New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is etching his place in NBA history these days.
Brunson has his Knicks two wins away from the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, and he would do much to enhance his legacy in the Big Apple were he to orchestrate an epic Game 6 road victory on Saturday night over the Indiana Pacers.
Imagine the cinematic potential of the six-foot-one Brunson leading a 3-1 comeback to reach the Finals and take on a Western Conference goliath in the form of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Nearly a quarter century ago, a similar NBA narrative unfolded when six-foot icon Allen Iverson marched his Philadelphia 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals to take on the behemoth Los Angeles Lakers featuring prime Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
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Iverson and Brunson are more closely linked in league history than some might expect, as pointed out on Saturday by Forbes’ Evan Sidery.
“Jalen Brunson is averaging very similar career playoff stats as Allen Iverson,” Sidery posted to X.
“Brunson (2022-25): 30.2 points, 6.8 assists, 56.8 TS% … Iverson (1999-05): 30.6 points, 6.1 assists, 49.1 TS% … Two superstar scorers smaller in stature who carried their teams to newfound heights.”
On the other hand, Brunson and Iverson had very different starts to their NBA careers preceding their respective rises to glory. While Iverson was seen as a potential superstar from the jump after being selected No. 1 overall in the draft, Brunson — despite an historically successful college basketball career at Villanova featuring two national championships — wasn’t viewed as a surefire star at the next level.
The Dallas Mavericks were one of the teams to undervalue Brunson, evident in their decision to trade him to the Knicks before he reached superstar status.
No one thought Brunson would turn into as dynamic of an offensive player as he has since donning a Knicks uniform.
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