"Should be in the MVP talk": New York legend advocates for Jalen Brunson's honors campaign
This season, Jalen Brunson was a difference-maker for the Knicks. After showcasing an elite level of play in his first year with the team, Brunson elevated his level of play once again this season. Apart from improving on his averages, he also led the team to the second-best record in the East despite injuries to key players.
As Brunson showed, though, even though Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle were both out for long stretches, he wasn't going to let that stop the Knicks.
Although he continued to impress and earn plenty of praise from fans and analysts around the league, Brunson was never a serious contender in MVP talks.
On a recent episode of 7PM In Brooklyn, Starbury argued Jalen Brunson's case, explaining that his play is right there with the best in the league.
"You have mentioned that Jalen Brunson deserves 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 the way how he plays it, which is the right way, and they're winning, and he has his teammates gathering around him doing it. Even with Randall out, that is MVP style stuff."
Looking at the stats of Jalen Brunson compared to the top MVP contenders
As previously mentioned, Jalen Brunson impressed this season with his individual play and elevated his game to the next level.
On the heels of Stephan Marbury's comments about why Brunson deserved to be in the MVP race, let's take a look at the stats for Brunson in comparison to the three MVP contenders.
This season, Jalen Brunson averaged a career-high 28.7 points per game, over 35.4 minutes per game. The number was an impressive jump from the 24.0 ppg he averaged last season in 35.0 mpg. Moreover, this season also saw Brunson improve on his assist numbers, jumping from 6.2 apg to 6.7apg.
In the case of Nikola Jokic, he took saw his numbers jump from last season in key stats, going from 24.5 ppg to 26.4 ppg. His rebounding numbers also took a jump, going from 11.8 rpg to 12.4 rpg, as the Nuggets captured the second seed, much like the Knicks.
In the case of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the OKC Thunder star saw his ppg average drop slightly from 31.4 to 30.1. Nevertheless, his rebounding numbers also saw an increase with a jump from 4.8 to 5.5 rpg. This was also seen in his assist numbers, which climbed from 5.5 to 6.2 apg.
Of course, in the case of SGA, he and the OKC Thunder finished first in the Western Conference, giving further strength to his case. With the MVP award expected to be announced sooner rather than later, it will be interesting to see who winds up being presented with the league's highest honor.