Jalen Brunson has been on fire since the calendar flipped to 2023, most recently dropping 39 points on the Nets while shooting an absurd 15-for-18 from the field.
Behind Brunson, the Knicks finally have stability at point guard for the first time in decades, and, likely not coincidentally, the team is putting together one of its most promising seasons since they last had security at the position.
Brunson’s play has clearly caught the attention of some former NBA greats and members of the national media, including Charles Barkley, who declared on TNT’s Inside the NBA on Thursday night that Brunson should be in the discussion for the best free agent signings in league history.
“Jalen Brunson is arguably the best - not talking about KD and LeBron as free agents - one of the best free agent pickups in NBA history,” Barkley said. “What he’s done this year is historical.”
Barkley’s fellow analysts scoffed at the idea, though Brunson’s four-year, $104 million deal sure seems like a steal at this point. For context, he is making roughly $20 million less in guaranteed money than Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons over the next two years, and should he continue on his current trajectory, could be in the discussion for an All-NBA honor this season.
Of course, Brunson isn’t even 25 percent through his contract, but he certainly has made one of the more memorable immediate impacts after signing with a new team. Barkley says Brunson just needed to lead his own group to show his value.
“We didn’t know Jalen Brunson was this good of a player,” Barkley said.
“Nobody thought that. Everybody thought going into the season, that he got overpaid. And when did he shine? When Luka [Doncic] got hurt. That’s when he shined, in the playoffs. going into last season, during the regular season, nobody said Jalen Brunson is gonna be a big-time free agent. But when Luka got hurt, he showed what he can do.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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