Jalen Brunson lit up the 2023-24 regular season! More than the stats (28.7-6.7-3.6), he gave a new life to the New York Knicks helping them to the second seed after their crucial forward Julius Randle went down. Carrying his form into the post-season with even better numbers, fans and analysts wonder about his exclusion from the MVP talks. The former New York Knicks athlete Stephon Marbury made the case for Brunson.
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The Knicks legend praised the 27-year-old’s leadership and touched upon his intangibles to clinch such an honor, on Carmelo Anthony’s ‘7PM in Brooklyn’ podcast,
“He should be in the MVP talk. He’s in the space. He got the right mind frame as far as doing what’s needed to push my team forward. Not only is he pushing his team forward but he’s pushing them forward with him playing the game.”
Marbury praised his leadership and his ability to unite the squad, “He has his teammates gathering around him, doing it, even with Randle out. That is MVP-style stuff.”
During the 2023-24 regular season, Brunson finished as the fourth-highest points-per-game scorer and finished 13th in assists. He had 8.8 offensive win shares, which also put him number four in the league, per Basketball Reference. He was sixth in box plus/minus with 6.3. The All-Star guard proved his mettle by hitting the cream of the league. The Knicks lost Randle in late January when they were 29-17. They still won three in a row.
Though they suffered a slide, Brunson made sure they finished the season on a bang as the squad capped off the 2023-24 regular season with a five-game winning streak to land the second seed. That’s why Marbury is in awe of the incredible guard. He is a hardcore Knicks fan and made his emotions clear about his team.
Stephon Marbury grew up as a Knicks fan
The Abraham Lincoln High School guard built a well-acclaimed resume in New York that involved winning the high school tournament. It helped him earn the #4 spot in the coveted 1996 draft. He got his dream wish in 2004 when the Suns traded him to the Knicks. Anti-climatically, he played four turbulent seasons with the squad. The franchise and the former Timberwolves guard parted ways on a sour note.
Thus, it was a “full circle moment” when he went to the Garden for the playoff game between the Knicks and the 76ers. During the interview with Melo, the Knicks diehard fan tapped into the significant moment. He called himself the “son of New York” and treasured finally being at peace with the franchise,
“It took 14 years to build up that peace because I was basically like the son of New York. The real son of New York from water, the Coney Island. It is a real root thing.”
Thus, Stephon Marbury appreciated the rise of Jalen Brunson as it benefited his favorite squad. While he couldn’t carve out a legacy like Brunson as a Knickerbocker, he still wishes the franchise to claim a title. It will be interesting to see how far the Villanova Alum carries this dream.
