-straight season that Brunson has been named as a finalist; the honor was given to the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry last season.
According to the league itself, the honor is meant to go to the guy "deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on and off the court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to their team."
That sounds like the exact player that Knick fans laud Jalen Brunson for being, despite the narratives that his offensive output comes at the cost of the success of other players, and even the team overall. Him getting a nomination for what is essentially the "best teammate award" for the second-straight year is pretty antithetical to that.
Brunson's production seems down, but his impact is just as elite
Last season, Brunson had the ball in his hands for more time on average than any other player in the league. That contributed greatly to the narratives that the superstar point guard doesn't share the ball enough.
However, he returned a 98th percentile offensive Estimated Plus-Minus last season, a favorite analytic of NBA front offices. Along with the team reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, the juice certainly seemed worth the squeeze.
This season, the guard is 18th in usage rating going into Tuesday night's matchup with the Houston Rockets. That rate of 29.7 is even higher than last year's 28.9 result, and the guard has delivered lower counting stats this season while playing just 0.4 fewer minutes per game.
That said, his 97th percentile offensive EPM is the 12th highest in the NBA. Ty Jerome, in third place overall, has played in just 15 games thus far. And neither Stephen Curry nor Giannis Antetokounmpo have played 40 games through Monday.
That leaves Brunson's usage rate as being commensurate with the other eight players above him; only LaMelo Ball has one under 30.0 at this point in the season.
While the guard was just 18th in the NBA in usage rating going into Tuesday night's matchup with the Houston Rockets, that hasn't stopped critics online and in the media from getting at the guard for how much time he spends on the ball. But his offensive impact is just as high, and he's clearly seen around the league as a "selfless" enough player to be nominated for an award that's about that exact trait.