His body control is ridiculously good.

He is athletic, just not in the ways people expect a player to be. his core strength is unreal and he’s super shifty

Baron Davis called him the new Iverson - unguardable

What makes him unathletic? Just that he doesn’t jump high and is a mediocre defender? He seems very quick and has great strength and balance, those are at least somewhat athletic traits

Just wait until next year when he’s doing the exact same thing and people say he’s not even a top 3 guard in the east.

He’s just so damn shifty and crafty, second to none footwork. He’s so damn quick those first couple steps that he just lets guys run into him while they’re scrambling to catch up. Add the fact that he’s a clutch shooter and dude becomes near unstoppable so the defense double him up which leaves other guys wide open

lol so many ways people try to minimize and slander Brunson and he continues on as one of the best players in the league. 

you can’t teach height. you also can’t teach being built like a fire hydrant

Mavs fans know that Brunson is a 😈 glad everyone else is recognizing his greatness.

Surprised by Jalen Brunson? The 5* recruit, national champion, all American?

see some iverson comps but that’s just because they’re both 6 feet. game wise they played nothing alike. iverson was a left right player with an unreal first step. brunson is closer to that one prime isaiah thomas season if you’re looking for a short guy to compare to.

stocky/strong, amazing balance, not super elite first step like fox or iverson but enough to get past guys & then hold the guy behind on the hip, very strong floater game. it’s all learned / practiced. cj tries to play this way too and represents what a more average (but still good) version looks like.

one big difference for brunson compared to all these guys though is that he has elite, elite post footwork. very controlled step through, spins and pump fakes. i mentioned cj earlier - cj gets to his spots reliably just like brunson does but this is where the biggest difference between them shows itself. cj’s floaters look more off balance, like he’s rushing to try to get it off the moment he’s in the paint. brunson on the other hand looks very comfortable in the post. no guards play in the post like brunson does except luka, and kyrie at times.

very controlled and methodical, and holds his position. hard to bump him off. he plays in the post with the same type of patience that jimmy butler showed that one year in the bubble when the heat made their finals run. it’s amazing how brunson does this with such a small body consistently.

his closest actual playstyle comparable is luka. north south, plays at their own pace, create penetration, very comfortable with a step back 3 as a counter move, takes care of the ball with their body, hard to pressure them into making a bad decision / hurried pass. u can tell the influence in brunson’s game from when they were teammates in dallas and he saw luka killing

Nationally, it’s certainly been taken for granted. The narrative of him being a foul merchant and nothing else has always been inaccurate. His highest free throw attempts per game in a season was last year and it was 6.9! That was 5th most per game behind Giannis (10.6), SGA (8.8), Trae Young (7.4) & James Harden (7.3).

Brunson’s footwork is insane and probably the biggest reason he’s been able to ascend to the level he has. He can stop on a dime no matter how fast he is going. He dances on the line underneath the basket in a way you really don’t see from many people.

His defense (lack there of) is what it is. That’s why Leon Rose traded for OG and Bridges. We can argue about the cost of the Bridges trade but Rose’s vision was clear if you wanted to see it. Surround Brunson with 2 elite wing defenders that have decent-to-great offensive talent even if that offensive talent is inconsistent. Not many teams have elite defensive wings that can go off for 15-25 if they’re on.

Alls that to say, people can hate Brunson because of personal fandom or whatever but you have to respect the guy. Won 2 NCAA National titles in 3 years. 2018 Naismith’s College POY. 2018 John Wooden Award. 2018 AP College POY. 2018 Bob Cousy Award winner. That’s given to the best point guard in college basketball. 2018 Big East POY. 2nd round pick. Bet on himself. This is his 3rd conference championship appearance in 5 years. Multi time All Star. Multi time All NBA. The epitome of a playoff riser.

There are players better than Jalen Brunson but he is one of the best in the game.

Yall saw those workouts his dad had him doing when he was a kid? Imagine how many days and hours he spent doing that. He just don’t have that bravado but he definitely a certified winner

As a spurs fan he is one of the few players I genuinely worry about. He just always seems to lock in down the stretch and hit big shots.

But he’s short tho.

How is Josh hart posting this from the game?

How’s he unathletic?

Very quick, very sturdy, very smart, very very skilled. And he believes in himself. I think of him like Jamal Murray but more consistent in the regular season.

Post season??? He’s as good as anyone in the floor in any series. Not afraid to take over games. Of course attacking James harden with all the space in the world will make anybody look good. But he does it every year.

