(Photo by Seth Wenig – Pool/Getty Images)
The New York Knicks appear to have a good shot at making the NBA playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons.
They have a 15-11 record and are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and as they were last season, they’re led by guard Jalen Brunson, who has blossomed into a star since arriving prior to last season.
He’s averaging 25.6 points and 5.8 assists a game while shooting 46 percent from 3-point range this season, and he should have an excellent chance of earning his first trip to the NBA All-Star Game.
But he isn’t attracting a ton of praise from the national media, and former NBA star Gilbert Arenas said it’s because he doesn’t have a big name, per ClutchPoints.
“He’s elite, his name is just not elite… Reminds me of Isaiah Thomas, that Boston year.. He is motor of the team but the name don’t match the game.”
Gilbert Arenas on why Jalen Brunson isn’t in talks with other elite NBA guards
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/JuALAztrrh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 18, 2023
Brunson was only a second-round draft pick in 2018 after three seasons at Villanova University, even though he won the National Player of the Year award in his final season there.
He spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, and he didn’t emerge as a solid player until the 2021-22 campaign when he put up 16.3 points a game and had a very strong postseason.
But his move to New York has allowed him to spread his wings and become the focal point of his team.
While New York is a good team, they aren’t elite, and they lack that next-level star power to challenge the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks for Eastern Conference supremacy.
There have been some mild rumors that Donovan Mitchell, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star guard, might be on his way out, and many feel the Westchester County native wants to play for the Knicks.
Perhaps a backcourt of Brunson and Mitchell would allow the Knicks to contend for the NBA championship they have been starving for.
The post Former Player Explains Why Knicks Star Isn’t Getting Enough Attention appeared first on The Cold Wire.