Jalen Brunson joins elite company after latest dominant playoff performance

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.

Few debates in sports are as polarizing as the Michael Jordan versus LeBron James GOAT discourse, but nearly everyone has both players on their Mt. Rushmore of basketball greats.

For Jalen Brunson — a former second-round draft pick and sixth man — to register a playoff stat line that only Jordan and James have achieved is remarkable. By dropping 43 points and six assists in Monday’s Game 1 win over the Pacers, Brunson joined Jordan and James as the third player in NBA postseason history to register over 200 points and 40 assists over a five-game stretch.

For his scoring prowess, Brunson also became the first player since Jordan to notch four consecutive 40-point games in the playoffs. The only others to achieve the feat? Jerry West in 1965 and Bernard King in 1984. That’s some elite company.

Despite Brunson’s ongoing heroics, many have continued to question his ability to guide the Knicks to an NBA title. Draymond Green, for one, believes “a ball-dominant Jalen Brunson” won’t be able to take the Knicks to “the promised land” and end their 51-year NBA title drought.

All Brunson can do is continue to prove Green and his other detractors wrong.

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