Footwork like Fred Astaire and balls the size of Saturn.

People were rolling that Becky hammon clip not that long ago smh. I swear Brunson is hella underrated and like you said taken for granted.

Calling Brunson unathletic is pretty funny

His big head is his secret

I’m a Nets fan unfortunately, yet find myself rooting for Brunson. He just seems like a real dude in a world of imposters. Add in the underdog story and it’s really hard to root against him.

He has the best footwork in the league, I’ll say that much.

He has great balance, body control, and a strong base. His movements aren’t super quick, but all of the above allows him to take deep steps at awkward angles without fully committing. In other words, he’s extremely shifty

You can’t be unathletic and in the NBA. Athleticism doesn’t just mean flashy dunks and big blocks.

Please keep doubting him, it feeds him

He’s broken more ankles than any guard I’ve watched with his moves, embarrassed Harden tonight.

Everyone’s better than Jalen Brunson, until it’s time to be better than Jalen Brunson 

His big head makes it harder to defenders to reach the ball without fouling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Everyone waxes poetic about his footwork, balance, craftiness etc. which is all true but he does not get enough credit for having one of the best handles in the league and a filthy crossover, and the numbers make it clear that he’s straight up one of the best shot makers in the league

Still can’t believe the mavs drafted Luka round 1, Brunson round 2, and are now where they are. I would make a strong guess that he learned a lot trying to compete with Luka for minutes

At some point people will have to accept that this guy is that good.

Regular season means little when it come to offensive stats ok but so far Brunson played 53 playoffs game with the Knicks averaging 29.6ppg. That’s 4 playoffs run being a scoring machine. Look around the whole league and look how many scored as much as him.

He might be the best in the league at getting to his spots. When he gets hot, it’s like the ball has a magnet in it. During that run last night, you just knew he was going to hit everything. Hell of a ball player.

Strength is the most underrated physical tool in the modern NBA. Brunson is built like an absolute tank, does not get dislodged like most guys would be at that size.

I don’t like that nickname for him either but it’s better than Tatum having it I guess

Because he works on his game more than almost anyone and he has the mental mindset of a champion.

A COMMON MANS BODY AND AN OLD MANS GAME

Everyone’s better than Brunson until it’s time to be better than Brunson.

Get what you’re saying but his draft board said he has a 37 inch vertical
So not so physically imposing but definitely more than athletic and conditioned enough to get by

I remember when we had him and Luka…

Josh Hart explained it best when asked how many guys in the league are better scorers than JB factoring in his height and athleticism.

”…probably not many. He’s barely 6-foot guard. Not physically impressive. Not athletic. But he’s able to manipulate (the) defense. Obviously big head, so he has a big brain. He’s able to figure out those angles and find himself in positions to be successful.”

No 1 he’s not a Star

Second best 2nd rounder of all time behind Jokic

Can’t teach heart.

If he somehow brings the championship to NY, he’ll have a godlike status there. Forever.

Yeah but everybody is still better than him tho when it isn’t time to be better than him…

Such as when the game is over. lol.

We had Luka and this dude on the same team. Wtf happened lol

You can tell he studied Luka a lot when he was in Dallas

Nico had Brunson and Luka and dumped out of both b/c they wouldn’t kiss his big headed ass. SMH

There’s just a certain amount of skill you have to have to be successful at that size and he has it. Also he’s a fairly strong player so you can’t really bully him and speed him up. You saw traces of this in Dallas but o never expected all of this

I can’t believe how he’ll get a 6’7” guy on his back hip poised for the block and he’ll just lay it up like no big deal. It’s almost magical.

I’m probably wrong, but I feel like Luka and Brunson getting drafted together has gotta be the best draft duo any team has ever gotten. Considering what they turned into

“Unathletic” bruh. People just post anything here.

Anomaly is a good way to put it. I honestly do not know how he is so effective. If the Cavs lose, I’ll be happy to root for NY against OKC. But a Spurs/Knicks matchup would be so fun.

He’s mentally tougher than most players

He’s got a big head

His footwork is pristine

He didn’t play for Steve Kerr. This is what Draymond was talking about his offense didn’t get hindered.

In reality though this is just a testament to always working on your game, staying locked in, and being ready when your name is called. When Luka went down in the playoffs and he had those 30 point games he entered a stage where he would command too much money to be the back up PG and Dallas didn’t want to pay. And the Knicks had nothing but money and opportunity and they were hungry for a star.