Jalen Brunson just led the Knicks to their first NBA title in over 50 years, won Finals MVP, and put up some of the best playoff numbers the league has seen in years. But according to Gilbert Arenas, that still isn’t enough to earn the title of ‘superstar.’
During a panel at Fanatics Fest over the weekend, Arenas dropped the take that Brunson hasn’t reached true superstardom yet. His reasoning? The guy doesn’t have his own signature shoe.
Nick Young, sitting right next to him on the panel, looked genuinely confused. He pointed out that Brunson actually wears a custom version of Kobe Bryant’s shoes. But for Arenas, that only proved his point. Borrowing another player’s signature model isn’t the same as having your own.
The shoe debate gets personal
Arenas turned to the crowd and asked if anyone had picked up a pair of Jalen Brunson sneakers lately. Nobody answered. That was his whole argument right there. In his mind, a real superstar moves product. It’s a business metric as much as a basketball one.
Look, the shoe thing matters in the NBA. It always has. But it’s not everything. Brunson’s playoff run was absurd — a league-leading 28.4 points per game, 6.1 assists, and he shot 46.5% from the floor. He led the playoffs in shots made, shots attempted, and 2-point attempts. The guy was relentless.
The Knicks went through Atlanta in six, swept Philly, swept Cleveland, then took down the Spurs in five. That’s a dominant run by any standard. And Brunson was the engine the whole way.
But Arenas is sticking to his criteria. No signature shoe? No superstar status. It’s a hard line, and it’s not like he’s alone in thinking that way. The league has always had an unspoken tier system where commercial power matters.
What Knicks fans think
Knicks fans don’t care about any of this. To them, Brunson is already a legend. He’s the guy who flipped the franchise around after signing as a free agent in 2022. He took them from a second-round ceiling to a championship floor. That’s real.
The debate about his place in NBA history will keep going. But watching him play, especially in those playoff games, it’s hard to argue he’s not at that level. The numbers are there. The ring is there. The Finals MVP is there.
Maybe the shoe comes later. Or maybe it doesn’t, and Arenas still won’t budge. Either way, Brunson is busy winning.
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