"Stupid s**t": Josh Hart dunks on Becky Hammon's 'too small' remarks on Jalen Brunson
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart has his teammate Jalen Brunson’s back over comments made about him by champion WNBA coach and Basketball Hall-of-Famer Becky Hammon. Hammon said that Brunson is not a top-tier player and that the Big Apple team is not getting anywhere with him leading the charge.
The Las Vegas Aces coach created a buzz earlier this week on ESPN when she said she does not see Brunson as ‘1A’ player. In making her case, Hammon said that the Knicks’ point guard is too small to get the job done.
She went on to liken him to John Stockton, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash, who she said were legends but never went all the way to win a title.
Many defended Brunson from the Hammon’s comments, including collegiate teammate and now Knicks running mate Hart, who said:
"People are gonna say stupid s--- all they want. At the end of the day, the beauty about him, he doesn't care about what other people say. He cares about winning and he cares about success."
Brunson moved to the Knicks at the start of last season after spending his first four years in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks.
In the ongoing NBA season, he has been averaging 25.3 points, 5.9 assists, four rebounds and 1.1 steals in 36 minutes for the Knicks (16-12).
ESPN analyst disagrees with Hammon’s comments on Jalen Brunson
When Becky Hammon made her comments on Jalen Brunson, one who immediately disagreed with her was ESPN analyst and fellow panelist Kendrick Perkins. He said the Knicks guard has a lot of fight and game in him to be dismissed just because he is “too small.”
As per a report by the New York Daily News, Perkins, who won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, said:
“When we think about Jalen Brunson, we’ve gotta ask ourselves, what tier do we put him in? Because every single time I see him get in between those lines and it’s time for him to matchup against other superstars, he gives them that work and he stands on business.
“We’ve gotta stop looking at him and stop saying he doesn’t actually fit the criteria to be a 1A. If you swap the two, since everybody said the Knicks need a superstar, if Dame was in Jalen Brunson’s shoes, would the Knicks be better? No. If Donovan Mitchell was in Jalen Brunson’s shoes, would the Knicks be better? Hell no! So why are we not putting him in that caliber?”
Brunson played collegiate ball in Villanova and was selected in the second round (33rd overall) in the 2018 NBA rookie draft by the Dallas Mavericks.
He spent his first four years in Dallas, compiling averages there of 11.9 points, 3.7 assists and three rebounds. But when he moved to New York last year, he willed himself to be an All-Star caliber player, averaging 24 points, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds in helping lead the Knicks to the second round of the playoffs.