NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson doesn’t overwhelm anyone athletically like Michael Jordan or LeBron James.
asserted
Brunson → overwhelm → Jordan
He’ll never overpower anybody like Shaquille O’Neal.
asserted
He → overpower → O’Neal
Brunson doesn’t look like someone who would ever dominate an NBA game, which has left countless frustrated opponents wondering why they couldn’t stop him from leading the New York Knicks to the top.
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they → look → top
“That’s got to be hard, right?
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That → get → ?
When you’re losing to somebody 5-10, 5-11, that’s got to be hard for you,” former Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony said.
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Anthony → lose → you
“So I love the place that JB is in, because he makes people mad.”
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people → love → that
Anthony was laughing, knowing that Brunson isn’t quite that small.
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Brunson → laugh → ?
The Knicks officially list their point guard at 6-foot-2, 208 pounds.
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Knicks → list → foot-2
But he’s correct about the way Brunson makes opponents feel.
asserted
opponents → ’ → way
Doc Rivers, stressing that he knows Brunson well so could say it with affection, shared what he thought while coaching against him last season in Milwaukee.
uncertain
he → stress → Milwaukee
“How’s this little fat (expletive) kid kicking our ass?” Rivers said.
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Rivers → kick → ass
Players who watched what Brunson did last season while leading the Knicks to their first NBA championship since 1973 clearly admire what the 2018 second-round pick has become.
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pick → watch → 1973
James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were among the superstars praising Brunson when training camps opened.
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camps → praise → Brunson
“It’s honestly really cool and it’s a sign of respect and to hear that from those guys, I really do appreciate it,” Brunson said.
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Brunson → ’ → it
“But just like a lot of things, when you hear praise, when you hear negativity, it has to go through one ear and out the other and you’ve got to continue to be the best version of yourself or people are going to pass you.
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people → hear → you
So I really do appreciate it.
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I → appreciate → it
It shows where I’ve grown, but I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
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I → show → work
Brunson joined a small postseason club that includes greats of the game
Brunson’s postseason run took its place among the best in history.
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run → join → history
He averaged 28.4 points and became the sixth player to lead the postseason in scoring and then be voted NBA Finals MVP, a group that includes Jordan, James and O’Neal.
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that → average → Jordan
Once those players finally won titles, it was natural picking them to win again.
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it → win → them
Brunson beats defenders with skill and not size, relying on footwork, fakes and spins that create angles to get his shot off against taller defenders.
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that → beat → defenders
“You look at LeBron, you see that specimen.
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you → look → specimen
You look at Michael.
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You → look → Michael
You look at Jalen and you’re like, well, can he keep it going?” Rivers said.
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Rivers → look → it
“He’s not going anywhere.
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He → go → ?
He’s going to be the same guy.
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He → go → ?
He’s going to make the same big shots.”
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He → go → shots
Brunson’s size — or lack thereof — was frequently cited by critics who said the Knicks couldn’t win a title with him as their best player.
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Knicks → cite → player
Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, then working for ESPN, was among those when she said in 2023 that “if your best player is small, you’re not winning.”
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you → work → 2023
Well, they won.
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they → win → ?
Yet with Brunson as their leading man, the Knicks won’t have the same aura as Jordan’s Bulls or O’Neal’s Lakers.
asserted
Knicks → lead → Bulls
“We respect them, but we don’t fear them,” Reggie Miller said, summing up how opponents would view the Knicks.
asserted
opponents → respect → Knicks
“I fear Jalen Brunson as a former player,” the longtime Indiana Pacers guard said.
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guard → fear → player
“I tell people this all the time: He is one guy in our game, if it’s close, he has such a clutch gene.
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he → tell → gene
He plays the game with such a maturity and he can destroy you in a number of ways in terms of scoring the basketball.
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he → play → basketball
And he just understands the game and how to win, so from a former player’s standpoint, I fear them.”
asserted
I → understand → them
Brunson’s Knicks relied on team play and not individual talent
Anthony and Miller will be in Madison Square Garden next Tuesday night as part of NBC’s coverage team when the Knicks raise their banner before facing Philadelphia in their season opener.
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Knicks → rely → opener
Brunson will likely get the loudest cheers and probably chants of “MVP! MVP!” from fans who watched how he made his team the one everybody is looking up at.
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everybody → get → fans
On the other sideline will be the 6-9, 250-pound James, who at 41 still has the look of an NBA A-lister.
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who → have → lister
Focus on athleticism, as Rivers said many mistakenly do, and it’s easy to miss the beauty of Brunson’s game and the impact it’s had on a Knicks team that went 16-3 with a record victory margin in the postseason, right up there with anything Jordan’s or O’Neal’s teams did.
asserted
teams → focus → anything
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
