LAS VEGAS — When we talk about NBA unicorns, we tend to talk about something we’ve never seen before, a player unlike any other. We compare it to history, to what we know. We are wondering if this player is the first version of This we laid eyes.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson may not be a unicorn by definition. However, the game has done its best to wipe out players like him. It’s perhaps safe to call it a modern-day unicorn.
Today’s teams turn over every stone, scouring every corner of the Earth to find ball handlers, initiators, creators — whatever you want to call them — who are at least 6-foot-6. The NBA is full of them and they are always coveted. Teams are rolling out starting lineups with players at least 6-foot-5 in all areas. The game’s queues are larger than ever.
What the NBA doesn’t have much of anymore are guys like Brunson, guards under 6-foot-1 who score with the volume of Sterling Archer. It was. Allen Iverson. Isaiah Thomas. Brunson isn’t entirely unique, but he’s close. And don’t let the official NBA roster fool you. Brunson is not 6-foot-2.
That’s why when you watch Brunson make outings like that of Victory in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday against the Magic – 40 points on 16-of-27 shooting – looks like it’s time to say the quiet part out loud: Brunson, pound for pound, is the NBA’s leading scorer.
“He’s smart, man,” said Orlando guard Jalen Suggs, one of the NBA’s best point-of-attack defenders. “He’s got good pace and he’s really smart. He doesn’t really get bored with the game. He doesn’t get too bored by keeping things simple. He challenges you on every possession.
“He’s one of the best players in our league. I like the fact that we get to play him four times a year. I’ve gotten better because of our battles.”
What Brunson is doing isn’t a flash in the pan or a cute little guard moment. This is not Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics. Brunson, who averages 28.8 points per game per season, has not averaged fewer than 24 points per season since arriving in New York four years ago and becoming the focal point of an offense. He has not averaged less than 26 points over the last three years.
Currently, only seven players in the NBA average more points than Brunson. Five of these guys are 6-foot-5 and taller. Two of them, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, are, like Brunson, listed at 6-foot-2 — and both of their lists could be generous, too. However, both Maxey and Mitchell have athletic gifts that Brunson does not have. Maxey is also a fast player with the ball. Mitchell can jump out of the gym.
There are several players in the league right now who can score as well as any player the game has ever seen. Brunson, however, often does it against players three inches taller or 10, 20 pounds heavier. It’s not that often that the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or the Lakers’ Luka Dončić are guarded by defenders much taller than them.
We’ve established that there are players who, literally, score more than Brunson. And, yes, Maxey and Mitchell also represent small scorers well. Yet when you take all that into account – Brunson is the smallest of these players in his scoring class, he’s the least athletic guard of these players, he has good efficiency and he’s flirting with an average of 30 points per game – he’s the best at putting the ball in the basket.
“He’s only a 6-foot guard, he’s not physically impressive or athletic,” said teammate and honest friend Josh Hart. “He’s able to manipulate a defense. He’s got a big head, so he’s got a big brain and is able to understand his game and put himself in position to succeed.
“Inch for inch, I think he’s probably the best.”
Brunson’s choppy style is what sets him apart from many of his counterparts. He’s not fast, but he can look like it at times, as his crazy dribbles, powerful crossings, body fakes and footwork keep defenders off balance and allow him to outrun those with physical advantages.
Footwork, in particular, is what makes Brunson a special player. His ability to play on two feet allows him to create shooting angles that other players don’t have. This allows him to always be balanced while defenders try to predict his next move.
This part of Brunson’s game has been with him since he was in fifth grade.
“I always played against (people) older than my age when I was younger,” said Brunson, who has scored more than 30 points in four straight games. “I had to be deceptive. I had to be clever. That footwork lasts a long time. It’s (a goal) since fifth or sixth grade, really. That was the beginning.”
Mike Brown has coached some of the NBA’s greatest scorers since 2000. He’s not in the business of comparing Brunson to those guys, but he has mentioned several times that Brunson’s footwork rivals Kobe Bryant’s. Brown does, however, see some commonalities between Brunson, Bryant, LeBron James, Steph Curry and others he has coached when it comes to the art of scoring in basketball.
“They have a relentlessness to them where they just keep coming and coming,” the Knicks coach said. “It’s their competitive spirit that comes through. They get denied, doubled, hit, but they keep coming. When you have that, you know your team is in good hands, because at the end of the day, whatever defense you see, no matter how physical your opponent is, they’re going to be there.
“And he’s confident. That gives everyone – not just his teammates on the field but his teammates on the bench, the coaching staff – the confidence that he instills in everyone.”
Every year, a handful of players could seriously enter the conversation as the game’s current top scorer. A strong argument like this could be made for all of them and there shouldn’t be a huge outcry. The game is in good hands and the skills are at an all-time high.
My money, however, is on the efficient and compact guard who, after winning Clutch Player of the Year last season, has turned around this season and is the second-leading scorer in first quarters. My money is on the guy who could finish fourth to last in the team sprints but can open up at any time. My money is on the guy who can knock down a jumper with one hand in front of his face or without. My money is on the guy who may not be able to jump over a phone book but still finds his shot in the net in traffic.
Pound for pound, when it comes to who is the NBA’s leading scorer, my money is on Brunson.
