Becky Hammon won't apologize for a poorly aged Jalen Brunson take.
Back in 2023, Hammon claimed that Brunson wasn't a "1A star." The Las Vegas Aces head coach said an NBA team can't win a championship "if your best player is small."
Brunson defied that analysis by leading the New York Knicks to their first title since 1973. The 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 28.4 points per game during the postseason, scoring 45 in a series-ending NBA Finals triumph over the San Antonio Spurs.
Per the New York Post's Madeline Kenney, Hammon addressed Brunson's legendary playoff run on Tuesday.
"Jalen, all he did was prove history wrong," Hammon said. "He proves he's an outlier, so you can put his name next to Steph Curry and Isaiah Thomas. And I thought he played brilliantly, especially down the stretch."
Hammon acknowledged that Brunson played like a superstar, but the former Spurs assistant coach doesn't regret sharing her thoughts.
"I mean, he was that 1A dude, but like, apologize, I'm never gonna apologize for having an opinion," Hammon added. "That's what ESPN pays me for."
Fans react to Hammon's comments
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images.
Not everyone appreciated Hammon's remarks. Some fans felt she sidestepped accountability by not directly saying she was wrong.
"She could so easily say Brunson proved her wrong," NJ.com's Jeremy Schneider wrote. "Hilarious hubris. But glad she didn't. Give Jalen Brunson even MORE motivation."
"Just say you were wrong and people would respect you more," a Knicks fan claimed.
"What a coward," Marshall Green of ChatSports said.
"Unlike Becky, on this day with the mock draft out and the final answers coming tonight, I will admit in advance I am wrong," Newsday's Steve Popper wrote. "(Also, she was wrong)."
"I think he's the greatest Knick ever"
Hammon's old comments resurfaced amid New York's playoff run. Last month, Hammon stood by her assertion without taking any shots at Brunson.
"I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said," Hammon said in May. "I don't know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago, I stand by it. There’s no air to be cleared. I said what I said. (If) he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong. Good for him."
While Hammon didn't directly say that Brunson proved her wrong, she gave the 29-year-old major props after he steered the Knicks to a championship.
"Let me just piss off Knicks fans again and say, I think he’s the greatest Knick ever," Hammon said. "Give them something else to talk about… I've always been a Jalen Brunson fan. I was a fan of his at Villanova, in Dallas and why this comment went off the rails, I have no idea because it was clearly a historical and analytical take."
