Jalen Brunson has been the talk of New York ever since he joined the Knicks in 2022. He has played a massive role in their re-emergence as contenders and has already taken them to the Conference Finals for the first time in two decades. Unfortunately, being recognized on a personal level in this era of the NBA is not easy.
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As good as Mr. Clutch has been, there are others ahead of him in the MVP race. That includes reigning winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, former three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, the new face of the Lakers Luka Doncic, and the surprising emergence of Cade Cunningham in Detroit. Add Victor Wembanyama to the mix, and you have a stacked list.
There are some who believe Brunson deserves to be in that top-five conversation, and Kendrick Perkins is one of them. The former player turned analyst sang Brunson’s praises ahead of the Knicks’ showdown against the 76ers on NBA on ESPN earlier today.
“Brunson always put on a show in Philly. One thing I don’t want us to take for granted, this guy should be Top 5 in the MVP conversation,” claimed Big Perk. It seemed like it was about to be a throwaway line, but Perk’s co-analyst, Brian Windhorst, asked the all-important question to put him on the spot.
“Who are you knocking out?” asked Windy in all sincerity. The conversation basically ended there because ESPN needed to cut to pregame coverage of the Knicks and Sixers. Big Perk was only able to add, “I want to give him his just due,” making it clear that he respects the New York star’s game.
“Brunson always puts on a show in Philly. … This guy should be top five in the MVP conversation.”@KendrickPerkins is getting us HYPED to see Jalen Brunson play during Knicks-76ers
Watch NOW on ESPN and the ESPN App pic.twitter.com/2yGI2HcPkD
— ESPN (@espn) February 12, 2026
On that point, Perkins is right. Brunson does receive plenty of praise from the media, given that he is the superstar guard of one of the league’s most popular franchises. He is averaging 27.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game across roughly 46 games this season.
Add in the fact that New York holds the No. 3 seed and has proven it can beat some of the NBA’s best, including the Spurs, Celtics, and Sixers, and it is a good time to be a Knicks fan. The expectation under current head coach Mike Brown is to advance further than the Eastern Conference Finals, which is where they were eliminated last postseason.
Whether Brunson actually cracks the top five may come down to narrative as much as numbers, but his strongest case is that he transformed the Knicks from a feel-good story into a team with real expectations. That is a different kind of pressure, and he has handled it like a seasoned franchise cornerstone.
MVPs usually come from teams that feel inevitable, and New York is not quite there yet. However, they are closer than they have been in decades. If the Knicks make a deep run and Brunson continues delivering in big moments at the Garden, the debate may shift from “Does he belong in the conversation?” to “How high should he be on the ballot?” Either way, his value to New York already exceeds any trophy.
