New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown has urged the NBA media to keep pushing Jalen Brunson as an MVP candidate. Brown made the comments after his star guard dropped 40 points and eight assists to guide the Knicks to a 132-120 victory over the Orlando Magic in the NBA Cup semifinal on Saturday.
“He makes the game easier for everybody,” Brown said of Brunson, via NBA.com’s Shaun Powell.
“That’s what MVPs are supposed to do, and he definitely did that tonight. He scored for us when we didn’t have much going with our offensive movement and stuff like that. You have a guy like that that can go get a bucket and he keeps you in the game and gets you leads and at the end of the day, he carries you home.”
Captain Clutch: Jalen Brunson
Brown praised Brunson’s ability to always shine under the brightest lights, citing his performances in last year’s playoffs and in crunch time. Brunson, the reigning Clutch Player of the Year, doesn’t lead the league in clutch metrics this season — but that’s primarily because of the Knicks drubbing opponents by a points differential of 8.8 points and not being in too many close games. On Saturday, though, Brunson delivered in the fourth quarter by going to the free throw line nine times to ice the game.
“It’s beautiful to be able to see him do what he’s more than capable of doing on a national stage like this in an environment like this, so that hopefully you media and the fans out there can continue talking about him as an MVP of this league because that’s exactly what he is,” Brown said of his best player and leading scorer.
Latest NBA MVP Ladder
Brunson is averaging a career-high in (28.8 points) and 3PM (2.8) this season, while leading the Knicks to an 18-7 start. He ranks sixth in the latest NBA KIA MVP Ladder, but could potentially move up in the coming months, especially if the Knicks can surpass the Detroit Pistons as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Villanova product finished 10th in MVP voting last season, a year after finishing fifth in the race for the Michael Jordan Trophy. The Knicks captain, though, is only focused on leading the Knicks to wins and not individual accolades.
“I always say my confidence comes from my work ethic and how I prepare,” said the most accomplished Knicks player since Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing.
“So as long as that doesn’t change, that doesn’t waver, I just know no matter what, I’m putting my best foot forward and not being afraid to fail.”
Brunson and the Knicks will face Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs in Tuesday’s NBA Cup Final in Las Vegas. They begin as -2.5 favorites to capture the in-season tournament. The game will not mark against the 82-game regular-season slate, but offers each player on the winning team a reward of $500,000 in prize money.
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