Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks are up two games to none, which means they are two wins away from basketball immortality. New York’s wins in these NBA Finals haven’t been pretty, but winning on the biggest stage isn’t about style; it’s about getting it done. To be up two games going back home in the Finals is rare, and the Knicks now have a chance to sweep the San Antonio Spurs in New York. What does a championship do for this Knicks team, and more specifically, what does it do for Brunson?
A ring against a player of Victor Wembanyama’s caliber is impressive, especially if you view him as a future GOAT like most people currently do. Legacies are always on the line in the NBA Finals, and a championship for a young player like Wembanyama would do wonders for his career trajectory. New York is getting in the way of that becoming a reality. Brunson has yet to have a good shooting performance in this series, as he has shot 12 for 31 in Game One and 7 for 25 in Game Two, yet the Knicks still find themselves in a great position.
Winning is what’s most important when playing in June, and New York is doing that. A ring would catapult Brunson into many conversations that people aren’t ready to have, and you could go as far as to say that he could be a top ten guard ever. Don’t be surprised if people will now rank him higher than some of the best guards in recent history, like Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, and Russell Westbrook. Leading a team to a championship is as impressive as it gets, but with the way he’s making it look, being a top ten point guard sounds fitting.
Brunson already has three all-star appearances, as well as making the all-NBA second team three times. He might not have as many selections as most of the other great guards, but that’s mostly because he got his own team late into his career. Most other elite guards started their careers as the primary option. Players like Lillard and Westbrook don’t have a championship to show for, but Irving did win one in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brunson will have the opportunity to do something Irving couldn’t accomplish: winning the Finals MVP.
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The Knicks still have a lot left on their plate to take care of until they can raise a banner in New York for the first time in 53 years. Being up two games doesn’t mean anything when the other team has an alien in Wemby. Madison Square Garden will be rocking for the next couple of games, but a fully motivated Spurs team looks to limit all of that. If the series were to end today, Karl-Anthony Towns would most likely win Finals MVP, so if Brunson wants to be a part of that upper echelon of guards, he must be more efficient.
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