By leading the Knicks to their first NBA title since 1973, Jalen Brunsonsolidified himself as one of the league’s top players and proved his long list of critics wrong — many of whom have since tried to backtrack their opinions and apologize for not believing in the point guard.
Well, nearly all of them.
Talking with reporters ahead of their game against the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon stood her ground on her criticism of the 2026 NBA Finals MVP.
As a reminder: Back in 2023, Hammon emphatically said on ESPN that Brunson is not a “1A dude” because “he too small,” and later said in 2024 that Brunson is New York’s “1A” but isn’t good enough to lead them to a championship.
“Jalen, all he did was prove history wrong, he proves he’s an outlier, so you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isaiah Thomas, and I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch,” Hammon told reporters Tuesday.
“I mean, he was that 1A dude, but like, apologize, I’m never gonna apologize for having an opinion. That’s what ESPN pays me for.”
After hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy following their Game 5 NBA Finals win over the Spurs, Brunson responded to the criticism in his own way, while head coach Mike Brown praised him as “a freaking 1A.”
“I didn’t respond to them then, I’m damn sure not going to respond to them now,” Brunson said.
Then during the Knicks championship parade on June 18, the captain silenced any remaining critics by saying “when you prove them wrong you don’t have to say s–t.”
“Lastly, there’s a lot of people that have a lot of negative stuff to say, there’s a lot of people who have a lot of opinions,” he said. “But when you prove them wrong you don’t have to say s–t to them. Nah, they don’t deserve it, they don’t deserve it. Appreciate you all, thank you.”
While Brunson let his play on the court do the talking, teammate and close friend Josh Hart happily responded to Hammon during their Roommates Show live podcast. Hart accepted Stephen A. Smith‘s apology for his criticism toward Brunson, as the ESPN host admitted to Brunson that he “never dreamed” Brunson would be “who the hell” he’s become.
“Now, I will give you credit for coming up here and admitting fault because, I’m not naming names, I’m still waiting on somebody to say they were wrong about someone who’s led our team to a Finals championship for the first time in 53 years,” Hart said. “I’m still waiting for something… We’ll be waiting for that apology.”
Karl-Anthony Towns added: “He’s not going to say it, so I’m glad you did.”
While it’s unlikely Hammon appears on the podcast to squash the beef, she tried to stir up Knicks fans again by calling Brunson the franchise’s best player of all time.
“Let me just piss off Knicks fans again and say, I think he’s the greatest Knick ever,” Hammon said. “Give them something else to talk about… I’ve always been a Jalen Brunson fan. I was a fan of his at Villanova, in Dallas and why this comment went off the rails, I have no idea because it was clearly a historical and analytical take.”
Too small, too late for the backhanded praise.
