Becky Hammon isn’t walking back her viral take on Jalen Brunson, even after the New York Knicks star powered his team into the NBA Finals.
The Las Vegas Aces head coach addressed the renewed attention surrounding comments she originally made back in December 2023, when she questioned whether a smaller guard could be the best player on a championship team.
“If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” Hammon said at the time.
Now, with Brunson leading New York to a sweep over Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals and taking home the Larry Bird Trophy as series MVP, the debate has exploded again.
Brunson averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists during the series and has helped push the Knicks to their first Finals appearance in decades.
Still, Hammon made it clear she’s sticking with her overall point, even while praising Brunson’s level of play.
“I speak from experience,” Hammon said Tuesday. “Allen Iverson got MVP, and he lost in the finals. I think the two best teams are probably in the West, but I’m up for being proven wrong. That’s the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson’s a hell of a player, a hell of a player. I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago.”
“I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong.”
Hammon’s comments came just one day after Brunson and the Knicks closed out Cleveland to secure the Eastern Conference crown. New York now waits to face either Oklahoma City or San Antonio in the Finals.
So when asked who she’ll be backing in the Finals, Hammon didn’t hesitate.
“Oh, you know who I’m cheering for,” Hammon said.
The Hall of Famer has deep ties to San Antonio after spending part of her WNBA career with the Silver Stars before the franchise relocated to Las Vegas and became the Aces.
She also spent years on Gregg Popovich’s coaching staff with the Spurs before eventually taking over in Las Vegas, where she has since won three championships in four seasons.
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