Jalen Brunson had just sealed the first NBA title of his career, dropping 45 points in Game 5 to give the Knicks a 4-1 Finals win over the San Antonio Spurs. The confetti was still falling. The MVP trophy was about to be handed to him. And the first person he hugged was not his father Rick, a longtime NBA assistant coach standing a few feet away.
It was Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson.
Brunson explained the moment during an appearance on CBS Mornings, saying it came down to instinct and upbringing.
“I hugged and said what’s up to Coach Johnson from the Spurs first, just to show respect,” Brunson said. “It was just kind of instinct, like how I was raised. I think win or loss, you show respect regardless of the outcome. I’ve got a lot of respect for them over there.”
The moment went viral partly because of the contrast — a Finals MVP sprinting past his own father to acknowledge the opposing coach. But if you know Brunson, it made perfect sense. He is not a guy who gets lost in the moment. He is a guy who remembers handshakes and locker room code.
Brunson’s Finals MVP run changes the conversation around him
This was Brunson’s first trip to the Finals. He averaged over 30 points in the series and shot the lights out in the clincher. The Finals MVP award was unanimous. And it immediately forced a question people wouldn’t have asked two years ago: Is Jalen Brunson already in the small-guard GOAT conversation?
Former NBA player Matt Barnes addressed that on the All The Smoke podcast and said pump the brakes.
“It’s tough because we’re looking at guys that have a career of work. What’s Brunson in year 6-7?” Barnes said. “Allen Iverson, I’ve heard this debate: Is he better than A.I.? Is he a better scorer than A.I.? It’s different because A.I.’s era was a 7-footer in the paint every night. He’s not gonna be outside the paint, and you have to score over him. Plus, the two guys who are guarding you.”
Barnes has a point. Iverson has a decade of peak play and an MVP trophy from a completely different defensive era. But Brunson is only 29 and entering his prime. He just led a team to a title as the undisputed No. 1 option. That does put him in a room he hasn’t been in before.
What Brunson’s title means for the Knicks going forward
The Knicks now have their first championship since 1973. That is a drought that defined the franchise for decades. Brunson is under contract for three more seasons. The core — Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and whoever they add next — is young enough to run it back.
But the small-guard debate is not going away. The more Brunson stacks these playoff runs, the more people will compare him to Iverson, Isiah Thomas, and Steph Curry. Right now he is in the conversation. Whether he stays there depends on the next seven years, not the last seven.
For one night though, all he cared about was shaking the hand of the guy who just lost to him.
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