Becky Hammon on Jalen Brunson remarks in 2023: ‘If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong’
The New York Times • • sports
Key Points:
- Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon maintains her stance that a short guard cannot lead an NBA team to a championship, despite Jalen Brunson's recent success with the New York Knicks.
- Brunson, listed at 6-foot-2, led the Knicks to a 130-93 Game 4 victory, completing an Eastern Conference finals sweep and securing the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.
- Hammon originally made her comments in 2021, asserting that small players typically don't win titles, with Stephen Curry as her only exception; she acknowledges Brunson's performance but remains skeptical.
- Brunson averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists in the series, earning the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP, but Hammon cites past examples like Allen Iverson to support her view that size matters in winning championships.
- While open to being proven wrong, Hammon believes the two best teams are in the Western Conference and is curious to see if Brunson's size will be a limiting factor against elite defenses in the NBA Finals.